Suggestions for cookery book for 25 year old as house warming gift

[goingbacktowork]

Any suggestions please? Ideally not one that is massively expensive. Thanks.

Something that covers everything:

Good Housekeeping Cookbook
Larousse Gastronomique www.thebookpeople.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/qs_searchResult_tbp?storeId=10001&catalogId=10051&langId=100&searchTerm=New+Concise+Larousse+Gastronomique

Nigella Kitchen is good or her How To Eat. Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food is also very good.

It kind of depends how confident a cook the recipient is,..

some of these appear to be out of print - so keep the suggestions coming :)

Do you know if she has any already?

You couldn't go wrong with Jamie's 30-Minute Meals or even his upcoming Jamie's 15-Minute Meals. I've found out of all my cookbooks (and i have a lot) his recipes always work.

My aunt got me the selection of the bbc good food ones as a similar gift years ago, and despite the fancier cookery books I have they're my go-to if I want to make something with what I actually have in the kitchen!

It really depends on their skill/interest in cooking. I'd say either Nigella's 'How To Eat' or perhaps 'Appetite' by Nigel Slater. Or one of JO's earlier books - eg Naked Chef or Happy Days. All should be in print and available fairly cheaply. I'd also buy a really nice bottle of olive oil and another of balsamic vinegar to go with it.

Jamies Ministry Of Food is perfect for beginners. I learnt to cook from it, and have never looked back, definitely the best book to start with.

Depends if the 25year old can cook. I reckon Delia's Complete Cookery Course is one of the best covers everything books I have. I refer back to it regularly.

Rachel allens book is amazing. Easy and mostly quick. Everything I have made from there has tasted lovely.

Definitely depends on their skill level and interest.

If non existent I'd recommend this - I have the 1990 version of this which my mum bought me when I left home and still use it loads for reference - otherwise I'd second 'Appetite'

Ministry of Food, jamie Oliver or Delias how to Cook.

Any Jamie Oliver. The recipes are fairly easy and always work. I like Cook with Jamie or Jamie at Home but they're all great. If you don't like Jamie I would go for something like saturday kitchen or Bill Grainger as they cover a few different things.

I agree it depends on the extent to which they're already confident at cooking. It'd have been very unimpressed at 25 by anything by Delia, particularly the recent more basic ones.

I third Appetite though - good for both beginners and more experienced cooks. Or if they're relatively confident already Nigel Slater's Kitchen Diaries.

Another vote for Nigella's 'How to Eat'. It is suitable for any skill level and is a great read.

I agree with Delia - especially the Complete Cookery Course.

Clear, comprehensive and the recipes work (except her pancakes, use all milk, not milk-and-water - unless you want a sticky blob in the pan).

If she's already a confident basic cook, Perfect by Felicity Coake is good. She takes sixty or so classic dishes from lasagne to apple crumble, cooks her way through everyone else's versions and discusses the differences, then puts forward what she suggests is the "perfect" version of the recipe. It's good for the recipes, but also the way she discusses the other versions gives a good insight into thought processes involved with thinking about what works and what doesn't and figuring out how to tweak things to your personal taste.

any Jamie Oliver book - I love the naked chef ones and 30 minute meals most of all. paired with a bottle of olive oil, a great housewarming gift!

Nigel Slater's 30 minute meals

Nigel Slater again - Real Fast Food/Real Fast Puddings. Gives ideas for using up cold leftovers as well as cooking stuff from scratch. Meals good enough to give visitors, but also snacks. I learned loads about what goes well together from those, plus got brave enough to experiment

The silver spoon

www.amazon.co.uk/The-Silver-Spoon-Cooking-Phaidon/dp/0714844675

It has recipes for everything

A book by one of the main chefs will most likely appeal, Nigella, Nigel Slater, Jamie Oliver, James Martin - you can't go wrong.

i was coming on to say the silver spoon as well, it's the only cookbook i regularly use tbh, and i've got zillions of celeb chef ones.

actually, cancel that if you wanted something cheap (it's about twenty quid in current edition). nigel slater's 30 minute meals, then.