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Elizabeth David Classics: "Mediterranean Food", "French Country Cooking" and "Summer Cooking" [Hardcover]

Elizabeth David
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
RRP: £16.99
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Book Description

31 Oct 1999
This volume contains three of Elizabeth David's most popular cookery books: "Mediterranean Food", "French Country Cooking" and "Summer Cooking".

Frequently Bought Together

Elizabeth David Classics: "Mediterranean Food", "French Country Cooking" and "Summer Cooking" + French Provincial Cooking + Italian Food
Price For All Three: £29.42

Buy the selected items together
  • French Provincial Cooking £9.59
  • Italian Food £8.96


Product details

  • Hardcover: 672 pages
  • Publisher: Grub Street; New edition edition (31 Oct 1999)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 1902304276
  • ISBN-13: 978-1902304274
  • Product Dimensions: 13.9 x 20.6 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 6,210 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Product Description

Amazon Review

Publishers Grub Street are to be congratulated on re-issuing this single volume collection of Elizabeth David's first three books (A Book of Mediterranean Food, French Country Cooking and Summer Cooking), which have too long been out of print in hardback. The paperbacks are useful but tend to fall to pieces with repeated use. Moreover, even at full price this represents something of a bargain. The charm of the originals, with the evocative drawings by John Minton and Adrian Daintrey, remains intact. Grub Street have discreetly changed page numbers in references and that appears to be about it. The lobster on the cover is as forbidding and jealous of its dignity as Mrs David, famously, was wont to be. (The changing cover illustrations of ED reprints over the years might make an interesting study. The 70s paperback of Mediterranean Food features a spectacularly boring photograph of a corner of a French market-meaningless, until you spot in the foreground a big bunch of garlic, a symbol even then of everything Mediterranean.

As for the books, what is there to say? They are what they are. Everybody knows about them. The fumes of historical myth ("grey post-war Britain ... sudden blaze of southern sunshine") rises from them like incense. It's difficult to recapture the effect they must have had in the 50s, and perhaps it's scarcely worth the effort. One returns to them periodically, wearied of the exertions of the gastro-pornographers, to refresh oneself at the spring of Elizabeth David's perfect taste. Or so the theory goes. However, it's important to remember, what seems in danger of being forgotten, that despite the telegraphic concision of some of the recipes, these are practical books, intended to be used over and over in the kitchen. Elizabeth David regarded herself first and foremost not as a writer but as a cook. These little volumes really are indispensable, imperishable classics of the kitchen. --Robin Davidson

From the Inside Flap

"Everyone who loves good food will welcome this reprint in one volume, hardback and durable, of the three classics of the kitchen which first made us familiar with the name Elizabeth David. They have been necessary to my generation, they will be necessary to our children and grand children." These are the opening lines from Jane Grigson's preface to the original edition of Elizabeth David Classics published in 1980 and her words remain as true today as they were nearly 20 years ago. Elizabeth David's cookery books have inspired generations of cooks and food lovers and this edition of three of her finest books is an essential addition to every culinary library.

"Every time we begin to feel fussed by the cookery elaborators with their flashy tricks and colour photos, we can restore confidence by returning to Elizabeth David." --Jane Grigson

"If only more keen and young cooks of today--both professional and amateur--would just set aside a few moments each week, to delve into the writings of Elizabeth David, the standard of cookery in this country could eventually become something of note. As it is, I imagine she might now be tearing her hair out with frustration and familiar ire, were she still to be part of most of it. To those who have a genuine leaning towards time well-spent around a well-worn kitchen table, a more enchanting enthusiast of that particular pleasure we shall possibly never know again." --Simon Hopkinson

About the Author
Elizabeth David developed her taste for good food and wine when she lived with a French family as a student. After returning to England she taught herself to cook in order to reproduce some of the delicious foods she had learned to appreciate. She found not only the practical side but also the literature of cookery of absorbing interest.

Elizabeth David lived and kept house in France, Italy, Greece, Egypt and India, learning the local dishes and cooking them in her own kitchens. Her first book, Mediterranenan Food, appeared in 1950. In 1951 French Country Cooking was published and in 1954, after a year of research in Italy, Italian Food. This was followed by Summer Cooking(1955), French Provincial Cooking (1960) and Spices, Salt and Aromatics in the English Kitchen (1970). In 1973 Mrs David severed all connections with the business trading under her name and concentrated on study and experiment for English Bread and Yeast Cookery, for which she won the 1977 Glenfiddich Writer of the Year Award. An Omelette and a Glass of Wine, a selection of her journalistic work, was published in 1984 and Harvest of the Cold Months, her book on the use of ice and the making of ices was edited by Jill Noman and published posthumously in 1994. She was honoured with many prizes, made Chevalier de l'Ordre du Merite Agricole by the French in 1977, awarded the OBE in 1976 and the CBE in 1986. Honorary doctorates were conferred on her by the universities of Essex and Bristol. In 1982 she was elected Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. She died on 22 May 1992.


