Try to ignore Ramsay's personality, but don't dismiss his recipes! (Cooking for Friends: Food from My Table - Gordon Ramsay)

Member Name: Neenawneenaw

Product:	Cooking for Friends: Food from My Table - Gordon Ramsay
Date:	28/04/09 (40 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good, clear, tempting recipes - nicer than everyday meals but not too much effort required.

Disadvantages: Less of the Gordon Ramsay photoshoots please!

I'm not exactly a fan of Gordon Ramsey the human being. I usually avoid watching him on telly as I find him rather annoying. He also seems way to pleased with himself, and takes too much pleasure in bullying and humiliating his TV victims. He doesn't even have the excuse of being mad as a box of frogs (ref. Marco Pierre White). Nevertheless, a lot of the frustration he takes out on underlings and kitchen makeover subjects does seem to stem from his own high standards, and desire for everyone to be able to create great food.

On the printed page, this comes across more than the self-satisfied bully-boy image of the small screen. This book has a really nice selection of recipes. We've sampled a fair few now (most recent being a delicious smoked haddock and white bean affair cooked by Mr Neenaw) and haven't come across a duff recipe yet. 'Cooking for Friends' is quite an appropriate title, as a lot of the recipes require a bit more effort or preparation than you'd want to put in for an average Tuesday night after work. However, they're largely not over-burdensome and tricksy. In other words, genuinely stuff you can cook at home without spending all day in the kitchen. There are the usual chapters on meat, poultry, fish, vegetables, desserts etc., so nothing revolutionary there. I'd like to give special mention to the Bakewell tart recipe - I cooked this to take to a dinner party and it went down a real storm. There are also some nice pictures, which I find really help to inspire you to want to cook a recipe.

I can't claim to have tried the majority of recipes, but flicking through there are lots I want to make! The book is well laid out and easy to read in an unfussy style. The only really annoying thing are the too-many large photos of Ramsay himself. I guess they're meant to show him in a relaxed, home setting (you too could have a life like mine!) but they're just a bit irritating - and he may regret the emphasis on his perfect home life given recent tabloid coverage.

However, the recipes themselves are great - and that's the most important thing for a cook book!

Summary: A lovely recipe book for home entertaining