The Good Cook - Simon Hopkinson
BBC Books - 2011
Photography - Jason Lowe
I haven't seen such a bizarre structure since Tessa Kiros organised 'Apples for Jam' by each meal's colour. The contents page won't help you much, the sections are broad and often rather disjointed. It isn't helped by the introduction which has no explanation for the book's layout. I wish I had skipped the introduction entirely in fact, it was dull with little coherency or purpose and only about why Hopkinson himself cooks not about the book or recipes it contains.
The recipes here are largely quite traditional but with a personal twist put on them by Hopkinson. It is very hard to find completely new ideas for food and new takes on classics is a great way of seeing food we know in new ways. There are some great flavour combinations that are unusual but make a lot of sense and taste brilliant. The downside is that a lot of the recipes are very fussy for a home cookbook with a lot of steps and many ingredients. The real thing that is missing for me is the excitement. There weren't any recipes that I was desperate to try out or to make for a dinner party and show to friends.
The font is clear and easy to read with a good layout that makes it easy to follow through although almost all of the recipes are several pages long. This is a real bugbear with me, I think it makes it much harder to need to keep flipping back a page to see the ingredients list whilst cooking.
The balance was definitely skewed towards savoury recipes although there was an even combination of meat and veggie dishes. The desserts were really limited and there was nothing innovative to get excited about there. I like old-fashioned English puds as much as the next girl (probably even more, if I'm honest about it) but I also like there to be a balance in cookbooks so that you can have something light and fresh to finish a heavier meal. It would be very hard to create a full meal plan from 'The Good Cook' as there is so little variation.
The photographs, by Jason Lowe, are excellent. Lowe has a very clear skill and it shows in all of the photography that he does, the food looks beautiful and the clean styling compliments the stark set up of the cookbook as a whole.
My favourite recipes from The Good Cook were the Calf's Liver with Sweet & Sour Onions, the Roquefort Tart, the Piedmontese Peppers and the Steamed Ginger Sponge.
Overall there were some interesting twists on familiar ideas with great flavour combinations but it lacks any really stunning or innovative dishes. The Good Cook is a very serviceable cookbook but there was nothing to get excited about.