Can anybody recommend a cookery book for my son?

TrixieB

Jamies Ministry of Food - I hear SOOOOOO many good things about it - haven't actually got one myself though, thought it would be a bit easy for me iyswim?

onetomany

when i left care all thoese years ago i got a book called the student cook book it was fab

KarrieBee

I'd give another vote to goodhousekeeping or mary berry - absolutely foolproof and very traditional recipes.
Hope he fares better than my FIL who when MIl was in hospital when their children were small cooked egg beans and toast and burnt all three components. i've promised to teach him to cook when he retires this year!

Woofles

This is a good book for a beginner

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Delia-Smiths-One-Coronet-Books/dp/0340389591

don't be put off by the title most recipes can be doubled up. I think the most daunting thing for a beginner is timing, I was hopless when I first started, in this book Delia tells you step by step what to do when, most are after work recipes and the emphasis is on quick preparation and not too long a wait for it to cook and be eaten.

Bella79

i never got along with delia ............... but i must say jamie olivers minstrey of food is fab basic things like stew soups etc big bright pictures and very down to earth

The_Plush_Doormat

33 years ago (where does the time go to?) I bought my first cookbook. It's Marguerite Patten's Every Day Cookbook. I still have it, and occasionally look at a recipe to check something. Amazon still stock it, but it is now called Marguerite Patten's Basic, Basic Cookbook. I cannot recommend this book highly enough, it has turned me from a complete no hoper in the kitchen, into, dare I say it, a bloomin' good cook

juliapenguin

Delia gets my vote. I got the complete one when I first had my own home and learnt so much from it - and I still use it when I have visitors like my in-laws come who like traditional food. I'm convinced that ANYONE can learn to cook with St Delia! I've never had a recipe of Delia's go wrong, whereas even with Mary Berry I've had a few blips.

Stephen_Leak

As it's for a bloke, the Cooking for Blokes trilogy: CFB, Foreign CFB and Flash CFB. They taught me everything I know.

beemuzed

Having just been given Jamie's Ministry of Food myself, I'd give that my vote - lovely recipes and good instructions. I also have the Delia books, and they too give basic help. Who knows, with a little encouragement your Dad might find he actually enjoys this. Let's hope so! Good luck to your Mum as well.

greenbee

Nigel Slater's Appetite - simple recipes, with variations, so once you can make something, you can then base several other meals on it. I've got plenty of people who claim they can't cook to use it, and they've got from barely being able to follow a recipe to having the confidence to try their own variations if they're missing an ingredient.