Three or four cuisines, perhaps a whole region, and it might have worked a lot better. Yet whilst trying to remain neutral and honest, it still feels like Ramsay has spread himself a bit too thin here.
For the more advanced cook and gastronome things are different. For that market, this could be a good by, written by a face they have tended to know and trust (through television). Without sounding elitist, maybe this is a book for the masses who don't really do a lot of cookery. You may also feel inspired and engaged to try different cuisines and up your cooking game. A good layout, some engaging photographs, easy-to-follow recipes and a fair bit of hand-holding to boot. Superficially the book seems to deliver everything. Within the chapter on French cooking they have managed to cram a whole ten recipes in and whilst, for a broad, generalist book you get a good range of interesting recipes, this reader just got left wanting more and feeling short-changed.
Obviously such a relatively small book can only give a superfluous treatment to the subject (French cooking in less than two dozen pages, anyone?) and sadly much precious space is given over to "lifestyle" pictures of Ramsay doing his stuff instead of much-needed additional text.
Within the chapter on French cooking they have managed to cram a wholĬhef Gordon Ramsay probably needs no introduction to the average YUM reader and this book is his look at cooking 10 different cuisines the Ramsay way. Chef Gordon Ramsay probably needs no introduction to the average YUM reader and this book is his look at cooking 10 different cuisines the Ramsay way.