When he came to Bermuda over five years ago, British-born chef Matthew Line didn't know a thing about the Island's traditional dishes.

But as all top chefs do in new surroundings, the award-winning Mr. Line learned fast as he began taking a keen interest in how Bermudians eat and prepare their food.

What he learned has now been put in a recently published cookbook ‘Sundays with Codfish and Potatoes', which is on sale at the Island's bookstores.

In it the 2000 Bermuda Chef of the Year shares recipes on award winning Bermudian cuisine, including the recipe which won him the 2001 Fish Chowder award for Best Hotel and Individual category.

The book, which retails for $20, also contains other traditional Bermudian dishes like codfish and potatoes, cassava pie, shark hash and gingerbread.

Since moving here over five years, Line has developed a fascination for codfish and potatoes, and researched its origins, which he shares with the readers in the cookbook.

“It is so special and savoured that in most restaurants you must come early and order quickly before they sell out,” he warns.

“When the dish arrives at your table, a mixture of vibrant colours is displayed with the use of codfish, the Bermuda grafter avocado, banana, hard-boiled eggs, potatoes and a tomato sauce drizzled about.

“The infusion of these flavours melts in your mouth in such a beautiful harmony that you probably won't hear the waitress ask if you would like more coffee!”

Line learned that codfish originally came to Bermuda from Canada as a cheap food source for slaves and continues today as the most famous and traditional meal of Bermuda.

It was new to him when he came here over five years ago from Canada after working for two years at the Radisson Hotel in London, Ontario, Canada. Originally from Somerset, England, Mr. Line recalls being drawn to foods as a teenager when working at a local bakery.

From there, Mr. Line, whose father and grandfather were both greengrocers, enrolled at the Weston-Super-Mare Culinary School to learn basic skills of cuisine and cooking, and upon graduating from the two-year course he went to work at the Webbington Hotel in Somerset, England as a commis chef.

The young chef then spent time travelling around England expanding his culinary skills at several prestigious hotels until moving to Canada and eventually onto Bermuda. Prior to his present job at MarketPlace, he also worked at the Hamilton Princess and The Reefs.

In 2000 Mr. Line won Bermuda Chef of the Year and a gold medal for best overall meal (out of 21 Caribbean islands teams) in the Taste of the Caribbean Competition as a member of the four-man Bermuda Culinary team.

“Basically, I'm fascinated with Bermuda's food,” said Line of the inspiration behind the cookbook. He said he enjoyed researching the history of certain foods and dishes.

“I just wanted to dig deeper into what Bermuda has to offer in the way of culinary goodies. As I was digging I was just writing it down, learning a lot from the locals.

“When I went down to the competition they were saying to try to use Island flair. I've been to the US four times and we were representing Bermuda as a team of five (Christopher Malpas, Sherman Trott, Shaun Lekki, a bartender, Wyman Lindsay, a waiter, were the others) and we were taking on the rest of the Caribbean (21 teams).”

He added: “The first time I went down there we came fifth, the second time we came fifth and then a year-and-a-half ago in Fort Lauderdale we managed to get top prize, a gold medal. We were the best Island in the Caribbean (region) for culinary cuisine.

“Going down and competing in the Caribbean and seeing a lot of their stuff, some things are very similar.”

Mr. Line began working on the cookbook while working at the Princess where he was employed for three years.

‘I've been compiling it for two-and-a-half years,” he revealed.

“I met a lot of Bermudian people and just kept on digging. It was really interesting, picking up some traditional tips, using the ingredients or modernising some foods as well.

“My book has a lot of award winners in it in the way of what we did in Puerto Rico, where I came first in two divisions. There are loads of desserts as well and some new concepts.”

In the cookbook, Line also mentions the Island's herbs and spices, the popular Portuguese chourico sausage, some drink recipes as well as some fruits that are not commonly used.

“Some fruits are not necessarily well known but are on the Island,” says Mr. Line, who also researched the background of fennel.

“It originated from the West Indies and was brought here for the slaves and it stopped them from getting hunger pains,” said Line, who spent time talking to a lot of older locals, including his 86-year-old landlady.

“Codfish was brought down from Nova Scotia as a cheap food as well.

“My father is a greengrocer so I always enjoyed fruits and vegetables, just because he was interested in it. My grandfather was also a greengrocer. I come from Chedder, Somerset - where the cheese is from. Somerset is cider and cheese country.”

American artist Andrea Vincent, whom Line met on the Island, did the painting for the cover.

Book signings will be held at five locations over the next few weeks; the Hamilton marketplace tomorrow and Saturday from 4.30 to 6.30 p.m. tomorrow and 10.30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Saturday.

Mr. Line will then be at Heron Bay MarketPlace on February 6, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and on February 9 from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. .

On February 13, he will be at the Shelly Bay MarketPlace from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. and February 16 he will be signing copies from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The final two book signings will be held at the Bookmart on February 23 from 12 to 12 p.m. and at International Imports on March 2 from 10.30 a.m. to 1 p.m.