As Dorothy said in 'The Wizard of Oz': there's no place like home. And there isn’t. This week’s book is called exactly that, 'No Place Like Home' by Rowley Leigh. This man is a great chef, and I have admired him for many years. He has cooked some great food for me, and he ran many a fine restaurant. The dishes here are neither technique-driven nor complicated, and they are dishes which you want to savour—a lunch to linger over deep into the afternoon with friends. There are ideas for many social gatherings at home, like Halloween or a Boxing Day lunch, to a mushroom-gatherers' lunch.

It is a brilliant book. His roast chicken with tarragon is simplicity personified. I adore Rowley’s writing; he says it how it is and telling us to forget trying to cook like they do in restaurants—we won’t be able to do it. It is cooking at home, and he is so right.

If I wrote a cookery book, I would use this as a template, along with River Café. His ability to write is refreshing, and he has written for a weekly broadsheet for many years. There is a lot to take in here with this book. I suggest buying it and taking your time with it. Cherish it, keep it at home, get tomato juice splatters on it, and never be too precise at home—just be a good home cook, that’s all we want when we come round for supper.