Customer Reviews

The Good Cook

5 star:		(83)
4 star:		(23)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

.. to review this book.

OK - the basic facts first. It is a beautifully produced, solid, heavy book that feels good in the hand. 300plus pages, lots of illustrations, easy to use. Maybe too many illustrations and header pages and chapter breaks for my taste - a lot of space that could have been used for Hopkinson's writing is devoted to "design and presentation" - but that's a very personal view.

The organisation is very much Hopkinson's and - given that it is produced to accompany a television series - structured - I guess - around that. It doesn't fit together entirely naturally when simply approached as a book.

But this are all trivial quibbles. The recipes appear excellent, interesting, slightly different and well explained. He writes so well as anyone who had used one of his books before will know - the personal comments add to the simple recitation of recipes - and there are lots of useful hints and advice on technique etc along the way. There are recipes here that I have seen elsewhere but he has an individual take on them - and takes plenty of time to explain the processes - that makes them unique. The vegetable, the lamb, and the fish dishes are all outstanding - to read about anyway!

Will I be cooking from it? - yes - tomorrow with the aubergine dishes with which he begins the books. I have all his books - this may not be the best but it is up there with them. Certainly worth purchasing - particularly at Amazon's current price. Not that it seems to need a positive review - judging by the sales ranking at the time of writing Amazon must be selling a copy every five minutes. Good!!! A lot of happy cooks I think.

Part 2. I have now cooked a couple of recipes from the book. Piedmontese peppers and an aubergine dish. I had a little difficulty with interpreting the instructions (or maybe I am simply not as skilled and experienced as the author!) The problem was more about the technique than anything else - when I cut my peppers I couldn't get them the way he described them.

My wife says - forget it, they are absolutely delicious. And they were. But I think this may be an occasion to not just get the book but also to watch the TV series - there are techniques that I don't know and watching the expert would be really helpful. But early days. And I did love dinner!

I am rarely prompted to write a review of any book I've read, whether it's fiction or non-fiction, but I really love this book. I have a lot of cookery books and many of them lie dormant on the shelves, some have one or two favourite recipes which I come back to again and again and just one or two are spattered with love and constant use. Simon Hopkinson's The Good Cook, whilst still fairly pristine, is one of the latter. I have already made several of the recipes: Piedmontese Peppers; beurre blanc; the parpadelle with porcini; panzanella; rhubarb crumble with Jersey cream and tandoori chicken. (In fact three of these have been made twice now!) Without exception they have been absolutely delicious and I am keen to try many of the other recipes in the book. The rice pudding looks fantastic...and how wonderful to see it pure and unadulterated just as my grandmother made it with its nutmeg skin! In the TV programme Simon comes across as someone whose enthusiasm for eating and cooking is infectious...you feel as if you could have him round for a cup of tea while you make something tasty together. (Although I am not quite such a perfectionist, I suspect!) Buy this book if you love cooking for people...you won't regret it...and neither will they!

I couldn't think of a more apt title for a book by Simon Hopkinson. He is a joy to read. I can't think of another food writer who manages to convey so vividly his love of food and cooking. However, although it's a beautiful book and the recipes are all inspiring and wonderful, it is not a working book. It would be difficult to take it into the kitchen if you needed to follow a particular recipe. That, however, is down to the publisher. With the tv programme this book will get a lot of publicity. For those unfamiliar with his work this will be a good introduction. A lovely book by an under-rated chef and writer.

This is a fantastic book.
I have been watching the tv series and am completely won over.I will soon be purchasing 3 more copies for each of my children.
When will the dvd be in store ???

Simon Hopkinson loves food and he knows how to cook it. "The Good Cook" is the result of over 40 years' experience and is based on Simon's belief that a good cook loves eating as much as cooking.
Some of the greatest modern British Chefs and a couple of my Friends have worked under the guidance of Simon.
Great chefs like Bruce Poole, Phil Howard & Tom Reins to name just a few.
Simon has great understanding of how the ingredients you choose and the way you cook them will turn a good recipe into a great dish. That a cheap cut of meat cooked with care can taste as nice as a choice cut prepared by indifferent hands. Structured around Simon's passion for good ingredients (Anchovy and Aubergine, Cheese and Wine, Smoked and Salted Fish, Ham, Bacon and A Little Pig) and written with Simon's trademark perfectionism and precision, this is a book that you will cherish for life
Happy reading

What a fantastic cookery book! Beautifully presented and easy to use, i.e. pages lie flat when in use. All the recipes are 'do-able'. My husband has suggested I start at page 1 and just continue.
Can't wait for the DVD to come out.
Simon Hopkinson is the Chef's cook and has been a well kept secret for many years.
Enjoy!

A WONDERFUL BOOK, I HAVE SHELVES AND SHELVES OF COOKBOOKS, BUT THOUGHTFUL,INTELLIGENT, UNFUSSY, CLEAR RECIPES ARE A RARITY WHEN FAME AND FLASH ARE THE USUAL CELEB CHEF'S PRIORITIES.

Browsing Nigel Slater's latest offering on Amazon the other day, I noticed ListMania - where somebody had listed Simon Hopkinson's Roast Chicken and Other Stories as one of the best cookbooks ever. I'd never heard of Simon before and needed yet another cookbook like a hole in the head! Still, I looked him up and found that he comes from Bury (Lancs.) - enough said! Several generations of my family came from there and, ravages of "planners" and industrial decline apart, it still has its good bits.

This review of The Good Cook is for the Kindle edition, so I can't really comment on the aesthetic qualities of the book itself other than to say, the pictures are good but there seems to be a lot of wasted space. However, Kindle compensates for that by having cross-referenced links everywhere, but it's a helluva price for an ebook! Like most (all?) of Simon's books, this is organised by ingredients - in this case in a rather ramshackle way - probably because it is, I believe, based on a TV series. Generally, the recipes within each section flow naturally from one to the other - often sharing a common ingredient and usually belonging to what I will call the same flavour family. This is a very unusual approach which I greatly appreciate. It not only teaches you about marrying flavours and textures, but enables the author to insert his advice, anecdotes and serving suggestions to greatest effect. The overall result is a unique cookbook, containing not only a wealth of wonderful recipes, but some terrific insights and a few slaps in the face for the received wisdom of the "foodie" brigade. How many chefs do you know who will acknowledge that ready-ground white pepper has the 'correct' flavour for some dishes? And as for offal, well - "I suppose it's alright in pāté and terrines - anyway chicken livers aren't really offal - are they?"

I suppose in writing style, Hopkinson is similar to Slater, but coming from the viewpoint and experience of a professional chef as opposed to a home cook. I'm not making any judgement here, and neither should you. They are equally valid and valuable starting points for a very good cookbook. But they are very different. Perhaps, like me, you will have to make room on your shelves for both. For, having belatedly discovered Hopkinson, I am now going to have to get the hardcopy versions of his books. A book on the worktop is much more practical than a Kindle!

Brilliant book,with easy and tasty recipes.My family have enjoyed the new dishes I've tried especially the vegetable ones.The aubergine recipes are excellent.

My current favourite cooking author leads the way with that special feature how to display excellent cooking practice. This with an array of super recipes really takes him to No.1.

More please.