The Vicar's Wife's Cook Book
by Elisa Beynon
FOOD & LEISURE
FOURTH ESTATE
09/03/09
Elisa Beynon, the titular vicar’s wife of this delightful debut, was the winner of a Waitrose Food Illustrated competition to find a new voice in food writing. Perhaps unsurprisingly, her overall approach to both cooking and writing more than subtly echoes that of one of the judges, the much-loved Nigel Slater.
Beynon certainly shares Slater’s love of the kind of earthy, homely food that comforts and nourishes those closest to her. Anyone lucky enough to be dining at the table of her new readers will certainly appreciate the merits of this approach.
Instead of following a conventional division into starters, mains and desserts, the book presents whole menus, themed as lunches, dinners, suppers and more. Although she has included some meals for two, she is clearly most passionate about what she calls ‘crowd food’, which encompasses anything from providing a post-church family Sunday lunch (traditional or otherwise) to catering for a wedding or a winter drinks party.
This reassuring and personal book would make a lovely addition to the shelves of any home cook who finds themselves daunted by cooking for the masses, and should easily transform such a task from a chore into a joy into a chore.
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