Channel 4 TV programme, Cook Yourself Thin

With its Channel 4 TV programme, Cook Yourself Thin is not just about weight diets. It shows how to lose weight and still enjoy tasty and satisfying food.

Many have tried and know weight diets may result in short term weight loss but are not sufficiently enjoyable to stick at for the long term. As result the diet is dropped and the weight, and often more, soon returns. Channel 4’s programme and this book Cook Yourself Thin aim to change eating habits in a way that is sustainable over the long term so that weight is kept down. Cook Yourself Thin shows how it is possible to eat satisfying and tasty food and still lose weight or as the subtitle suggests: The Delicious Way to Drop a Dress Size.

English cuisine is criticised despite a rich heritage and culture that compares with most culinary traditions. This classic extract will inspire both cook and gourmand.

Afternoon Tea, Mrs Beeton, Toast, Yorkshire Pudding and More

The first volume of this classic cookery reference was extensive but not complete. The second book is a valuable addition as it covers many important missing elements.

Travels, Science and Culture of Oranges, Lemons, Limes, Grapefruits

Pierre Laszlo is a man of culture as well as being a scientist and it shows through in Citrus, A History which is a story, reference and an enticing literary work.

Pierre Laszlo has written Citrus, A History which tells the story of man’s migration of these tasty fruits from the Far East, China in particular, to the Americas. Most of the world’s citrus fruits and juices now come from the USA and Brazil and the book explains how that came about.

Cultural and Geographical Migration

Citrus fruits, especially the orange, were once the preserve of Kings, Emperors and the very wealthy yet are now part of the everyday diet of most people, at least in the developed world. Laszlo documents the story of the fruits’ geographical and social journey; often the writing is literary in its style. Nonetheless it is a fascinating and engaging history.

Timeless Guide to Traditional French Cuisine

Like Elizabeth David, Julia Child popularised French food across the English speaking world. Many cooks have used Mastering the Art of French Cooking as their bible.

Originally published in 1961 Mastering the Art of French Cooking has been relaunched by Penguin as a paperback and it still deserves a place on any serious cook’s bookshelf. Cookery books have been steadily getting glossier since Mastering the Art of French Cooking was published but few are as authoritative. As a result this book is now more than a book of recipes but is an important reference book for cooks and chefs.

The authors sum up the importance of French cuisine in the dedication: “To La Belle France whose peasants, fisherman, housewives and princes – not to mention her chefs – through generations of inventive and loving concentration have created one of the world’s great arts”.

A Gourmande's Encyclopaedia

Ingredients, Dishes, History and Culture of Food 

The Penguin Companion to Food fills a gap that would otherwise require a library of books. Cookery books do not cover the background to food and dishes. Books on the history of food tend to a narrow focus on a specific region or cuisine.

Comprehensive Reference to the World of Cooking and Food

The content of The Penguin Companion to Food is encyclopaedic and global in its coverage. It covers everything from Aardvark to Zuppa Inglese (English Soup - which it is not) and mainly covers:

• Ingredients from Around the World
• Brief reference to dishes, not recipes. It explores ancient and modern dishes with global coverage
• Cooking and food preparation techniques and equipment
• Brief biographies of influential cooks and food writers
• Food and culture.