Mouth-watering recipes and the larger-than-life history of one of Montreal's most inspired and adventurous restaurants.

Martin Picard is a fantastically talented chef, a friend, an inspiration," writes Anthony Bourdain in his introduction. "Au Pied de Cochon is simply one of my favourite restaurants on the planet-and the Rabelesian Martin Picard one of my favourite chefs."

In this sumptuous album, Picard brings together fifty-five of his restaurant's recipes. Eschewing culinary fads, he pairs rustic comfort foods like stick-to-your-ribs poutine with a decadent slab of foie gras. There's no calorie-counting here: other over-the-top delicacies include Foie Gras Pizza, Venison "Chinese Pie" and, true to the restaurant's name, Braised Pigs' Feet.

But this is no ordinary cookbook. Recounting the wild story of the restaurant's beginnings and its passionate crew, the pages are imbued with Picard's exacting vision and illustrated with more than 600 photos and 50 original illustrations. Au Pied de Cochon is a celebration of pure cooking and pure indulgence from a kitchen where, in Bourdain's words, all is "delicious, pleasurable and true-and where too much of a good thing is never enough."