Hallelujah! Something to believe in.  Although I'm a supposedly dedicated foodie (certainly a good eater) and sometime chef, I never really had the desire to worship at the altar of Michelin Stars.  Michelin is something I grew up with, but always connected with the image of a jolly inflatable mannekin with a series of 'spare tyres' around his bulk, rather than a bible for knights in search of a Holy Grail of Grub.  My regard for the highbrow fine dining genre had always been respectfuI but not committed  (a sort of foodie agnostic rather than a non-believer) as I grew up in a peasant household.  We made good daily use of seasonal foods that in these enlightened times would have been considered epicurean: wild mushrooms, game with good wines, home brewed liquor, cheeses, offals and cheaper cuts of meat that would have to be cooked long and slow - the original Slow Food Movement.  As a result, my goal in life was to encourage English folk to dine well like I did, like our Continental cousins, on a regular basis, rather than just once a year, royally on say, your birthday.

So all my cookbooks were aimed at the home cook who probably shopped at Sainsbury's to 'raise their game' with a few well-aimed ingredients, careful method and an eye on quality. Imagine my delight then at Gordon's new cookbook culled from The F Word series:  'World Kitchen' that has little to do with airless upper-layers of Michelin atmosphere but is solidly grounded for the home cook in all of us.  For a start it's a handy size that props up on your kitchen worktop and yet has the fine layout of pages with nice photography that both looks good on your coffee table and gets your juices flowing as you flick through.  It's 100 recipes from 10 regions of the culinary world that spans all the continents and cleverly squeezes tricky variants from regions like the Middle East into a all-inclusive section seamlessly.  I though it might be considered a little pompous of me to recipe-check Mr Ramsay personally, but knowing how busy successful chefs have an army of minions to create their output I thought it would only be fair to apply the same zeal with Gordon as I've been subjected to by the Guild of Food Writer's myself. All the recipe ideas and photos looked enticing (I couldn't decide) so I got the other half to choose two to test - Almond & Semolina cake, a Lebanese-inspired item and a savoury from the American section: Chicken Pot Pie. Methods were simple and edited-down to a easy-to-read length. Both executed well I'm happy to say, although I would have tweaked the recipe for my own personal taste -- like adding some herbs, to the pie and upping the meagre 1 tsp orange blossom water in the cake to 1 tbsp.  But then, what do I know, I'm a peasant, after all.

Gordon's new book is perfect for the home cook who wants some inspiration and the best testament is that I really wanted to eat everything in the repertoire, and knew it would be fairly easy and achievable.  Sort of smartly-dressed Pentecostal soul food as opposed to the rarified creed of the Catholic Michelin.  A perfect Christmas present for your foodie friends. Buy it and anticipate a fine meal in return! Amen.

 

Eat the beach! 

John Wright, famous local mushroomer, takes you on a seaside trip in his new book 'Edible Seashore'. The conservation status, taste and texture, seasonal availability, collecting technique and habitat of each species is covered with a few fascinating diversions and 30 brilliant recipes Cleverly pocket-sized to easily accompany your stroll along the strand, John's writing style is witty and reminiscent of the companionship of Bill Bryson's travelogues. £14.99 or 8.99 www.rivercottage.net £8.99 special offer(plus p&p). Perfect for your inner forager.