Archive For March 2010
Yes, dear reader, I travel and I expect you, too, will have that delight from time to time. When one flies there are invariably tedious hours to fill while one waits for the plane which is still most likely stuck in JFK or Johannesburg. If you are lucky then you’ll be marooned in an airport…
Ed’s Easy Diner is a small chain of classic American diners. It was founded in November 1987 in London by Barry Margolis. It was the first of its kind in the UK when the first Ed’s opened its doors in Soho. Over the last couple of decades Ed’s Easy Diner has become a landmark and…
Iqbal Wahhab, now OBE, (awarded that high honour in recognition of his public service and services for promotion of the hospitality industry) is a man famously passionate about food as well as society in general. The Times has described him as “a National Treasure”. He uses his position for the benefit of many and we…
This is a treat of a little cookbook. It touches on childhood comfort and adult naughtiness – the midnight feast. We dreamt about such things when we were kids even if we didn’t have the chance to indulge in that adventure. We read about it in books and always with a backdrop of a boarding…
Yes, The Secret Ingredient is a cookbook but its impact is found not just in its recipes but in the poignant story it tells of one beautiful young woman’s fight for life. It’s thought-provoking and a cautionary tale which, if heeded, could indeed save your life or that of a friend or family member. This…
Yes, dear reader, another in the 500 series from Apple Press. I make no apology for its inclusion in this cookbook review journal because they are quite simply some of the best-value single-topic food and drink related books around. Zak Avery has penned this particular volume and he is eminently qualified to do so. He…
For the edification of those barbecue virgins, I should explain that the Weber in question is the manufacturer of the celebrated dome-lidded barbecue which is considered by many to be one of the best. Jamie Purviance has sufficient confidence to ally himself to that grill by penning Weber’s Complete Barbecue Book, which bears both his…
I am an enthusiastic cook and have a cupboard full of labour-saving devices but there is one, and it is by far the oldest, to which I return time after time. It’s my brown ceramic slow cooker. It’s one of the originals from the 1970s without even the luxury of a removable insert. These days…
Sounds as though it should be a chapter from Chaucer. Probably lots of Anglo-Saxon expletives and doing something rude with milk. Well, no. The Cheesemonger’s Tales is just a thoroughly good read with no need for a PG rating. It concerns the life of a cheese and wine man, and here lies the strength of…
This is a jolly book and it’s not often a cookbook is described in that fashion. It almost has the feel of an old-fashioned Christmas Annual. It’s vibrant with bold colour and iconic images of products which have stood the test of time for taste and package design. It’s penned by Paul Hartley who has…
There is so much talk these days about healthy eating and home cooking. We are told to guard against waste and to use what we have to hand. Food should be our most important purchase but we don’t want to throw money away. So what to do? It’s all about flavour. A sprinkle of a…
It’s been my privilege to review many hundreds of cookbooks over these past years. They all have merits and strengths. The quality of writing is the biggest consideration, with general presentation a close second. I often think a particular book might be a prize-winner or a best-seller, and then there are books like The Country…