Bookstore
In The Bookstore you will find an up-to-date selection of best-selling books and current reviews. All the books listed are available through our partnership with Amazon
Rosemary: Castle Cook
If Rosemary Shrager is roaring with laughter on the cover of Rosemary, Castle Cook (and she is), you can understand why. She has what must be the almost unalloyed pleasure of running a summer cookery school in a castle overlooking the Sound of Taransay on the Isle of Harris, in the Scottish Hebrides. Rosemary, Castle Cook is as much a tribute to this magically beautiful place as a record of her cooking. The cooking, in any case, is guided and coloured by the seasonal availability of the local ingredients. And what ingredients! Blessed with the best fish and shellfish in the world, feathered and furred game, fine beef and lamb, and soft fruit of unparalleled quality, Harris has much to offer the cook. Rosemary Shrager's cooking is fairly straightforward, allowing the superb quality of her raw materials to emerge. She cooks pretty much in the French tradition (she has worked for Pierre Koffmann and Jean-Christophe Novelli), with results that are at once robust, elegant and subtle. Her Crab Risotto is flavoured with leek and shallot and garnished with mussels and peas; she pairs, sumptuously, turbot and lobster in a cream sauce. Seared medallions of venison sit on a bed of spinach surrounded by a deep fawn morel mushroom sauce: the visual effect is as ravishing as the flavour must be superb. Puddings range from exquisite raspberry soufflés to that crowning marvel of Scottish cookery, the Clootie Dumpling. If this book gives a true flavour of Rosemary Shrager's qualities as a teacher, then she must be inspiring indeed. The only pity is that we don't all have the same first-class produce on our doorsteps. That is hardly her fault, of course, so there is no reason to withhold an unreserved recommendation for the Castle Cook
Classic Italian Cooking by Valentina Harris
Valentina Harris has carefully selected 100 recipes that are the core recipes from which all other recipes in Italian cooking derive. The repertoire includes all the techniques necessary to handle any dish, for instance Polenta al Ragu and Pollo alla Toscana. Harris is very conscious that classical Italian cuisine can be complicated and lengthy on method and that most home cooks do not have endless hours to prepare family meals, nor are they willing to give over an entire day to cook for a dinner party. She has analysed the methods carefully and wherever possible has simplified the process without losing the most important feature of Italian cooking-flavor. Harris has demystified the process with her commonsense approach. And for this reason Classic Italian Cooking is an exciting and welcome addition to any cook's library. Harris spends a lot of her time in Italy, and has thus brought lively reminiscences of meals cooked and eaten to this comprehensive book.
Hughes Cooking?
A wonderful collection of recipes and reflections which chronicle the trials and tribulations of running a restaurant,
with Richard's enthusiasm and passion for good food enjoyed with good company shining through on each page. Written by on
of Norfolk's most innovative chefs this book is a must in any cookery book collection.
Purchase a signed copy from Richard
by calling + 44 (0) 1603 712215.
Cooking For Coco
Like most busy mothers, Sian Blunos wanted to feed her baby well, but as a trained chef, working alongside her Michelin-starred chef husband, she didn`t have a lot of free time. Her solution was to develop recipes using a wide variety of fresh, available foods, which could be batch-cooked and used to stock the freezer. Now, she always has on hand a range of delicious dishes that can be served up at any time, even when away from the kitchen, and you can, too. Sian advises how with a little care and planning, you can give even the youngest of children the experience of good, fresh food, which is tasty and nutritious. There is an added benefit, too; babies raised on this type of food rarely become fussy eaters - good eating patterns become set for life. If you want to give your baby the best, given that time is limited, you can`t afford not to treat both of yourselves to this book.
The River Café Cook Book Easy
Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers
If you love the idea of hosting a fabulous dinner party but are slightly daunted by the increasing choice of produce in your local supermarket, or want to enjoy delicious food at every mealtime but don`t have the time for lengthy preparation and cooking, you`re not alone.
Realising this, Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers, founders of London`s River Café, have come to the rescue with their latest recipe book, The River Café Cook Book Easy.
Featuring dozens of recipes, all inspired by their passion for Italian cuisine, The River Café Cook Book Easy makes it possible for you to prepare and cook an impressive three-course meal in less than an hour or cook up something special for dinner every night in less than 30 minutes.
Jamie`s Kitchen
Jamie Oliver
Jamie Oliver is setting up a new restaurant, which is also a training school for young chefs, and you`re invited to find out how he gets along. This guide features all the recipes from Jamie`s cookery course as well as from the restaurant menu, including the ultimate in Mediterranean-style fast food - pasta and fresh sauces, thick wedges of bruschetta with basil and tomatoes, warm vats of stew for the winter and simple French salads for the summer. Follow Jamie`s hints and tips.
Cookery Year Autumn into Winter
Gary Rhodes
By making the most of what is in season, Gary Rhodes shows how to choose and use the best home produce in over 100 original and delicious recipes, including warming stews and soups, comforting puddings and tasty preserves and pickles.
Rick Stein`s Seafood
Rick Stein
Discover the techniques for preparing and cooking the different types of fish found in the A-Z guide section of the book. There are 200 tried-and-tested recipes, which include essential basic recipes, such as stocks, sauces and batters. Also learn how to select fish and complementary ingredients.
