Nigel Slater says in the Observer Food Monthly today, "The British are not passionate cooks. We are a nation of recipe followers.".
I think he is largely right, given the fare for sale in the shops. So many ready meals and non-cooking meals, that often take as long to make as food from plain ingredients. Personally I try to take inspiration from recipes and not slavishly follow. I prefer authors who guide and hint rather than state step by step. Cookery is not a set of instructions, it is an indication of what to do given the ingredients, your tools and what you want to eat. People I like a lot are Elizabeth David, Nigel Slater, Simon Hopkinson and Richard Whittington, not you will note Delia...
Nigel Slater's autobiography is being syndicated in the Observer, the section linked above is a bit sad and somewhat bizarre, his book Toast is out in mid-september.
cookery: September 2003 Archives
This my favourite season for cookery, lots of fruit and vegetable in season and the darker evenings give you an excuse to eat more. Summer is too much like assembly with the odd weather dependent barbeque for variety. Autumn gives you the excuse to spend the afternoon in the kitchen quietly chopping and letting things bubble and reduce. So bring on the daubes and the stews, the tarts and the pies, warm satisfying cookery to spend some time over and enjoy.
