I'm not certain why this recipe for steak in a white wine, shallot, and bone-marrow sauce is where the book naturally opens to.

At this stage I usually smear hot horseradish on the top steak and Dijon mustard on the inside of the lid before fitting it back on to the loaf.

The chef is Malagasy, though the dishes are modern French fusion, and we feasted on foie gras ravioli, zebu steaks in wine sauce (zebu is the local beef), ham, lamb and calamari.