Leiths Cookery Bible

Leiths concentrates on information: a 100-page primer covering conversion tables, cookery terms, menu planning, calculating quantities, presentation, serving, healthy eating, nutrition, food safety, storage, leftovers, freezing food, equipment and wine, and a further 740 large pages of very detailed recipes that are unambiguous, precise and easy to follow. Especially helpful is the fact that all measurements are given in imperial and metric, and all temperatures in Fahrenheit as well as Celsius.

Written in a practical, straightforward style, Leiths doesn't try to entertain and the recipes are as free from gimmicks and pretension as the prose: you won't learn here how to prepare anything which looks more suited to a contemporary art gallery than a dining table. Instead there are hundreds of recipes for every occasion from a quick and easy family meal to an upscale dinner party, all of which have been tested repeatedly during 27 years of the Leiths School of Food and Wine.

The result in this third edition is the inclusion of dozens of "new classics"--the fresh, imaginative cooking that has been such an inspiration for today's chefs. It has meant that Oriental, Indian, South American and vegetarian dishes have come into their own. It has meant due regard for healthy eating, alongside the "haute cuisine" of rich butter sauces and high-cholesterol puddings and the hearty, homely cooking of the modern brasserie.

Also included are useful sections on the preparation of all the main types of meat and fish, though for more detailed coverage of kitchen craft Leiths Techniques Bible is the place to go. Otherwise, this is the perfect one-stop shop for anyone wanting a practical, functional guide on how to cook just about anything. --Gary S Dalkin

I stole my Mum's copy of this a few years ago, and refer back to it all the time, and will be buying her a new edition to replace the one I took! No kitchen is complete without it. It may not have fancy, obscure recipes, or little notes from the writers, but it's a no-nonsense compendium of tried and tested lovely lovely food!


Simply the best   July 13, 2005
CWR in PNG (Papua New Guinea)
23 out of 24 found this review helpful

Ignore the cavilling comments of some of the earlier reviewers. This is, as it claims, the Bible of English-language cook-books. No, it doesn't have lots of chit-chat about food and how it reminds the author of summer evenings in Spain, and so on. There are plenty of other books to provide that sort of thing, if that is what one wants. This is a no-nonsense, easy to follow guide to how to cook most dishes in the common repertoire of English/French cooking. So what if it sounds a bit school-marmish at times? Prue Leith and Caroline Waldegrave were principals of a cookery school, so it really is no great surprise. Nor is it a problem in terms of using the book to learn how to cook.... The wine suggestions are not patronising in the least. One can ignore them if one chooses (I always do), but for those wishing to learn, they can, presumably, be useful.
As for the suggestion that some of the receipts are archaic - most normal people would call them classics because they have stood the test of time. No, the book isn't cutting edge, but it doesn't pretend or seek to be so. It gives the user the ability to produce the standard, classic repertoire, with a few new things thrown in. Some receipts are complex, some are easy.
There are occasional infelicities, especially in terms of cross-references, and I wish that the receipts were not always in quantities for 4 people, but those are very minor quibbles. The best thing about the book is that it gives the user the scope and the wherewithal to experiment and develop.
I cook and entertain a lot, and this book is my constant companion.