Customer Reviews:
 Practical, original and beautiful recipes from a Master Craftsman. April 14, 2008
Emile AULD (Manchester)
16 out of 17 found this review helpful
The recipes in this book are beautiful, and there are some great ideas that will inspire you to get into the kitchen.
As you can gather from the title, the book is grouped around ingredients, not grouped in the usual way i.e. Starters, Soups, Salads, Main Courses, Desserts etc. etc.
I often don't find this type of format very inspiring, but it works very well here, as the ingredients are all easy to get hold of, and the recipes are very intelligently chosen for the home cook.
For a couple of the ingredients, like Aubergines, the recipes he's chosen to illustrate them with are a bit obvious. For the vast majority though, the recipes are original and definitely ones that you will want to try out. The photos are gorgeous, and this always helps to make you want to cook them.
Like his previous book, this contains a lot of useful cooking tips, that will help you to become a better cook, and possibly get better results than normal. It's not a huge book, but it is jam packed with recipes and information.
It's hard for top chef's to pitch their book correctly. If they produce a book with sensible recipes that you can actually cook, then people complain that they're not the recipes that this chef cooks in their Michelin starred restaurant.
If the chef gives you the actual recipes from their Michelin starred restaurant, then people complain that they are too complex, take too long, that the ingredients cost too much, and are impossible to get hold of.
I do like to try out more complex recipes, if I have the time, and I'm in the mood. I am finding though, that more and more, I tend to cook the simpler recipes where I can prepare them in a reasonable amount of time, and still get a great result.
Tom Aikens took this approach in his book, preferring to give you a mix of easy and challenging recipes to suit your mood, but nothing that was totally impractical for the home cook.
Marcus Wareing has also taken this approach in both his books, and I'm personally very glad that he did. I would rather have these ones to try out, than recipes from Petrus, requiring an army of chefs to execute, and requiring ingredients that a professional restaurant would have on hand, but I would have to prepare from scratch, just for that recipe.
This is a practical book, that you will actually use. The recipes are clearly explained, and of the standard that you would expect from Marcus Wareing.
Your friends and family will really enjoy trying them, and you will enjoy cooking them.
Marcus Wareing 2nd book April 11, 2008
Wayne (london)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
I have just bought a copy of Marcus Wareing's new book, have the last book which i really enjoyed so thought i would try the next offering.
I really like the focus of this book - looking at basic home ingredients and offering three different uses for them.
Although simple and easy to follow like the first book this looks very different. There are very few photos of Marcus and only one of his children (baby in fact) which means it concentrates totally on the food - a welcome change to many of today's cookery books. The photos for the food really are superb and mouthwatering. The paper is more practical than the last book - it seems to wipe clean which is useful when following the recipes! I have made a couple of recipes so far - the bisque and the carrot salad. Both simple to make and very clearly written, certainly impressed my family!
I have read a few reviews asking why Marcus does not write books on restaurant food, personally I am quite pleased he doesn't yet as I would like to build up to that over time. Learn the basics first!
I have not been to his restaurant yet but hoping to dine there soon so i can see the man at work - appararently he is one of few 'celebrity' chefs who actually cooks in his kitchen!
I can definitely recommend this book!
One of the best cooking books for ages April 1, 2008
Mr. Gordon Tartt (UK)
13 out of 15 found this review helpful
I have watched Marcus go from being Gordon Ramsay's "side kick" on Boiling point to a Master Chef in his own right with Petrus and Great British Menu.
A no nonsense, decent, down to earth Chef who seems to get on with the job of creating first class food without letting the "celebrity thing" go to his head. I have bought some of his mentor's (Ramsay) books, which are excellent, but sometimes his recipies are too "chefy" and egotistical.
What a refreshing change Marcus Wareing's book is with some no nonsense classically inspired dishes given his expert going over and made easy. Good honest dishes, made from readily available ingredients, without the need to mess around with different cooking methods, makes this book a joy to use, and the results are excellent. The idea of using one primary ingredient with 3 possible results is brilliant and inspiring.
If you buy one cookery book this year, this is the one to get.
Gordon
Liverpool
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