What is this Blog all about ?

I have been collecting cookery books for well over 30 years, the main reason is that I am a chef by trade and have been since the 1960's.
My love of food and cooking has made me become interested in all types of cuisines and all styles of coooking.Reading cookery books is to read about social history as well as the evolution of food and eating.
I love to share my knowledge and findings with others and hope that you will find these pieces of interest and may even inspire you to try some of the recipes or even search out the books that I talk about.

You Can Almost Smell Bangkok

Thai Street Food - David Thompson / Photographer - Earl carter
Published 2009 - ISBN 978 1 84091 5587

This tome weighing in at a couple of kilos is no cookery book for working from in the kitchen unless you have a spare lectern knocking about.

Fantastic photography, which gives a feeling of being in Thailand, the colours and scenes are mesmerising, pity the recipes don't live up to the photographs.
You wonder whether DT was given a set of photographs and told to write some recipes around them !

The book is divided into Morning, Noon and Night and the dishes reflect the times of the day they are served.

Thai cooking should be simple, flavoursome and fun to cook but this book makes the reader think, " my life isn't long enough to make these dishes"
A good example is Crispy Prawn and Turmeric Wafers ( page 54) with a prawn and coconut filling, there are 32( yes thirty two) ingredients listed, save it,  I ain't prepping this for my supper tonight.

Having said that David Thompson is very knowledgeable and gives a good insight into Thai street food, I just wish it was actually as good as he waxes lyrically about it.

I found the best section was on Noodles and Noodle soup, but without doubt it is the photography that impresses.