Recommendations - Archive

Spilling the Beans

by Clarissa Dickson-Wright

Published by Hodder & Stoughton

Priced £16.99

Love her (and most of us do!), or loathe her, Clarissa Dickson-Wright’s life has been extraordinary. In the book she tells us all the details of her incredible life, blow-by-blow, with the stark honesty and the brilliant wit we associate with her. A vivid and funny story, it is as moving as it is a cracking good read.

For those of you too busy to read, there is also a CD-ROM on which Clarissa reads her book.

Moro East by Sam & Sam Clarke

Published by Sam and Sam Clarke

Priced £25

If you thought the Olympics in London was a bad thing, this book will only reinforce those beliefs. This is the third cookbook in the critically acclaimed Moro series and finds Sam and Sam Clark going back to their roots and growing their own produce in an East End allotment, soon to be bulldozed to make way for the Olympics.

The characters in this allotment are from all over the eastern Mediterranean and they cultivate and cook an extraordinary range of ingredients, many of which are integral to the food served at Moro. A lovely book with great recipes and a really good feel.

Persia in Peckham – Recipes from Persepolis

Published by Prospect Books

Priced £25

Persepolis is a foodie's paradise in south-east London run by Sally Butcher and her husband Jamshid. They have created a food store from heaven, gathering all that’s best from Iran and the Middle East.

This book distils all that is remarkable about this shop and the style of cooking that it supports. Sally herself is English, but she has had to learn the ways of her customers and her husband’s family. She is a matchless interpreter of Persian food and cookery, and this book should be seen as a way for British readers to enter into the Persian experience.

Published by the peerless Prospect books, the book is full of great recipes and a brilliant read too.

All My Eggs in One Basket by Francine Raymond

Priced £18.50

Francine Raymond runs a company called The Kitchen Garden from her cottage in Suffolk, writes books and runs courses on how to keep chickens and other fowl in a way that is compatible with gardening.

This is her latest book and is a diary of her year, beautifully illustrated with photographs of her garden and home, and peppered with gardening tips, seasonal recipes and simple decorating ideas that 'bring the outside in' in great yet understated style.

Edible Wild Plants and Herbs – A Compendium of Recipes and Remedies

By Pamela Michael

Published by Grub Street

Priced £20

This book makes the perfect companion for every budding forager, even those of us who spend more time dreaming than doing!

Published originally in 1980 under the title, All Good Things Around Us, this book became a classic work on the subject. The wonderful publishers, Grub Street, have entirely revised, updated and redesigned the book with new recipes and information added.

There are about 400 recipes covering 100 or so different plant varieties, all set off with stunning illustrations drawn from life by one of the country’s leading botanical artists. A really helpful calendar shows you when to pick what and tells you the best place to look.

All in all this is a magical book, practical and beautiful.

Good Things by Jane Grigson

Published by Grub Street

Priced £14.99

Good Things is Jane Grigson’s celebration of the seasons and the foods they bring. It is one of the classic cookery books, first published in 1971, it has been admired and praised by many great cookery writers.

She says in the introduction to the original edition, ‘I feel that delight lies in the seasons and what they bring us...the strawberries that come in May and June straight from the fields, the asparagus of a special occasion, kippers from Craster in July and August, the first lamb of the year from Wales, in October the freshest walnuts from France where they are eaten with new cloudy wine. This is good food…

This book shows how prophetic she was when she pointed out to us the importance of locally produced, fresh, seasonal food over 35 year ago!

Modern Mezze By Anissa Helou

Published by Quadrille

Priced £18.99

Mezze is a great way to eat; grazing leisurely on a selection of delicious little dishes all packed with flavour.

In this book the cookery writer, Anissa Helou, brings together an eclectic mix of dishes from the Lebanon, Turkey, Greece and Morocco and makes this relaxed style of food accessible to the home cook.

