In each chapter Grigson mixes the well known and the offbeat. In the opening Greek chapter, recipes for taramasalata, moussaka and dolmades sit alongside hare in walnut sauce and salad of calf brains. Italian recipes include classics such as osso buco with risotto milanese, Parmigiana di melanzane and vitello tonnato, but also grilled eel, sole with Parmesan, tripe with pig's trotters, and lamb sautéed with olives. Similar juxtapositions are found in other chapters—Portuguese cuisine beyond sardines, British beyond steak and kidney pudding, and Scandinavian beyond smörgåsbord. Among the less well-known dishes described by Grigson are beef fillet with gentleman's sauce,