My book of choice this week is very close to home. The Edinburgh Book of Advanced Cookery Recipes from the Edinburgh College of Domestic Science, which was originally Atholl Crescent Cookery School and eventually became Queen Margaret University, a place I know well.

You may think this is a simple book, given to young students with the odd béchamel recipe or how to make shortcrust, but oh no, this is a proper teaching book with some very good, detailed recipes that could still be used today.

With over 400 recipes in it, this is not a cheap pocketbook, this is serious stuff. At many places of education back in the day, and still now to some extent, the French way of cooking was what was taught, but here, a nod is given to Scotland and its food culture.

There are so many dishes to look through and pick apart—some I haven’t the foggiest what they are! Many are written in French, and it’s nice to see Gateau Saint-Honoré included and a real fave of mine, mutton chops. Money doesn’t seem to be an issue as lobster is used quite a bit—I assume it was widely available.

This is a beautiful book, one I cherish dearly. I have a number of these old-style books and I get a lot from them. I have plenty more in my collection to share with you as the weeks and months go by…