A celebration of the most important meal of the day Meera Sodha describes putting a good dinner on the table as her superpower. Until I read this, I had never considered making dinner for my family over decades as a superpower so much as a responsibility and sometimes, but not always, a joy. A super-achievement, […]
Five Quarters by Rachel Roddy
Recipes and Notes from a Kitchen in Rome. Five Quarters (Headline Home) is an intriguing title that conjures up thoughts of a mathematical puzzle. In Testaccio, the wedge-shaped neighbourhood of Rome where Rachel Roddy has lived since 2005, the fifth quarter or quinto quarto, is a style of cooking that was developed by local slaughterhouse […]
Imad’s Syrian Kitchen
A love letter from Damascus to London Imad’s Syrian Kitchen (HQ) is no ordinary cookbook in the way that the restaurant of the same name is no ordinary eatery. Situated in Kingsley Court, Carnaby Street, the restaurant is in the heart of vibrant London, where counter-culture has been the rage for decades. Kingsley Court boasts […]
Paella By Omar Allibhoy
Over 50 recipes for the Spanish classic dish People always recall where they ate their first paella, asserts Omar Allibhoy in the introduction to Paella (Hardy Grant), his newly published book on this quintessentially Spanish dish. A Valencian dish, to be specific. While tourists to the Costa del Sol may enjoy nothing more than a […]
The Art of Friday Night Dinner
A cookbook to ease you into the weekend In my household, Friday Night Dinner – FND as we like to call it – is synonymous with roast chicken. Hence, when a review copy of The Art of Friday Night Dinner (Bloomsbury) arrived at my door, I paged through it immediately in search of a chicken […]
A Table Full of Love – Skye McAlpine
Recipes to comfort, seduce, celebrate and cocoon. Skye McAlpine is a wonderful cookbook writer. Her recipes are often quick and easy, sometimes more complex, but always the sort of food you want to cook and eat. Her table always looks fantastic because she is also a talented stylist while having her own range of fabulous […]
Eureka – Recipe Book Review
Restaurant quality cooking in your kitchen During those long days of Covid lockdown when many restaurants kept afloat by pivoting to meal kit deliveries, I was gifted a wonderful meal. It came from the kitchen of chef-restaurateur, Andreas Antona, that delivered a Michelin-quality lunch straight to my kitchen for finishing off and hence to my […]
Cooking by Jeremy Lee
Cooking: simply and well, for one or many. I have not had the privilege of eating at Jeremy Lee’s renowned restaurant, Quo Vadis. I believe it is a wonderful place to eat British cuisine done very well indeed. What I do know from experience, is that Lee’s new book, Cooking simply and well, for one […]
Ottolenghi Test Kitchen – Extra Good Things
The second book in the Test Kitchen series Extra Good Things (Ebury) is the title of the second out of four in the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen series. The first book, Shelf Love appeared last year and encouraged readers to use up ingredients lurking in the back of their cupboards. The new book, co-authored with Noor […]
India Express by Rukmini Iyer
Fresh dishes from Kolkata to Chennai. India Express (Square Peg) is the latest cookbook from Rukmini Iyer who wrote The Roasting Tin series which has been a runaway success. There are six books in that collection ranging from one on vegan and vegetarian dishes, another on barbeque and one on desserts. Then there is a […]