Gordon Ramsay

Although he is known for his Michelin-quality, restaurant style cuisine, Gordon Ramsay is no stranger to cooking at home. With a wife and four children, Ramsay is used to catering to a lot of mouths from the comfort of his own kitchen.

Ultimate Home Cooking is a complete guide to every meal. The chapters are set out to match the typical meal patterns of the home: breakfasts, lunches, afternoon pick-me-ups, dinners, friends for dinner, and finally puddings.

Ramsay provides a full commentary throughout the book – he gives a reason for every recipe, with helpful hints, such as which breakfasts can be prepared the night before for a quick and easy meal in the morning. This is great because it makes the book really feel like a guide, rather than just a list of recipes. By explaining why each recipe is featured and what sort of schedule it’s best for, the prospect of deciding which recipe to go for each meal time is simpler.

The complexity of the meals varies, each category contains both simple recipes and more time consuming ones. Within just the breakfast category, readers can find the quick and delicious cinnamon eggy bread with quick stewed apple; something a little more complex, like baked spicy Mexican eggs.

The recipes cover a whole host of cuisines, from the Scottish tradition of porridge to crispy roast duck with Chinese pancakes and dipping sauce.

As well as comments on each recipe, Ramsay provides an in depth introduction to each section, explaining the way that each type of meal is usually treated, both by professional chefs and by every day people. The amount of text in the book makes it really feel like personal advice, which is reassuring, as Ramsay is such a celebrated chef, but with the quantity of recipes, it is still a book that focuses on showcasing a range of great recipes.

Available from Hodder & Stoughton, RRP: £25