(Click on the title for more of Majjie's thoughts)

It might not be appropriate to buy this book for anyone very young ... who's been brought up on Delia, Nigella and Jamie ... they won't have a clue who Elizabeth David is. Although the modern celebrity chefs will, themselves, probably know very well ... and will most probably have adapted recipes from her books. It's very appropriate to list this book here, anyway, since the books of Elizabeth David's nephew, Johnny Grey, feature in the kitchen design section of the book reviews.

I think this book is a really good idea. It's a new volume, only just published, which includes some of Elizabeth David's best recipes ... interspersed with some of her original essays on food and travel ... and including full colour photographs of the recipes. It marks the 60th anniversary of the publication of her first book. She travelled extensively and was as much a food writer as a cookbook writer, beginning her first book - entitled "Mediterranean Food" - in 1946. Her next five books, all became bestsellers and her writing had a huge influence on post-war British cooking.

On second thoughts, perhaps younger readers would find the book fascinating? Even if it doesn't inspire a cooking frenzy, I'm sure it would make a very interesting and enjoyable read. I'm thinking, though, that it would be a good present for friends of a certain age who have one or two of the original books ... perhaps inherited from a parent ... which, of course, had no colour illustrations. Books didn't in those days.