There are delicious dips, fragrant herby salads, crisp pastries, tasty pulse and grain dishes, colourful vegetable, fish and shellfish bites, plus tempting meat mezze. The recipes are easy to follow and beautifully illustrated. In addition there is advice on shopping and choosing mezze menus, plus features on breads, nuts, pickles, olives and herbs.

Keep summer going a little bit longer and cook up some Mediterranean mezze!

Sarah Raven’s GARDEN COOKBOOK

by Sarah Raven

Published by Bloomsbury

Priced £30

A stunning book, perfect for both gardeners and cooks. The book takes you month by month through seasonal ingredients, giving you great general information and a host of stunning recipes.

The recipes themselves are all easy-to-follow yet incredibly inspiring. As well as starters, mains and desserts, there are many cordials, pickles, preserves, all making the most of the month’s bounty.

This quote from Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall sums it all up; Sarahs recipes are friendly, practical, inspiring and often ingeniously simple. This brilliant and timely book puts fresh, seasonal, local fruit and veg back where they belong: right at the heart of every good cook’s kitchen’.

I reckon it is easily the most exciting book published this year.

Venus in the Kitchen, or Love’s Cookery Book by Norman Douglas

Published by Bloomsbury

Priced £6.99

A customer in the shop put me onto this little gem. Norman Douglas was a writer in the first half of the 20th Century with a rather murky background who lived in exile in Capri, where he mixed with such luminaries as Graham Greene and Elizabeth David. Indeed, Greene wrote the introduction to this book.

This little book is a 'collection of aphrodisiac recipes sure to put you in the mood for love...'

If you are looking for a small gift to go with that bunch of flowers then you couldn’t do better than Venus in the Kitchen…. Eccentric and charming Nigel Slater

How To Cook the Perfect...

By Marcus Wareing

Published by Dorling Kindersley

Priced £20

2 Michelin Star winner Marcus Wareing has produced a lovely book here. The thing I like about it is it is very useable. Each recipe is clear with the extra bonus of the ‘Key to Perfection’ the one element he highlights to get the recipe spot on.

Don’t be put off by the Michelin stars, the recipes here are very homely, maybe too much so for some more experienced cooks. For me it is perfect food, Pan-Fried Sea Bass, Braised Lamb Shanks, Spiced Aubergines and Chocolate Fondants. All laid out beautifully with great pictures. I could eat this type of food all day!

Nobody Does it Better...

By Trish Deseine

Published by Kyle Cathie Limited

Priced £25

This new book is destined to be a bestseller. It takes all the classic aspects of French cooking, but seems to make it more modern and appealing. Full of wonderful recipes and general chit-chat on all things French, the chapters are cleverly entitled. For example, Shop Wisely or Steals From Chefs.

The recipes stretch from the classics such as Pot Au Feu to modern classics like the Basque Chef Inaki’s wonderful Ceviche de maquereaux et lychees (Makerel and mustard cerviche with lychee sorbet).

When I read the recipe for Gigot d’agneau a la cuillere (Roast lamb served with a spoon) I had to cook it, my idea of culinary heaven!

Made in Italy; Food & Stories

by Giorgio Locatelli

Published by Fourth Estate

Priced £27.99

Last year’s huge success was the classic Italian cookbook, The Silver Spoon and this year nothing much has changed! Hotly tipped for the Glenfiddich Food Writer’s Award 2007, this book is a real joy.

Sumptuously produced, with lovely photographs by Dan Lepard, writer of The Handmade Loaf, this book is really an ‘Italian Food Heroes’.

Packed full of recipes and general musings on life and food, the book is easy to cook from but just as much fun to read. The recipes are listed in the traditional form of an Italian menu, Antipasti, Zuppa, Risotto, Pasta, Pesce, Carne and Dolci. You cannot fail to find something to get your tastebuds buzzing. Really a great book.

Curry: Fragrant Dishes From India, Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia

By various

Published by Dorling Kindersley

Priced £16.99

Written by a number of top chefs, such as David Thompson, Vivek Singh, Das Sreedharan, this book covers the whole of Asia to bring a wonderful selection of curries. The beauty of the book is you are not restricted to just Indian or just Thai.

