Everything you could possibly need to know in one handy compact book. Every cook should have a copy of this on their shelf - it is like having a mini delia in your kitchen which you can refer to as and when you need it. Fab!

Ths book is fantastic, I could not have got through my teens without it..
The things Delia can do with a Cucumber and a flacid piece of meat are tremdous and a must see..

The pictures and diagrams are particularly helpful and arousing

I have had this book since it first came out and it is falling apart now, thus I have to get another!!!

If I ever end up on that desert island with my eight records, I only hope and pray that this book makes it with me too!

I have just ordered a new (hardback) copy, my 20 year old paperback must needs be pensioned off - not thrown away, I haven't the heart to consign a faithful friend to the bin. I have used it so often, its loose pages even smell of the very recepies they describe! When I bought this book I could hardly boil an egg - twenty years on, I relish having a dozen or so friends round for dinner. Verily, this is The Gospel according to St Delia! An absolute must for any kitchen!

I bought this book about five years ago and it is the book to which my husband and I refer over and over for guidance as well as recipes - for cooking cuts of meat, poaching eggs etc. I still use Delia's recipe for Christmas cake and Christmas pudding, not to mention her recipe for roast leg of lamb (a butter and herb coating). Even just for the definitions and descriptions of cooking methods, along with recommended equipment for cooking, I would recommend this book. May it be as well-thumbed a volume in your kitchen as it is in mine.