Latest in my series of video book reviews is The Free Range Cook by New Zealander Annabel Langbein.
This is another title that popped through my letterbox by surprise and although she may be well known in her own country I had not heard of Annabel before.
Someone watching this video on Amazon reviews has asked whether I cooked anything from it – er no. I don’t think this is a prerequisite for judging what a book is like and frankly, if I don’t feel like leaping into the kitchen and making three things from a book that day, that tells you an awful lot about my opinion of the book. My cookery book library is rammed with recipes I am determined to cook some day but regrettably I don’t see anything here making it onto my table very quickly.
Instead I’m left flicking past pages and pages of (admittedly lush) scenery bemoaning that there’s only one decent fishmonger in my borough and it doesn’t sell lobster. (This comment will make sense if you watch the video). Mind you, I remember Asda at Park Royal used to sell lobster in their freezer section so maybe I need to go back….
Hi Sarah – interesting review. The whole “here are pictures of me smiling on location” can really get tiresome in cookbooks, like they are working too hard to sell the lifestyle.
I’ve found one of my favourite cookbooks is one from Raymond Blanc – it’s all the French classics, really well explained.
Yes – tiresome sums it up quite well. Can’t go wrong with Raymond Blanc..!
What kind of content did it have? Any good seafood recipes? Are they easy or complicated?
Regardless of the personality, I’d like know if the book represents the country. I loved NZ when I went traveling there, although admittedly I haven’t heard of her before. Would be nice to recreate some of the amazing food we had (Can’t afford to go back to NZ anytime soon! lol)
There’s plenty of lush scenery to swoon over… lots of pictures of food laid out on tables outdoors, that kind of thing. It’s a similar range of material to Rachel Allen, some baking with lots of main course ideas.