Interspersed throughout with mouth-watering photographs, the recipes are easy-to-follow, use widely available ingredients and give some detail on the heritage of the dish.

A great general book to have on your shelf!

Three Sheets To The Wind, by Pete Brown

Published by Macmillan

Priced £10.99

We love all sorts of cookery and food-related books here at Gladstone’s, and this one really fits the bill. (And no, it’s not just because it’s about beer….ed)

Pete Brown is a beer journalist who to his horror discovers there are other cultures, such the Germans and Japanese, who produce, consume and celebrate beer more than the British. He vows to find out about this, so the obvious answer is to go on the biggest pub crawl ever!

Written with great skill and wit, Pete piles on the pounds and does irrecoverable damage to his health, but introduces us to great characters and provides a real insight into the soul of many beer-drinking nations.

Good Food Magazine's 101 Cakes & Bakes

Published by BBC Books

Priced £4.99

Just to prove that not every book we recommend costs a small fortune, the BBC 101 series are cheap but incredibly useful.

The series covers many different subjects, Meal for Two, Seafood & Fish, Cheap Eats and many more. We have chosen the Cakes & Bakes because countless customers have told us how good it is.

Whether you’re looking for a moreish snack or a perfect cake for a special occasion, you will find it in this little gem. The recipes are really straight-forward and a colour picture of every one really fuels the appetite.

A year in my kitchen

by Skye Gyngell

Published by Quadrille

Priced £ 25.00

The first of two Australians this month, Skye Gyngell is the chef at Petersham Café, a heavenly café-restaurant in the middle of Petersham Nurseries.

`A year in my kitchen', Skye's first book, is a real gem. Written thoughtfully and very much with the seasons in mind, this is a great book to use throughout the year.

The basis of her recipes is her `culinary toolbox', a range of flavours that are the starting point for her dishes. The toolbox is based on `sky and earth' flavours that range from leafy green herbs, citrus zest and vinaigrettes (sky) to the earth-bound, woody herbs, toasted nuts or roast spices that add depth to winter meals.

There are over 100 recipes throughout and most can be adapted to suit different times of year. Throughout, Skye interjects her recipes with serving suggestions, advice on putting together menus and ideas for varying the ingredients. Her enthusiasm for great-tasting food is conveyed on every page, providing a source of inspiration for the reader.

Instant Entertaining

by Donna Hay

Published by Fourth Estate

Priced £ 20.00

From one Aussie to another, the incomparable Donna Hay has done it again. This time the winner of the 2001 Glenfiddich Food and Drink Award tackles entertaining for family and friends.

In her own words, 'One of my favourite things is sitting around the dinner table with family and friends, watching people enjoying great food, wine and conversation. But we all lead busy lives and sometimes the thought of cooking for twelve, six or even two can be a little daunting. So that's why I've put together this collection of simple but special recipes that will make your lunch, dinner party or barbecue, a memorable occasion for all the right reasons! And guarantee you lots of return invitations.'

As usual she has succeeded with a masterful book of delicious, easy recipes and also some clever styling ideas, all shown with some mouth-watering photography. Yummy!

British Regional Food

by Mark Hix

Published by Quadrille

Priced £ 25.00

“Buying British produce has always been important to me so the prospect of touring the British Isles in search of the best British food was very exciting. Altogether it has been a fascinating and enlightening journey. We have a staggering array of artisan producers whose products easily rival that of our European neighbours. Our superb culinary heritage with its fine foods and deep-rooted traditions is a cuisine to be proud of. In this book I hope to impart some of my passion for good British food and share with readers a collection of my recipes, both modern and traditional but all wholly British.” So says Mark Hix, chef director of Caprice Holdings that includes The Ivy, J. Sheekey as well as Le Caprice.

I love this book. A real tour around culinary Britain, it is full of great stories, great pictures and most importantly… great food! Mark also provides over 100 recipes, often true to their tradition, but also thoughtfully adapted for the modern cook. This book would make a great gift for a foodie friend.