How To Eat The Pleasures and Principles of Good Food
Nigella Lawson
Nigella Lawson has long been among the most realistic as well as the most readable of writers on food. Her description of a three-star dinner really is a good second best to actually eating it yourself. But equally she knows the inestimable value of a bacon sandwich on sliced white. This wonderful book combines both of these talents as she sets out on the ambitious task to impart no less than `the Pleasures and Principles of Good Food`. The book is neatly divided into categories--cooking in advance, weekend lunch, low fat and so on--each with its own passionate and intelligent introductory essay.
Ainsley Harriott`s Low Fat Meals in Minutes
Ainsley Harriott
Blink and there`s another Ainsley Harriott book out, this incarnation is Low Fat Meals in Minutes. The target audience this time is the weight-watching home-maker, struggling to fit those healthy lifestyle changes into a busy schedule; and perhaps also keeping an eye on the kids` fat intake. You really have to hand it to Harriott: he`s very good at what he does. Low Fat Meals in Minutes presents 80 fresh, interesting, tasty, low-fat recipes, none of which takes more than an hour to prepare and cook (and most a lot less), and each of which is accompanied by a clear colour photograph--so you know exactly what it`s supposed to look like--and nutrition notes. What could be simpler or more encouraging?
Delia Smith`s Christmas
Delia Smith
This collection of Christmas recipes from Delia Smith includes five different Christmas cakes, a complete vegetarian menu, recipes for gifts such as chocolate truffles, and many traditional favourites. There are also ideas for festive occasions from drinks parties to dinner parties, with dishes such as roast goose with potato, sage and apple stuffing; caramelized orange trifle; and a terrine with four cheeses.
Flash Floyd
Keith Floyd, Michelle Garrett
From the original TV chef, this compilation includes more than 100 easy and fast recipes from around the world. The recipes use simple ingredients and are designed to cause the least amount of hassle and the minimum of preparation.
The Best
Paul Merrett, Ben O'Donoghue, Silvana Franco
What happens when two top chefs and one experienced cook all pit their wits against each other in an exciting new BBC2 cookery series to find the very best recipes? Each week Paul Merrett (The Greenhouse), Ben O`Donoghue (Monte`s) and Silvana Franco (food writer and home economist) compete against each other to serve up the very best dish to a panel of food-loving judges.
Categories include everything from the best sandwich or soup recipe to the best pasta or chicken dish, and the result is a collection of 60 fabulous recipes gathered together in The Best cookbook. Can Silvana`s Tuna and horseradish burger rival Paul`s Seared black pepper tuna, or will Ben win with his Warm braised tuna salad? All the recipes are simple to prepare and use readily available ingredients so now you can decide for yourself which is the best recipe and serve up delicious home-cooked meals in the process.
The Top 100 Recipes
Anthony Worral Thompson
In a quest to discover the nation`s favourite dishes, Anthony Worrall Thompson, the popular presenter of Food and Drink, teamed up with the Radio Times and Good Food Magazine to find out which recipes really make our mouths water. The results of their three polls - the top ten Holiday Dishes, Best of British, and Classic Recipes - make an inspirational collection of recipes.
In addition AWT has selected 70 of his favourite dishes from the series to create a really comprehensive selection that`s bound to get you cooking. Each of the 30 winning recipes is illustrated with a colour photo and, since all the recipes have been cooked on Food and Drink you can be sure that they will be straightforward to prepare and delicious to eat.
Kitchen Confidential
Anthony Bourdain
Anthony Bourdain`s outrageous book will probably shock readers from outside our industry, although it has shocked those in the industry, too. AA Gill hits the right note when he describes it as `Elizabeth David written by Quentin Tarantino`. Anthony Bourdain is executive chef at Brasserie les Halles in New York City and author of the novels, Bone in the Throat and Gone Bamboo.
Kitchen Confidential is the autobiographical story of his climb up the culinary ladder through what seems like just about every restaurant in the city. The book follows Bourdain`s career with hard, in-your-face, warts-and-all, controversial and explicit descriptions of kitchen life - and throughout he manages to be shocking, funny and revealingly realistic. The book is probably the most truthful account yet of kitchen life and credit must surely go to Bourdain for having the courage to tell it like it really is.
The characters are interesting, and I certainly spotted lots of chefs whom I have worked with, employed and still meet on this side of the `pond`. My only qualm concerns the use of `recreational drugs` while on the job. I`m not sure whether it is the author`s intention to make this the kind of tome that you can pick up and rejoin at any stage, but that`s very much how it is, which means that it is highly suitable for us caterers who rarely have time to submerge ourselves in a book. It`s an enjoyable, unputdownable read, which scored 9.5 out of 10 in my view. This is one that you will either love or hate - and, let`s be honest; you couldn`t make this kind of stuff up.
Reviewed By John Benson-Smith
Foolproof French Cookery
Raymond Blanc
Raymond Blanc describes the basic techniques required to create traditional French food and demonstrates 40 simple-to-follow versions of the most well-known dishes. There are step-by-step instructions and photographs accompanying every stage from start to finish.
Manchester on a Plate
foreword by Steven Saunders
A mouth-watering collection of culinary delights, from 15 of the finest restaurants in Manchester. Each chef shares the secrets of their success and step-by-step instructions to creating four of their favourite dishes accompanied by sumptuous photography to inspire the chef in everyone.
A Chef For All Seasons
Gordon Ramsay
Here, Gordon Ramsay offers his example of the pursuit of excellence, by presenting a range of delicious and contemporary recipes, which, whilst being designed to appeal to the clientele of his famous restaurant, also adapt for the home cook. There are four chapters reflecting the seasons.
