Book review: Nigel Slater’s ‘The Kitchen Diaries’

November 19, 2009 • Hello. I am currently out of the country and unable to respond to comments and e-mails. Rest assured, however, that future posts have been scheduled so new recipes will go live almost everyday during my absence. I'll be back soon with lots of stories and photos. Ciao for now! ~ Connie
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Nigel Slater's The Kitchen Diaries

Steamed fish, for instance, is a classic and very basic dish. But it can be done in so many ways. Nigel Slater has his steamed sea bass with ginger and cucumber (page 78) while my versions of steamed fish are here, here and here.

Nigel Slater's The Kitchen Diaries

Then, there’s his Chinese broccoli with oyster sauce and ginger (pages 24 and 25); I have my kangkong (water or swamp spinach) in oyster sauce.

Nigel Slater's The Kitchen Diaries

He has his salmon and dill fish cakes (pages 158 and 159); I have my gabi (taro) and bangus (milkfish) cakes as well as my yellow fin tuna and kamote (sweet potato) cakes.

Nigel Slater's The Kitchen Diaries

He even begins his clear, hot mussel soup recipe with “The point is that this is a clean-tasting broth, hot and aromatic…” To which I say: exactly!

I’d like to think that Nigel Slater’s The Kitchen Diaries is an attempt to redefine cookbook writing. It is more about sharing rather than trying to impress. The message is: Cooking great meals is not the sole domain of professional chefs — we can all do it if we wanted to.

I even appreciate more that there was (mostly) no mention of countries or regions of origin of the dishes. It’s like saying food is universal and a great meal is not about being academically correct about the history of dishes nor ingredients. What can be cooked in one part of the world can be cooked in any other — it’s just a matter of modifying to adopt to the native ingredients of a locale. After all, cooking great meals is about knowing how to make the best use of what you have.

Am I endorsing Nigel Slater’s The Kitchen Diaries? Nope, I am highly recommending it though. On a scale of one to five, I’d give it five stars. Love it! :)

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November 17, 2006  Print This Post   
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4 Responses to “Book review: Nigel Slater’s ‘The Kitchen Diaries’”
  1. stef says:
    November 19, 2006 at 12:26 am

    no mention of countries or regions of origin of the dishes. It’s like saying food is universal and a great meal is not about being academically correct about the history of dishes nor ingredients.

    glad you reviewed this sassy. while i love books that go into food history and all that, sometimes i just want a good recipe that works — not everyone cares about all that other stuff! nigel slater’s book was not on my list to buy, but it may be worth a look after all.

    Reply
  2. Connie says:
    November 19, 2006 at 2:56 am

    i think food books should be categorized more clearly — cookbooks are for cooking; and there should be a name for the kind that goes in depth about the history and origin of dishes and ingredients. But then again, The Kitchen Diaries wouldn’t exactly be a cookbook because it is a blog in print form. Printed blog, maybe. LOL

    Reply
  3. jerry roxas says:
    November 20, 2006 at 3:22 pm

    a ako pwedeng mag order ng book ni NIgel Slater’s ” The Kitchen Diaries”, please advice.

    Reply
  4. Connie says:
    November 20, 2006 at 9:02 pm

    jerry, i think it’s available on amazon.

    Reply
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