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.Tom Aikens Cooking

by: Tom Aikens

October 05, 2006
I bought this book having eaten at both his restaurants several times. The recipes are graded in three categories, easy, mediam and challenging. The latter category requires a lot of fussing about with the food and some forethought, but the medium and easy recipes are well set out and easy for the domestic cook. There are notes on what can wrong on some of the recipes and how to avoid mistakes which is a useful addition. It provides a good range of different recipes, from bread and cakes to petite fours. Every dish that I have tried from this book has worked and received requests for a repeat cooking - this has to be the measure of a cook book!
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.A Year in my Kitchen

by: Skye Gyngell

February 01, 2008
A seductive little number this, so much so that I forced my partner to accompany me to Petersham Nurseries for lunch one sunny summer afternoon recently. It was just as I hoped. The food itself as cooked by Skye and her team surpasses the many tempting recipes featured in the book. I had a lovely starter of scallops on a sweetcorn and chili puree, followed by wild halibut with lentils and chard, followed by a rich chocolate mousse with a caramel sauce - let me tell you, divine does not do justice to the fish and the mousse. Died and gone to heaven. But that's the restaurant - the book was the precursor and now the souvenir of that lovely expedition, and I am spurred on to perfect the recipes at home.
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.Angela Hartnett's Cucina: Three Generations of Italian Family Cooking

by: Angela Hartnett

May 03, 2007
Angela's book is just perfect for home cooking with fabulous results. The dishes are italian, traditional and ageless, I cook again and again from this book. Thanks Angela!!
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.Amaretto, Apple Cake and Artichokes: The Best of Anna Del Conte

by: Anna Del Conte

August 03, 2006
I only eat the results. However, my evidence to date indicates that - if your wife cooks, and you love food - this book is a worthwhile investment.
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.Essence: Recipes from Le Champignon Sauvage

by: David Everitt-Matthias

September 21, 2006
This isn't a cookbook for the faint-hearted. It is a genuine restaurant book that gives you the precise recipes for some of David's most famous dishes.
The instructions are clear and, much more importantly, they work. David's use of seasonal, British produce and wild ingredients makes for one of the most interesting and pleasing books around. I can't recommend this book and everything I have ever made from it has blown people away.
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.Week in Week Out

by: Simon Hopkinson

September 21, 2007
I too, was misled by the title into thinking this would be everyday recipes, arranged by the seasons, but it turns out that 'Week in, week out' refers not to the cooking but to the writing of his weekly column in the Independent. Although there are 52 columns there are no headings and no very discernible order (starts with New Year, Christmas still being mentioned on p.67) so you can't easily find a recipe suitable for a particular time of year.

Although some of the recipes are very good, and the methods given are very thorough, this was spoilt for me as an enjoyable read by the sheer tetchiness of the author's tone. As the favourable review by Henrietta Green notes, he is 'dismissive of modern food fads'. Well, he seems to be dismissive ... Read More:
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.Maze: The Cookbook

by: Jason Atherton

April 18, 2008
I bought this for my wife who is a very good cook. I thought there was a good mix of simple and more difficult recipes for her to try. So far she has tried two.

The Liquorice poached pears (p210) - trying to get liquorice essence has been a nightmare and it seems that the only place to get it is the Internet (possibly easier in London). 3 teaspoons seems a lot of essence too and an experienced chef (with 1 Michelin star) seemed to think it was over the top. If an item is hard to source tell us where we can get it.

The Infusion of summer berries (p170) was the second attempt at a recipe. The Infusion, following the recipe tasted like vinegar. Luckily my wife is experienced enough to sort it out.

Gordon Ramsey's books are always ... Read More:
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.Beyond Nose to Tail: A Kind of British Cooking: Part II

by: Fergus Henderson, Justin Piers Gellatly

August 20, 2007
This shouldn't really be bought as a stand-alone recipe book. The purpose of 'Beyond Nose to Tail' is really as a complementary volume to the original book. Taken on its own, it is a bit unbalanced and incomplete (hence the 4 stars, rather than 5).

Considering both books as a single entity makes far more sense, and make for a truly superb exploration of fascination, thought-provoking and delicious food. Each volume enriches the other.

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.The Essentials of Classical Italian Cooking

by: Marcella Hazan

July 07, 1995
After a glass of pinot grigio or chianti I enjoy cyber shopping and have an embarrassing collection of cookery books, mostly destined for the charity shops. Every now and again I stumble on a classic that I will cherish and recommend. Marcella Hazan is not a celeb. tv chef and her book of 722 pages is soft back, on standard paper and without pictures. Having enjoyed universal success with several of her classic recipes you will realise that the glossy promoted cookery books deliver for the coffee table, not the dining table. I've bought a second copy of this book for a friend. You won't be disappointed.
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.Piri Piri Starfish: Portugal Found

by: Tessa Kiros

April 07, 2008
I write as a cook who enjoys actually reading cookery books, not just cooking from them.
In comparision with Tessa's other books this one has turned out to be less enjoyable. The publishers should take note: The simple fact that the ingredients are not arranged vertically makes it more difficult to grasp the recipe as a whole, it's not as amusing when just flicking through the book for inspiration!
I don't know why but it does give the impression that Tessa hurried through Portugal just to write this book, there's no soul to it if one could say that.
That said, the book as a whole is beautifully published, the photographs amazing and I have tried Pasteis de Nata, very good!


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