The New Zealand Cook's Bible by Lesley Christensen-Yule & Hamish McRae.

big book - hardcover - as new.

f you fancy entering the next season of Masterchef, or hosting a dinner party for 12 but still don't know your tempura from your tenderloin, or your sabayon from your spatzle, you may wish to spend some time with The New Zealand Cook's Bible by Lesley Christensen-Yule and Hamish McRae.

Rather than being a collection of recipes, this fantastic hardback is more an an encyclopedic guide to anything you may wish to do in the kitchen.

It includes recipes for everything from pasta and potatoes to seafood, chutneys and desserts, including the good old Kiwi pav and everything in between.

But, perhaps even more usefully it has step-by-step tips, techniques and information on things such as different cuts of meat, how to joint a chicken, how to cut onions without sobbing, identifying salad greens, which knife to use for what, and how to spot stale eggs.

It's an indispensable guide for beginners, but is also full of valuable information for experienced cooks wanting to brush up their skills or learn new ones.

Don't don your apron without it.

The New Zealand Cook's Bible includes one of the most difficult parts of entertaining at home - how to successfully cater, plan and time a meal for a group of family and friends. The New Zealand Cook's Bible has been written by the chefs who train the chefs and adapted from the leading textbook for professional cookery training (The New Zealand Chef). Whether you are a complete culinary novice or an experienced home cook wanting to develop, improve and hone your skills, this book will be your ultimate kitchen companion.