This is a BBC book which was first published in 2000. I’m not a big fan of most Chinese food – I usually prefer other Asian cuisines – so the book has mostly languished relatively unused on the shelf for years. However, sometimes I like to get back to basics and it seemed like a good idea to have another look at this book. I wasn’t disappointed!

Previously the main thing I used this book for was for the Chinese pancake recipe – those things you use for Crispy Aromatic Duck, along with hoisin sauce and accompaniments. I have so many cookbooks I can’t always remember which book to get what recipe from but as soon as I find a page with food stains on it, I can be pretty sure that I’ve found the recipe I’m after. In this case Hom’s pancake recipe page was noticeably garnished with the flour of several uses.

I’m afraid to say I can be a bit hit-and-miss when making rice so I decided to stop messing about and do what I was told for once. I followed Ken Hom’s recipe for “perfect steamed rice”. Yes, I really did follow the recipe! And as a result got… perfect steamed rice. I subsequently went on to make egg fried rice with it but added some prawns and various other things, not in Hom’s original recipe, which were lurking in the fridge. It was “use it or lose it” time, but the result was pretty good. Sorry, no photos, but sometimes it’s a pain to be snapping away when you’re more interested in cooking or eating.

I’ve also made spring rolls according to a recipe in this book, and they were pretty good too, although I included beansprouts and other things in mine which weren’t in Ken Hom’s original recipe.

This is a seriously good book! It’s never yet let me down. I should use it more often. Let me tell you a little more about it.

It’s a step-by-step guide to creating what Ken Hom describes as authentic Chinese food in your own home. Personally I doubt if it’s really very authentic. It’s much more like the kind of food you’d expect from a Chinese restaurant in the West.

After the interesting introduction by Ken Hom there’s a chapter on ingredients and equipment before moving on to the recipes themselves. The book does what it says on the tin. It’s a step-by-step approach. Most recipes are quick and easy and there’s an emphasis on using readily available ingredients. The photography is excellent too, with plenty of how-to help as well as appetising photos of the finished dishes.

The chapters cover:

• Soups and Starters
• Fish and Shellfish
• Meat and Poultry
• Vegetables and Side Dishes
• and suggested Menus to help you plan a special meal

I feel a bit sorry I’ve neglected this book for so long. It’s very useful and deserves more attention than I’ve been giving it. Yes, if you’ve any interest in Chinese cooking you’d be hard pushed to beat this.

Foolproof Chinese Cookery

Ken Hom
Hardback, 128pages
2000, BBC Worldwide
ISBN 0 563 55133 X

Travels though France with knife, fork and corkscrew

Peter Mayle, an Englishman in France and author of several books including A Year in Provence, sets off on another culinary journey in this book. This time he travels the length and breadth of France in search of the good, the best, and the most bizarre gourmet delights his adopted country has to offer.

This journey takes him to festivals celebrating frogs’ legs and snails, among other things, as well as to a marathon of running and wine drinking (perhaps it should be called a biathlon), and many other celebrations of culinary delights. He meets an impressive variety of interesting – perhaps eccentric – people en route, and describes it all with clever insight, sharp wit, and good humour.

This book is a good read for anyone interested in food and travel. Mayle describes his life in France, the idiosyncrasies of the French people, and his obvious love for the country and its people. It’s a feel-good book as his warmth is infectious. It’s funny in places too, as well as being astute throughout.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants a light-hearted, yet insightful, look at France from a foodie point of view.

Bon Appétit!
Travels through France with knife, fork and corkscrew

Peter Mayle
Paperback, 234 pages
2002, Time Warner Paperbacks
ISBN 0 7515 3291 6

Leaving roast beef, Yorkshire pudding and the grey skies of northern England behind, a skinny young Michael Saxon travelled several continents acquiring his culinary skills and went on to become an executive chef in the five-star hotel industry.

We happened to be browsing in the E&O hotel shop in Penang when I found a copy of Chef’s Tales. I noticed that it was a signed copy with “Happy Reading, Michael Saxon” written inside. I expressed mild surprise at this and the shop assistant said that the book had been written by the E&O Hotel General Manager. After a quick flick through, I decided to buy it as I’m always interested in food-related subjects.

My first impression on reading this autobiography was that it had been written by a thoroughly nice, if somewhat naive, man. As is invariably the case with rookies in the kitchen, he blundered his way through many scrapes and difficulties, learning the ropes as he went. Saxon (although after reading the book I almost feel I know him well enough to call him Mike now) then went on to work in a number of countries including Canada, the Philippines and Indonesia, before moving to Malaysia in 2004 to the E&O in Penang, where he is still General Manager.

I’ve seen reviews elsewhere (Amazon) where Chef’s Tales is likened to Anthony Bourdain’s Kitchen Confidential. In my view nothing could be further from the truth. The books have nothing in common other than they’re both autobiographies by chefs. Bourdain’s 25 years of “sex, drugs, bad behaviour and haute cuisine” is a far cry from Mike’s years of kindness, patience, and cultural sensitivity. Bourdain’s book is hard-hitting and even shocking. Saxon’s is a string of amusing anecdotes about a guy who usually tries to Do The Right Thing, and sometimes ends up “in the shit”.

I read the book from cover to cover in a couple of days, so I obviously enjoyed it to that extent. However, I couldn’t help feeling that Saxon isn’t a natural writer. He tells his tales with good humour - and some of the anecdotes did have me chuckling out loud at times. But the book lacked the biting wit which you frequently find in the work of a professional food writer.

Chef’s Tales consisted of anecdote after anecdote after anecdote. I guess that’s what an autobiography is, but Saxon seemed to be more shocked by events than I would have expected. This book may well appeal to a chef - or indeed anyone - who hasn’t travelled much, but a seasoned traveller is more likely to wonder why he was so naive about certain things. And in some cases squeamish about unfamiliar foods.

All in all it was an amusing read and I enjoyed it. I closed the book feeling privileged to have been able to share the story of such a nice man.

Read our reviews of the E&O’s restaurants:
Sarkies Corner: evening buffet
1885: afternoon tea