Can anybody recommend a cookery book for my son?

Milly1974

I think my two favourite books are Marks and Spencer's Vegetarian Bible, and my Mum's old Dairy British food book. I think M&S may have changed their book now, as the pic on their website is different, and the dairy one has definately been updated from the look of that, but I shouldn't think that either has deteriorated!

Mariel

I vote Grub on a Grant as well, all the recipes are easy, cheap and accessible (by that I mean using stuff you probably have in). The other day I found the vegetarian version in a charity shop and that's even better.
I find Delia very useful for reference rather than the recipes - but I think that's just me.

angel81uk

My Mum dislocated her shoulder today so is going to be out of action for a while and my Dad has never cooked a meal in his life. I'd like to send Dad a cookery book so Mum doesn't have to live on take aways or end up with food poisoning! :eek:

Can anyone recommend some good, basic books (preferably with step by step type photos)? I think we're going to need to go as basic as possible here, we're talking about a man who doesn't even know how to microwave a ready meal and doesn't realise that there are cooking instructions on most food packaging.

Thanks in advance!

morganlefay

I asked the same question recently for my OH who has not cooked anything in 36 years of marriage ! (I know, I shouldn't have spoilt him). The overwhelming answer I got was delia, delia and delia. There is the Complete cookery course (I think it's called - a big fat paperback) but also a series of books she wrote after thet which had very basic stuff in (I remember she told us how to boil and egg, which people got very huffy about, but it is harder than it looks). Also jamie. Have a look in a bookshop, they aren't expensive on Amazon. I got my OH a Good Housekeeping book for Xmas, something like 'easy Meals' but he really doesn't like it. In the end my biggest success has been to write an idiot's guide to how to make the things he's used to eating: mince, chicken risotto, onion gravy to go with sausages, cauli cheese etc. Good luck !

wigglebeena

there's a Jamie Oliver student cookbook out, apparently boiling an egg is included...

Seakay

Another vote for Delia here!
I would also suggest borrowing a selection from the library so that he can get an idea of what suits him best.

ivyleaf

I recently got the God houseKeeping Step-By-Step cookery book cheaply from The Book People - I was going to give it to my DD but ended up keeping it as there are so many helpful things in it. After cooking for nearly 36 years I at last know the quickest way to chop an onion

Mary Berry's book "How to Cook" is great too - I did actually let my D have that one as I'd have felt too mean keeping it for myself!

tessie_bear

id go for delia the complete cookery course and maybe a student cook book that have relatively simple recipes.....could u write out some recipes for him of things he has eaten with timings etc...if he buys his meat in a butcher they will help on advice on how to cook it

angel81uk

Thanks everyone, looks like Delia might be the way to go then. Dad isn't someone who reads and doesn't have a library card so I getting him to go to the library is going to be a struggle. Infact, I doubt he even knows where the local library is! Unfortunately I don't live near them anymore so I can't take a few round to him either.

I'm trying to stay away from student cookbooks if I can, in my experience they tend to be very pasta based and he refuses to eat pasta, rice or noodles, curries or anything approaching "exotic". He's very much a meat and veg/traditional british fare person so I think Delia may be more up his street.

I still have memories of being fed fish fingers which were burnt to a crisp but still frozen on the inside as a child when Mum was in hospital so he's going to need all the help he can get. Unfortunately Mum is very much the type who can't help but take over so it's not as if she can sit in the kitchen and talk him through each step. She's going to have to be banned from the kitchen altogether for a while! So either Dad learns to cook or I'm going to have to jump on the train and make up a whole load of meals for the freezer for them.

Bargain_Rzl

The Jamie's Ministry of Food cookbook is aimed at inexperienced cooks. Maybe a third of the recipes are what your dad might class as "exotic" but there are lots of "good solid British classics" as well. Some sample recipes from the book are available for free on the JMOF website.

The recipes are pitched at a good level and are clear without being patronising. In the book itself there's literally a picture for every step.

I'm not a novice cook myself but I love the JMOF recipes - they're delicious.

The whole concept behind JMOF was that people could learn the recipes themselves and then teach them to less experienced cooks - so why not give him a bit of tuition?