Customer Reviews:
 The only cookery book you'll ever really need November 12, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
As a keen cook, I rate this as the best cookery book ever. Unless you yearn to make bacon & egg ice cream or snail porridge, it contains almost every recipe you are are likely to want.
As in all her books, Delia Smith manages to give useful tips without ever sounding patronising. Follow her instructions and the recipes always work!
The general advice sections on cooking and equipment are also really useful, while the introductions and anecdotes are a good read.
PS - When I wrote this review, I didn't realise the paperback edition doesn't have any illustrations. (The cheaper hardback apparently has a few - but not as many as the original.) It may not bother a lot of people, but I think the pictures are quite useful - and sometimes inspiring. Personally, I'd go for the Complete Illustrated edition. It'll last 20 years so it's well worth the extra few pounds.
Start here for classic cookery! October 25, 2007
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Just to give you an idea of the dependability and value for money that this classic cookbook provides ... my sister's been using hers for over 15 years. She needs a replacement for her old copy (which is falling apart and full of gravy). My copy's pretty battered too! If you want precise, thoughtful instructions from someone who makes no assumptions about what you know, this is the book to get.
The best basic bible for the kitchen August 17, 2007
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
Delia may have fallen out of favour compared to more modern chefs/ cooks, but as a single reference book for the kitchen, this book has no competition. Why does it work so well when it has few pictures and must be some twenty years old? The index is clear, the book covers recipes as well as basic cooking methodology and most importantly the recipes always work. The absence of pictures and the extensive use of cream/ butter are probably the reasons for its decline. Nevertheless, a good book for everyone.
i don't give five stars easily - but i have to now June 22, 2007
11 out of 12 found this review helpful
time and time again i find myself coming back to delia smith's complete cookery course.
i have a collection of over 50 different cookery books. yet it is THIS one that i return to when i want to find something easy to make, with easy-to-find ingredients and that's delicious to eat. forget your jamie oliver (too fake), rick stein (too preachy), nigel slater (too pretentious), sophie grigson (too esoteric), darina allen (too odd!). believe me - this is the book that you will use, like me, time and time again.
This book is brilliant! June 12, 2007
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
This book is absolutely brilliant. If I could have only one cookery book on my kitchen shelf - this would be it. Fantastic value for money, the book is jam-packed with recipes that you'll really use, day-in, day-out. Delia assumes nothing, with clear and practical advice about everything you need to know, including equipment and little cooking techniques that other recipe books just skim over. From how to boil an egg and make perfect, fluffy rice, to tasty and nutritious mid-week meals, plus dishes for special occasions or entertaining, this book has everything! It is inspiring me to cook `proper' meals much more often, and gives me the confidence to try anything. Delia tells you what not to do, as well as what to do, and addresses common problems like cakes that won't rise. As a young woman who enjoys cooking but has quite a lot to learn, this book is like having your mum and your grandma in the kitchen with you, passing on their little tips and handing down the sort of recipes you have warm, fuzzy memories of. Not just for beginners - if you think you've got the hang of the basics already, Delia's simple suggestions will probably push your results from fine to perfect. Cooking is a pleasure with this book, and it is a joy to serve up such good food. Great for family cooking, or (like myself) for a couple. I can't praise this book highly enough. Buy it - you'll wonder how you ever managed without!
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