Have we had a 'Tara Ramsay's cookbook is useless' rant yet?

[PeatBog]

... or can I vent?

permission granted

go

go

oooh, luverly. right.

have tried 5 of hers now and not one has quantities and/or timings correct. Just tried her 'quick' risotto that you bung in oven. Doesn't work, or at least not in the half hour promised. Last week did a stew that called for 5 pints stock. Clearly wrong, but at the time I was too stupid to ignore. Left with an ocean of soup with a few sad bits of meat bobbing in it.

Then did meatballs which calls for 2lbs mince. But then it says to feed 4 children with 4 meatballs each - ie, precisely 16 meatballs. Am left with large amount of mince which I would've quite liked to have posted to the useless woman.

Have learnt now. Will not be using again.

I thank you.

What on earth possessed you to buy it in the first place?

Yes because you can learn cooking by osmosis you know. Just sleeping with GR makes her an authority

i don;t think would bother buying a cookbook who has only had it published because (a) she is married to a famous chef (b) she is pretty with lovely hair

It's like buying a book on football skills written by Victoria Beckham

That's not osmosis Carmenere, it's injection.

ummm, she is called Tana, and yep it is crap

Oh I can't be rude about Gordon, I fancy him. I can be vile about his wife though (bitch that I am)

Um not really, I kind of like his books, admittedly I have never followed a particular recipe but at least he is an actual chef so does have a right to sell people ideas on what to do with food.

Must admit I just googled Tana Ramsey to see what if any cooking experience she had (thought maybe they'd met at chef school or when she was working as a sous chef at one of his restaurants or something) and nope, nothing - she actually says in the intro to one of her books that she never cooked at all until after her dcs were born. I wonder just how she got a contract to write a cookery book then.

No I wasn't quite so naive to imagine that she's a fantastic cook by shagging GR! But if the publishers are going to be crass enough to sign her up just because of who she's married to, the least they can do is spend some money on editing. It's pretty basic stuff, testing the recipes, checking quantities.

Anyone who buys a book that's a result of nepotism deserves to be ripped off, though.

god, her recipes are so bland

did the fish pie the other day, twas just (unsmoked) fish and potato - no veg, parsley, mustard, cream etc

Had to add a pile of salt and pepper to get any flavour at all.

hmmm, thats true expat

Oh God, she is on UKTV food atm She is actually quite good on camera, but that still doesn't give her the right to sell cookbooks.

I was slagging off the front of the woman: producing a cookbook just because she's GR's wife ahortly before christmas. dh was most embarassed when I opened my present for him (which he'd bought before I started ranting).

One of my biggest beef's is her idea of storecupboard classics for when you haven't had time to go shopping. Er, love, if I haven't had time to go shopping, I do not have a handy tub of creme fraiche in the fecking fridge!

am lolling at 5 pints of stock

and 1/2 lb of mince per child

hmm, don't hold back expat . In mitigation, I did used to edit cookery books, so know what should get done. But then we weren't so cynical in who we published.

and yes, I know, I know, half a bleeding pound of mince? but I'm very tired at the moment

she probably has Ocado on speed dial.

Why would you expect her to produce a decent cookbook?