Customer Reviews
Another beautiful book from Skye - By: Hiro, 04 Sep 2008 
Another beautiful book has arrived from Petersham Nurseries.
When I read her first book 'A Yearin My Kitchen', I felt like I was not reading a mere cook book, but it felt like it was a book with a story to tell...
I do take some people's comments that the ingredients listedin her books are hard to get, & her recipes seems sometimes a little complex. Yes, her books are not like Nigella's nor Delia's (both of whom I adore). Just think about it, both Nigella & Delia publicly say that they are not a chef, but a cook. Whereas, Skye is a well known chef workingin a well-established restaurant, Petersham Nurseries.
I am a seasoned cook (who has been cooking for more than 30 years), but I have to confess one thing to you - I have never made anything from her books! I tend to rely on the books by the said great cooks when I have to fix dinner for my family quickly & easily.
Having said that don't we all have enough "easy" cook books on our shelves? I think it is nice to ring a change & read a cook book written by a great professional chef who does not appear on terry. Her recipes may not be as straightforward as some other recipes that we come across often, but it by no means entails she is snobbish or looking down on you from above. Completely opposite. She is trying her best to communicate what she knows bestin layman's term to you. It just that what she is trying to communicate is not a mere "cheese on toast", but some beautifully seasonal professional dishes!
I nearly always reach for Skye's book when I have a quiet afternoon when I can indulge myselfin reading some calming books on a sofa ... I hope you will agree that nothing soothes you like her books. I feel most contented when I am reading her books near a bright open window on a quiet Saturday afternoon..
One of my new favourite books - By: K. Johnston, 30 Aug 2008 I've just finished reading - devouring, really - Skye's new book. As with her first book, she is focused on her twin passions: seasonality & how to use a host of constant store cupboard & fresh ingredients.
Many chef-writers emphasise seasonality, but Skye is especially persuasive & passionatein making a case for the sensuality, & good sense, of seasonal eating, that you are completely seduced. Thus, while we might dread the passing of our all too brief English summer, I'm already salivating at the prospect of what autumnal goodies I can cook from the pages of this book.
Skye never sacrifices her considerable principles about food, & rightly so - she asks us to demand the very best from our ingredients, & to treat them with absolute love & respect, to bring our their very best, & enhance our eating experience. I love her integrity - & it is this quality, along with her great sense of style, & attention to detail, that makes this book such a class act, & Skye a true original.
