Archive For July 2008
Cooking for Coco? Strange name! Is it like working for peanuts? Not at all. This is such a charming book about foods for your baby, in this case Coco who is the daughter of Siân Blunos. That name might sound familiar. Siân is the wife of chef and well-known TV food demonstrator, Martin Blunos. He…
Kimiko Barber has produced a book which is bound to become a classic. It’s stunning to look at with a wealth of marvellous photographs by Martin Brigdale which make it appealing to anyone interested in either Japanese food or culture. The Japanese Kitchen is an encyclopaedia with recipes …or a cookbook with amazing information about…
Apple Press has a series of books called 500 something or other and this is one from that very series. They are chunky and colourful volumes and always great value for money. 500 Juices and Smoothies is written by Christine Watson who trained at Leith’s School of Food and Wine and she now works as…
If we eat our cornflakes late on a Sunday morning we might think we are eating brunch but that, dear reader, is only a late breakfast. Brunch is an event! It’s a great way to feed a crowd in style. Rachel Lee is a Californian (did they invent brunch?) who lives in Italy and divides…
Growing our own food is becoming a popular pastime and for several very good reasons. Most of us are aware that we should be eating more fresh produce and there is no better way to ensure you get those quality veggies than by growing your own. Prices are rising on a daily basis so food…
You’ve gotta love a book with a title like that! We are told that drinking isn’t good for us so Cooking with Booze presents us with a delightful solution to that guilt-ridden dilemma. Don’t drink (so much), just eat! Ryan Jennings and David Steele are witty and they know their stuff. Ryan is a food…
Hugo Arnold is crazy about noodles and that enthusiasm is evident from the first page of this delectable book. The photography by Ditta Isager is marvellous and is shown off to best advantage in this large-format volume. I’ll not say too much about Wagamama, the Japanese-inspired restaurant chain, I’ll write a review later. (Read my…
Charles Metcalfe and Kathryn McWhirter are a formidable team. I know of Charles from his numerous appearances on food-related shows like Good Food Live on the UKTV Food network. Kathryn has a wealth of experience as both a food and wine journalist and editor. I had expected this book to be just a guide to…
This is a large format volume with a wealth of photographs by Steve Brown and it’s impressive in its presentation and content, and it even feels solid! This is one of a series of Homestyle cookbooks from those nice people at Murdoch Books and I’d say it’s a winner. We are talking about the whole…
Simon Loftus has had a life filled with travel and food. That’s a combination that can bring both pleasure and pain and, in this case, some witty stories. His experiences will make you laugh out loud and you’ll admire his fortitude. A Pike in the Basement – Tales of a Hungry Traveller is a history…
There can’t be a single town in the UK or North America that can’t boast at least a Chinese takeaway or a brace or two of Chinese restaurants, but have you ever wondered why it’s Chinese food that is so ubiquitous and not, say, Malay or Turkish? J.A.G. Roberts has written China to Chinatown –…
It’s no good thinking you’ll buy a guide book when you get there, or get by with a bit of assistance from other travellers. That just does not work! If your fellow voyagers are any help at all it will probably be because they have A Rough Guide to China in the backpack. You need…
Monisha Bharadwaj has a talent (in fact she has many, she is also a classical Indian dancer and an educator) for writing books that are little works of art. There are over 140 recipes in Stylish Indian in Minutes and all of them are mouth-watering and yet simple to make. This volume just oozes class….
This is a fascinating book of reproductions of official Second World War instruction leaflets, and it will bring back memories for many a grandmother who had to feed a family on rations that seem very meagre by today’s standards. Picture this, dear reader: Britain is at war and imported produce has to run the gauntlet…
This is a lovely book from Jane Pettigrew and The National Trust. It draws on Jane’s expertise as a tea expert (nice choice of words, huh?) and presents what must be one of the finest collections of traditional recipes for afternoon tea goodies. The British are known to be big tea drinkers but we are…
A Taste of China is one of Ken Hom’s first books and probably one of the best. It’s now back in print and I would urge anyone who has an interest in China and its food to buy a copy. This is described as the definitive guide to regional cooking and it is indeed that,…
I thought that this was going to be the story of a chef’s attempts to open and run a cooking school in Provence. Well, it isn’t that, exactly. It’s a cookery school neatly contained within the binding of this very fine book. Marie-Pierre Moine set out to create a school that would be accessible to…
Chef Richard Guest has written Jam with Lamb – Seasonal West Country Cooking with delectable and evocative photographs by Nick Smith. Richard Guest? He might not be a household name and he hasn’t got a series…yet. He has worked at the Savoy Hotel’s River Restaurant under the great Anton Adleman, worked with Jean Christoph Novelli,…
From the cacao pod to muffins, mousses and molés! This is such a lovely book with large photographs by Francesca Yorke (if they were any bigger they would be posters). Caroline Jeremy has compiled delicious recipes and Claire Fry has designed a most attractive and appealing book. It’s colourful, sumptuous and tasteful. You would all…
This is already a classic and a much-sought-after volume by them in the know. It is indeed utterly charming, not only visually but in content. It is a cookbook but also a family history. This collection of recipes was first published in 1899 but they couldn’t be further removed from Mrs. Beeton. Janet Ross (1842-1927)…