Bread & Oil

by Tomas Graves

Published by Grub Street

Priced £12.99

Bread & Oil is a view of the Mediterranean peasant diet and how it has been recuperated by a new generation of urban Majorcans, for whom it symbolises a sense of identity and a healthier way of life.

Bread & Oil was chosen by food writer Elizabeth Luard as her Book of the Year 2000 for the Good Book Guide, and was runner up in the British Guild of Food Writers awards for that year.

Now republished by Grub Street Publishing, it makes a lovely, haunting read.

The Guardian, July 22, 2006
"Bread and Oil is a winning polemic on behalf of real food, lovingly created and properly appreciated."

The Good Book Guide, July, 2006
"Bringing every aspect of Majorca vividly to life...in a book of considerable charm and engaging breadth of scope."

Cooking On The Bone

by Jennifer McLagan

Published by Grub Street

Priced £ 20.00

All good cooks know that anything cooked on the bone has more flavour. Supermarket shopping has forced most people into buying boneless, flavourless breasts and fillets. This lovely new book from the food publisher extraordinaire Grub Street, tries to reverse that trend and, with the help of your local butcher, offers some really tasty recipes.

Along with some familiar favourites such as Roast Chicken and Rack of Lamb, we also find a host of really inventive recipes. Try Rabbit in Saffron Sauce with Spring Vegetables or Grilled Sardines with Gooseberry Sauce… sensational!

The book also provides really useful information on stocks, sauces and detailed reference on all the different cuts of meat and fish. Makes a great gift for all food lovers, vegetarians excluded!

Diva Cooking

by Victoria Blashford-Snell
& Jennifer Joyce

Published by
Mitchell Beazley

Priced £ 14.99

This is a quite brilliant book for entertaining. It’s not new, but I love it so much I’m always singing its praises. The two authors both used to cook in the testing kitchen at Books For Cooks in Notting Hill, so the recipes are all well thought out and thoroughly tested.

Full of ‘unashamedly glamorous party food’, the great thing about this book is the recipes are easy to follow, do not take forever, the quantities are for 8 people and the end results amazing. All the wonderful recipes come with good serving suggestions and tips.

Try the Seared Thai Chicken with Tomato-chilli Jam - I have numerous times and always with sensational results. The Roast Fillet of Beef with Coriander and Peanut Pesto has booming strong flavours and has always gone down a storm with our guests!

This really is a great book and you will go back to it time and time again.

BREAD MATTERS

by Andrew Whitley

Published by
Fourth Estate

Priced £20

Founder of The Village Bakery in Melmerby, Andrew Whitley is a uniquely experienced organic baker, and this is his foolproof guide to baking real, nutritious bread at home.

This book lets us know in no uncertain terms how commercial bread is laced with additives and all the other bad practises carried out in the industry. Making your own bread is fun and therapeutic as well as being healthy.

Whitley shows us how to make real bread at home and explains the baking process, de-mystifies the science and gives the reader the confidence to experiment.

A host of great recipes will keep even an experienced baker busy, and there is a special chapter for gluten-free baking which is original and inspiring.

‘ The most important book on baking since the publication of Elizabeth David’s English Bread and Yeast Cookery’ Rose Prince.

WHITE SLAVE

by Marco Pierre White

Published by
Orion Books

Priced £20

Love him or hate him, Marco Pierre White is unquestionably the most influential restauranteur of the last 20 or so years. Hailed as the first ‘rock star chef’, he is nearly as famous for his temper as he is for his food.

This autobiography is his story of the rise from a Leeds council estate, through the kitchens of famous chefs like the Roux brothers, Nico Ladenis, Pierre Koffmann and Raymond Blanc to becoming the youngest ever holder of 3 Michelin stars.

Always controversial, Pierre White is never dull and this book is a fast, raucous read that really gets under the skin of the godfather of modern cooking.