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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
98 of 105 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars the tv chefs secret weapon 25 Oct 2002
Format:Hardcover
elizabeth david comes from another era. In the post war period food was for eating, there was no celebrity cooking, however the drought of rationing had been lifted,and she helped those who were interested discover fabulous ingredients from the meditteranean. This book along with An omlette and a glass of Wine will give anyone who wants to cook competently and honestly, a great grounding in good food, fairly easy techniques, the use of fresh ingredients and spectacular results,with amusing anecdotes to accompany the receipes, I wouldn't be without her in my kitchen, and having used everyone from Micheal Smith and The Galloping gourmet to jamie oliver, gorden ramsey and paul rankin, I still find myself cooking with elizabeth at least once a week. This is a wonderful version of her work I thoroughly recommend it and please remember you have to eat everyday to be healthy, so you might as well do it well and have some fun.
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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars 30 years with Elizabeth David 14 Feb 2009
Format:Hardcover
30 years ago, while I was still a student, I bought "Mediterranean Food" in a Penguin paperback edition. It became one of my basic cookbooks, and has been used frequently until the present. The paperback has become worn, with interesting food-stains here and there. The possibility of getting it in a hard-back edition, together with two other early classics, was therefore irresistible. The other two books incorporated in this edition have been equally inspiring. Sometimes, I read it for inspiration and not because I am planning a meal. But at other times I start with one or two ingredients. Quite often, I find a dish in David's book, which I then try out. David put great emphasis on using seasonal ingredients. Making use of the season's vegetables is no longer necessary from an economic or practical point of view. But from an environmental view it still makes sense, if it means that you can buy local produce that has not been transported across half the globe. And it is also an interesting challenge for a hobby-cook!
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The best cookbook I own. 28 Nov 2009
Format:Hardcover
I first owned Elizabeth David's volume of three books thirty years ago. It went missing ages ago - it is such a good book I am not surprised it mysteriously disappeared. Happily, I now own the book again and I am reacquainting myself with the recipes of the dishes I used to cook.

The book is more or less just as I remember it. Happily the publishers left it in the original, very readable format.

The recipes use fresh ingredients, no long lists of them either, and are mostly simple to prepare. At the front of each chapter are amusing and interesting observations combined with a practical introduction to the dishes.

This is a book that when I dip into it I am still enjoying an hour later, until hunger reminds me what I actually picked it up for. It is a book that I return to time and time again for inspiration, to cook from and just to read.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Great little book, very good price!
Brilliant to read as a book without even cooking the recipes, makes me want to try her other books. Thanks
Published 23 days ago by Susan Archibald
4.0 out of 5 stars Way ahead of it's time when first printed
Anyone who is interested in good food will love this. Perhaps these days we are more sympathetic to ED's ideas, but it must have been quite something when it first came out. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Mr. J. R. Cairns
4.0 out of 5 stars Elizabeth David Classics: "Mediterranean Food", "French Country...
I had placed an order for this book to be delivered to my address in Bangalore, India on 13th June. The delivery took some time coming, close to a month, but on the bright side,... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Sanjay
5.0 out of 5 stars As it says "CLASSIC"
This trilogy says it all as far as Classic cooking goes. I have used these recpies in domestic and commercial circumstances since the books were first published. Read more
Published 13 months ago by tr2rosie
3.0 out of 5 stars Elizabeth David Classics
I bought this book for my husband, as he is a keen cook. A friend who had just used it to cook a partridge recipe recommended it. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Jenny R
5.0 out of 5 stars Just a classic
Purchased this triple set for a friend, having used these books as a bible for the past 40 years. They are classical and also can be read like a novel!. Read more
Published 19 months ago by Ricardo
1.0 out of 5 stars Shame
I have wanted this brilliant book for some time. I was horrified to find it with many blank pages. It is totally unusable.
Published 19 months ago by Robin
5.0 out of 5 stars A joy for summer reading
A great reprint and compilation evokes clear images a the simple time in which it was penned. Good for a sunny corner of an English garden with a long cool drink and full of fresh... Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mrs. K. M. Sheppard
5.0 out of 5 stars If you are interested.........
........in real Mediterranean food then this is THE book to have. Three books in one with one index covering the whole book, so easy to find what you are looking for. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Mr. P. A. Coldwell
5.0 out of 5 stars Good cooking.
Great to have these E.D. cookbooks available again at your very special price.
I first used the books in the late fifties/early sixties. Good to re-visit! Read more
Published on 19 Nov 2010 by George A. Nott
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