This is Christine Manfield's third cook book and possibbly her best yet, her previous books are the well known "Parmount Cooking" (1995) and "Parmount Desserts" (1997).. Christine Manfield is proprietor of the succesful Sydney reastaurant Parmount, her passion for food has led her naturally into writing about it. This book is a guide to the amazing variety of spices available to most of us in this new millenium. The book begins with a clear introduction to the world of spices with a guide to their care and use.

Following the introduction is a clear index to the world of spices with a guide to where to purchase them from. Also included in the begining of this book are the basic recipes for many spice mixes, which takes away the mystery behind them.

The recipes in this book are as excting as the spices used, with savoury dishes such as "Barbecued Chicken with Sumac, Spinach, Tomatoes and Pine Nuts" and desserts like " Star Anise Ice-Cream". These recipes are clearly written and easy to followed, with many accompanied with mouth-watering photographs. Christine Manfield has also taken the unusual step to include a "Wine and Spice" chapter where she takes on the task of matching a variety of wine with spices, looking at the many flavours of food not just the type of food (such as fish and poulrty with white wine and red meats with red wine).

This is an excellent book for all great lovers of cooking and food, it has already taken a prominent position in my library.