Customer Reviews

Living & Eating

5 star:		(5)
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2 star:		(1)
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Being an amateur cook is not always easy. But this book starts out setting the stage with cookware etc. It then explains in an effortless way how to cook some of the best dishes I have ever prepared. The stuff works every time and it always looks good. Currently this is my one stop book for all my dinner parties, and I have a large collection of cookbooks! Well worth the money and a beautiful book to read as well.

I've got hundreds of cookery books. This is my favourite cookery book for several reasons. The recipes are fail-proof and the results are restaurant quality every time. The recipes appeal to me and make me want to try them (there are only a handful of things remaining that I've not tried to make yet). The book is as much about lifestyle and style as much as cookery - its refreshing to look at and inspiring to read. My favourite recipes from the book are often the most simple and frequently cook them - midnight spaghetti, vichyssoise & salmon, venetian peas & rice, tomato & basil lasagne, the best shepherds pie you could ever make and a nifty way to cook perfect, tender steaks.

I found my copy of this book used at a library book sale a couple years ago. So, why write a review of it on Amazon, especially now? I just moved abroad and my copy of this book is among those that didn't find their way into my suitcase. I miss it already.

I must admit that the first time I looked through it, I found it pretentious and unrealistic. The recipes, the recommendations, etc. All of it seemed a bit contrived.

However, I got to know it. I misinterpreted it at first. What I though was pretentious or whatever was more along the lines of an exploration of food in line with a particular philosophy. It's a balance of food, philosophy, and solid ideas that I haven't managed to find anywhere else. Once I sat down and understood it for the statement that it is, it became incredibly valuable to me.

I started cooking as a line cook at a big chain seafood restaurant. Not inspiring, but it got me comfortable with cooking, with working with a variety of ingredients in a way I was unable to before. After I left, I started cooking for myself, and eventually this book was one of the things that really helped me find joy and ultimately a very enriching experience in cooking. It was a great presence for me.

This is the sort of book that won't be to the taste of a lot of potential buyers. It has an agenda and makes no apologies. However, if you can see the beauty in the philosophy that underlies the book as a whole and explore it for yourself, it's wonderful. Not for everyone, but all the same I recommend it.

Every single recipe I've made from this book has been awesome! Definitely reccomended! Especially the Potato Leek Soup and Tabbouleh!

The premise of not being in the kitchen attending to dinner while your guests amuse themselves was the most welcome news I had come across in a cookbook. I love folks milling around the stove but only if I can still concentrate on what needs to be done. This cookbook has great recipes, mostly simple, and everyone a winner. Our Food Group (8 people) have used this book more than once for menus and I love to point out that it hails from England! I want a sequel with more finger-food for those balmy California evenings outdoors. Please.

The writers did themselves a disservice when they started out the book with a load of pretentious gibberish. A garbage disposal has "an extraordinary lack of grace". Of course. "A conscientious country dweller would simply trail out to the compost heap". Oh. Certainly. The dialogue in this book is absurd - so absurd I couldn't even get past it to the recipes. I understand the authors are attempting to embrace simplicity, but they come across as snobbish and pretentious. Some of their suggestions are outright ridiculous. I felt like I was being lectured by some pedantic drone on the absolute correct way to scramble my eggs or serve my food on warmed plates (because everyone has a plate warmer in their kitchen).

As far as the recipes, I couldn't even make it that far. Most are very simplistic, which I appreciate, and the authors have a mentality that you should make something frequently until you can make it to perfection, which again, I can appreciate. There were definitely a few that caught my eye, but on the whole, you can find these recipes in many other (less pretentious) cookbooks.

If you can see past the pretentious dialogue and get into trying the recipes, then you may enjoy this book. I just couldn't make it that far.