I feel that I should kick off this review by owning up to the fact that I’ve always been a bit irritated by Richard Till.
Not for his foodie efforts, because the wee cooking segment he fronts on TV One offers up some quite appealing looking tucker.
No, for me the irritation comes from the YELLING. You know, THE WAY HE SEEMS TO SHOUT RECIPES FROM THE TV SCREEN.
I’ve come to the conclusion that either:
- Mr Till himself is a bit hard of hearing;
- he is rather excitable; or
- he thinks the viewers are all as deaf as posts.
So given that wee touch of irritation, I went into this book on the defensive, expecting something that was may a little, well, irritating.
I’m pleased to say, I was wrong (and for the hard of hearing: I WAS WRONG).
The shouting factor doesn’t enter the equation when it comes to a book so once I got over myself and just looked over the recipes and had a crack at a few of them, I realised pretty quickly that what I had in my hands was a great cookbook that will be a godsend over Christmas, when so many of us are trying to get through all the leftovers cluttering up the fridge.
There are ideas here for some really tasty meals that are also quite simple, so it’s perfect for the holiday: use the leftovers and don’t spend all day in the kitchen.
The illustrations are equally tasty. They show what actually look like real food, instead of the styled and fluffed stuff that you normally see in cookbooks.
His recipes cover everything snacks and starters to mains and desserts (including a Balclutha variation on the infamous Eton mess).
Till has cooked for Stevie Wonder, U2, Miles Davis, Simply Red, Jimmy Barnes, New Order and the English cricket team, is the face of Countdown supermarkets and is a lecturer in the Department of Theatre and Film Studies at the University of Canterbury. However, for me he will now forever be known as the bloke who taught me how to make a decent, stress-free hollandaise sauce.
THANK YOU MR TILL.