With almost every famous chef bringing out "at home" cookery books, I had to say that I approached A Taste of Home by Angela Hartnett with some degree of scepticism. After all, there is only so many "my best steak recipe, with a sauce reduction" one can read without the eyes beginning to demiglaze over. Well, I am please say Angela has brought us a book that is both full of simple, but delicious recipes and photos that delight the eye and whet the palate.

The recipes are well presented, easy to follow and are written in a manner that allows anyone to cook the dishes. Some, like the Butterbean, Smoker Bacon and Garlic Salad are simplicity themselves. Others, as in Salt Cod Grattin more complex, but Angela presents them in a way that makes us approach the recipe with confidence.

The book's raison d'etra is to bring 200 quick and easy recipes together. The recipes a drawn from her own list and those of family and friends. They are more personal likes than commercial kitchen, making them somewhat eclectic, but fun. The recipes are didived into: Snacks, Soups, Salads, Pasta and Resotto, Vegetables and Sidedishes, Pies and Gratins, Meat and Poultry, Fish and Shellfish, Cakes and Puddings and, finally, Basics.

Angela Hartnett's book is packed with some great recipes. It is ideal for those who want to expand their repertoire in a fun, easy manner. With great recipes and ideas, this is an ideal book to add to your collection.