Recipe Book Reviews

I love a good cookbook, but with so many to choose from sometimes it's hard to know where to start. With that in mind, maybe the best thing to do is to jump right in.

I'll be cooking my way through the various cookbooks my wife and I have collected (we've had to devote a 3 level bookcase to the task of keeping them organized.) and providing snippet reviews of each one. The goal of this project is not only to learn new recipes, but to develop a solid foundation of cookery skills that I can build on. Hopefully anyone who stumbles upon this little project will get something out of it.

One last thing, I have attempted to follow each recipe as closely as possible however there are times where I might substitute an ingredient due to availability, or make minor changes simply because I can't help myself. Really though that's part of the reason why I'm doing this. Anyone with enough patience can follow a recipe to the letter, but what I want to do is build enough confidence to experiment with flavours and techniques so that that with time I'll learn not just what to do, but why it should be done.


The first book that I'm tackling is "Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course". It's easy to write off a book by a "celebrity chef" as being the type of mass produced product whose primary purpose is to cash in on a chef's popularity and name recognition. In the case of Gordon Ramsay, I think that's an unfair assumption. Yes, there's a certain amount of ego that he is known for, and anyone who has seen him on television can attest to his appreciation of a bit of drama, but that doesn't mean the man can't cook. Anyone who is capable of even being a part of a restaurant which has earned multiple Michelin stars is worth learning from, and Ramsay's flagship restaurant has earned 3 of them.
That being said, this book is by no means daunting. It is filled with recipes that you can build on, with each one being a representation of the idea that good food doesn't have to be complicated, it just needs to be treated with care and respect.



After having read the book from cover to cover, and doing my best to replicate a few meals from it, I think it's a good all rounder with something for everyone and every occasion and I would highly recommend it.

Now, on to the cooking!
Spicy Beef Salad
Pork and Prawn Meatballs in Aromatic Broth