Review
------
'If you want to start at the beginning, this is the book for
you. Top London cookery school Leiths takes you back to basics,
teaching you how to dice an onion, deseed a chilli and poach an
egg. It takes you step-by-step through 500 need-to-know recipes,
from tips on sourcing ingredients and preparation techniques,
right through to perfecting your carving skills.' --Top Sante
& Beauty, 1st October 2013
'We always get that new-school-books feeling at this time of
year, which makes it the perfect month to open up the new
collection from Leiths. If you're just starting out, you'll
appreciate the foolproof advice on the basics of good food. If
you're looking for a challenge, you'll find great show-stoppers,
such as how to prepare a sea urchin. Make it your go-to kitchen
textbook.' --Psychologies, October 2013
'For clear, detailed, illustrated instructions on how to chop an
onion, cook a lobster, deal with a sea urchin or even pluck a
pheasant, there's no better resource. It's great for filling
holes in your skill-set, finding ideas for random ingredients and
looking up the proper way to do something.' --Metro, 12th
September 2013
'There's something very calming and purposeful about Leiths How
to Cook - two vital ingredients for success in the kitchen,
especially if you are a novice end of the scale. Indeed, ideally
it should probably be the first cookbook you buy; its food
preparation, method and cooking would stand you in good stead for
the rest of your culinary life.' --Cookbook of the Week, The
Daily Telegraph, 19th September 2013
'Unpretentious and accessibly, you can easily achieve some rather
fancy results.' --Emerald Street, 28th August 2013
'This book covers essential skills that others leave out, such as
prepping ingredients from scratch, identifying the correct
texture of pastry and how to carve roasted meat.' --Homes &
Gardens, December 2013
'If you're serious about cooking like a chef, Leiths Cookery
School is the place to learn. Founded by Prue Leith, its
year-long £20,000 diploma can kickstart a kitchen career, while
its 'enthusiast' courses are ideal if you want to give your food
fancy restaurant flair. If that seems a bit much, arm yourself
instead with this excellent guide to essential skills and classic
recipes, which are broken down into step-by-step tutorials. That
way, you won't have an instructor breathing down your neck as you
attempt to julienne a carrot, so if you cut your finger tip off
(as can happen), no one need know.' --Time Out, 20th August 2013
'This new book is surely the Bible for any aspiring chef...
Bursting with skills, techniques and step-by-step guides on every
page, it is saved by its simplicity. Divided into straightforward
chapters, including stocks and sauces, shellfish, meat, pastry
and cakes, the recipes manage to pack extraordinary details into
neatly spaced, numbered lists, which feel less like boring
instructions and more like the calm hand of an experienced chef
guiding their young protege with infinite patience and grace.'
--Caterer & Hotelkeeper, 27th September 2013
'Thousands have learned to cook at Leiths over the years. Now the
school's totally reliable bibles are being given a facelift, with
lots more photos, but without sacrificing any of the valuable
information. This essential compendium of skills, the first in
the series to be updated, is well laid out, with step-by-step
photos and hundreds of recipes.' --BBC Good Food, November 2013
'Written by three of the key figures at the legendary Leiths
School of Food and Wine, this new book is surely the Bible for
any aspiring chef... Bursting with skills, techniques and
step-by-step guides on every page, it is saved by its simplicity.
Divided into straightforward chapters, including stocks and
sauces, shellfish, meat, pastry and cakes, the recipes manage to
pack extraordinary details into neatly spaced, numbered lists,
which feel less like boring instructions and more like the calm
hand of an experienced chef guiding their young protege with
infinite patience and grace.' --Caterer & Hotelkeeper, 27th
September 2013
'Thousands have learned to cook at Leiths over the years. Now the
school's totally reliable bibles are being given a facelift, with
lots more photos, but without sacrificing any of the valuable
information. This essential compendium of skills, the first in
the series to be updated, is well laid out, with step-by-step
photos and hundreds of recipes.' --BBC Good Food, November 2013
'As Yotam Ottolenghi says on the cover, this massive compendium
is crystal clear and super-instructive.' --Country Life, 20th
November 2013
'A thoroughly comprehensive cookbook devised by chefs from Leiths
School of Food and Wine, this includes 500 contemporary recipes
which cover every aspect of food preparation and cooking. There
are 130 skills and techniques, fully explained, and more than 800
clear, step-by-step photos. Featuring the basics that many
cookbooks leave out, such as how to prepare all ingredients, and
how to judge when meat is cooked, there are also tips on how to
identify problems and rectify them.' --Daily Mail, 14th November
2013
'From its classy layout and its declaration that it has been
written to teach you how to cook with 'no fuss but with success',
this book means business. Claire MacDonald and Jenny Stringer
stick to Leiths' principles: classic techniques, good, fresh
ingredients, and inspiration from home and away. In these crisp
pages they guide you efficiently through skills and methods to
ensure that you are more than equipped to produce food that is
delicious and professionally prepared. Instructions on skills
come with the recipes, and the photographs are encouraging rather
than terrifying to the newbie. Clear sections take you through
vegetables, eggs, pasta and so on, all full of no-nonsense
teaching designed to inspire and instruct - and they deliver - no
surprise there! Follow the instructions, work hard, sit back, and
take the compliments.' --Good Book Guide, November 2013
'An indispensable guide to technique, ingredients and
tried-and-tested dishes. If MasterChef contestants had this,
Gregg Wallace would never have to make his disappointed face.'
--Metro, 16th December 2013
'If you're serious about cooking like a chef, Leiths Cookery
School is the place to learn. Founded by Prue Leith, its
year-long £20,000 diploma can kickstart a kitchen career, while
its 'enthusiast' courses are ideal if you want to give your food
fancy restaurant flair. If that seems a bit much, arm yourself
instead with this excellent guide to essential skills and classic
recipes, which are broken down into step-by-step tutorials. That
way, you won't have an instructor breathing down your neck as you
attempt to julienne a carrot, so if you cut your finger tip off
(as can happen), no one need know.' --Time Out, 20th August 2013
From the Inside Flap
--------------------
At over 600 pages long, Leiths How to Cook is quite simply
the best and most comprehensive cookery course on the market.
This book takes the reader subject by subject - through 500
contemporary recipes which cover every aspect of food preparation
and cooking, from classics with a modern twist, to international
cuisines. 130 skills and techniques are comprehensively explained
and clearly illustrated with over 800 clear step-by-step
photographs.
Here you will find the essentials that most cookbooks leave out:
how to prepare every ingredient from scratch, including
vegetables, fish, shellfish, poultry and game; how to judge when
meat is perfectly cooked and the best way to carve roasts; the
correct texture at every stage of pastry, cake and bread making;
and how to make the perfect pasta and risotto.
And if things don t turn out quite right, there is help on hand
to identify what s gone wrong and how to rectify the problem and
avoid it happening next time. Home cooks will feel there is a
Leiths chef looking over their shoulder and guiding them every
step of the way. The book reflects the current course structure
of the Leiths diploma and as such is an invaluable aid to any
self-taught home cook. The perfect wedding, graduation or leaving
home gift, this ultimate cook s reference book should be on every
kitchen shelf.