Book of the Month:

"How to Cook Better", by Shaun Hill (Mitchell Beazley £25 stg.)

"How to Cook Better"could also have been titled, "How to be Unpretentious and Smart about Food", for unpretentious and smart is what Shaun Hill is, and this new book is further evidence of a chef who likes his grub and his philosophy to be without unnecessary adornment of any type, culinary, cultural or intellectual.

Hill takes the business of cooking apart, beginning with the essentials, then delving into Ingredients and techniques, before finishing with methods of cooking. Recipes thus fit into unusual contexts: in the section "Cooking without Heat" we have a recipe for Bismarck herring followed by Bresaola, whilst the section on "Boiling and Steaming"can leap from boiled leg of lamb with caper sauce to steamed brill with cider sabayon. Thrilling.

If we had €50 for every time we have mentioned in Megabytes that Jason Lowe's food photography is simply humungous, we could drink white Burgundy for the rest of our days. Sadly, no €50 notes, so no white Burgundy, but Mr Lowe's work is as humungous as ever.

Buy this book online