This book, ‘Nights Out at Home’ by Jay Rayner, is very clever indeed. He has a huge following and writes so well. This is not a recipe book, though there are recipes in it. It is a mixed bag, but in the best way — recipes, tales, suggestions, anecdotes, and plenty of stories of eating out and in. This is a book you will read again and again, dipping into and giggling along the way.

I really do admire his honesty, his intelligence, and his dry humour. Who can believe he has been reviewing us for 25 years with us all nervously hoping it isn’t our restaurant that week when the paper is delivered. He strikes me as someone who should have become a chef. I believe he would have been a great one—in a big hotel somewhere with a tall toque, ruling the kitchens, and beyond, like a giant, but with consideration and control. What makes him tick is simple food, done well, well sourced, and presented simply — which can so easily be done badly. He loves the great restaurants and chefs of the last 25 years, too many to mention. This is a great collection of recipes and stories from a great writer.