Jo Seagar Cooks by Jo Seagar

This is a departure from Jo Seagar's usual style it's bigger and more substantial and more mid-market than most of her previous books. It's an essential cookbook, one that works for home cooking and home entertaining, not too hard but not too basic. Jo has established a cooking school/shop/accommodation in Oxford, Canterbury (see http://www.joseagar.com for details) and her image is moving more upmarket while remaining middle of the range. She also has an Aga stove (as well as a conventional oven) and will do cooking classes especially for this. Jo Seagar Cooks includes a lot of classics, but with a twist eg Breakfast spuddy fry-up, fresh bay and manuka honey cake, lamb cutlets with fresh mint and chilli chutney and 'gooey in the centre' molten chocolate puds. There are over 100 recipes. Jo's personality comes through strongly with chit-chat about the recipes when appropriate. The great design uses atmospheric shots of the Canterbury countryside and incidental shots of interiors and fabrics to give a warm but stylish country feel. It appeals to the mainstream but it's also aspirational the perfect home and perfect food we all want.

Paperback, 2007 reprint, 224pages, very good condition