As someone who has now spent nearly a whole year at University, I am one of thousands in this country (and I suspect others) who has learned just why home-cooked food tastes wonderfully unique. Books like this would put a lot of college freshers out of misery if they were handed out along with advice leaflets at Fresher's Fairs - what's more, I believe they could stand a would-be chef in good stead right the way through life.

Nigel Slater is a masterchef beyond any conceivable doubt. He knows how to transform even the simplest of ingredients into the utterly sublime, and proves once and for all that it is possible to cook, for yourself or for others, on a shoestring budget (which is all too true for University students!). The writing is so engrossing that you will be imagining what the food is like before you even attempt the recipes - and when you do, you are almost 100% certain to be satisfied.

I'm not much of a cook. Even so, I find this book indispensable. I cannot think of any cookery writer, unless it be Delia Smith, who has written such a useful, straightforward and satisfying book as this. Highly recommended!

Why isn't this book available in paperback as it is in the United Kingdom

Nigel Slater is a star - everything is quick and everything tastes great. All his books are 5*!! No expertise required - my husband has been known to manage any of these recipes although he takes longer than 30mins!

Nigel Slater has a great sense of humor and personality to spare. I like knowing what kind of food will "stand up to a cheap bottle of red wine," myself. Though I use only his vegetarian recipes, I haven't had a miss yet. His recipes are simply prepared with ingredients you are likely to have. Most importantly, of course, they are delicious. Reading this book is like having a chat with an old friend. It would make a great gift.

Delia Smith books are a bit of a cooking institution in UK and usually form the foundation of most cook book collections. Endearing image - Delia holding an egg smiling. It's a very useful book but I personally find her style a bit sterile.

Nigel Slater's book on the other hand offers some truly mouth watering and relatively straight forward recipes that will impress at a dinner party. There's none of this "1/2 tsp of Something-you've-never-heard-of-let-alone-know-where-to-buy-it-from" etc and this means his meals are relatively easily shopped for from a good supermarket. This is a rare feature of cook books I find! N. Slater's suggestion for cooking a roast leg of lamb with Rosemary and garlic is the best I have ever tried! This book like Delia's covers a wide range of recipe's and is more of a Jack of all trades book compared with REAL FOOD. If you already like Nigel Slater's style or you're looking for more specialised recipe book with fewer but comprehensive sections on "Chocolate" and "Cheese" then go for the authors REAL FOOD book which is again very inspiring with some excellent photo's.

Throw a dinner party, use the book and your friends will love you forever!

I have all of Nigel Slater's books and they are my most used cookery books out of a collection of hundreds. He is really funny (if your sense of humour understands Two Fat Ladies) and I enjoy browsing through them for light entertainment. The food is fresh, tasty, fast and easy. His pudding book is a revelation if you need to make something fast and are a nonpudding maker who usually relies on fruit! Suitable for anyone - amateur to professional.

Another of Nigel Slaters great books - the others are Real Fast Food and 30 minute meals from throughout the World. Funny, opinionated, advocate of good ingredients and very easy things to make. I really dont make a lot of puddings - we usually just have fruit but if you want a quick way of spicing up a supper or dinner this is a godsend. Beware - not a low fat type but you can adapt a lot of these to be very healthy. He understands true greed - and is full of good advice about things like getting the gooey crunchy bit round the edge of your crumbles! Probably not the first book of his to buy - one of the others would give you a huge repertoire of main quick dishes but once you have one you'll want them all.

I have 100s of cook books but if I had to go down to a few they would be Nigels 3, Nigella Lawsons How to Eat, Sue Kreitzmans Low fat one (to balance the excesses!) and Delia Smith for things like Christmas cake and puddings.

In Real Food, Nigel Slater manages to invoke the feeling and quality of comfort food but goes beyond that with some of the bold and certainly delicious flavours he encourages us to explore. Every recipe that we have tried out of this book has been a huge success. It's great to find a book where the recipes are simple without being boring. Don't comb through the book looking for the low-fat gems, instead enjoy these delicious recipes in moderation.

Nigel Slater is a real cook. His books are a joy to read. He makes you want to jump-up and cook. He inspires.. A no-frills cook. Comfort food is OK. His traditional recipes are soothing, pleasing, comforting. - Food Porn!

This is an inspiring read. Slater writes about real food the way real people like to eat. His recipes are practical and unfussy. They are irreverent and certainly do not submit to any soul and appetite destroying preoccupation with ersatz low-taste,low-fat food. Worth reading for the description of how to roast a chicken that is almost poetic

This is the cookbook that I've been searching for! Nigel explains his philosophy of cooking and urges the readers to develop their food instincts and confidence by experimenting a bit, not slavishly following recipes. The amounts aren't exact--the risotto recipe I tried listed "a big piece of parmesan" or something like that. New cooks may be intimidated by not being told exactly what to do, but this style encourages us to trust and develop our own tastes. I enjoyed reading this cookbook straight through and have tried a couple of the recipes. The pictures are beautiful and I've always found it handy to have a visual guide for what the finished product might look like. However, if you're looking for an all-purpose cookbook with a wide variety of recipes, keep looking.

Blunt and straight to the point insight about real cooking. This book is great. However, I only recommend this book if you like reading cookbooks and you are an advanced cook or aspire to be an advanced cook. His keen insight and practical, blunt advice help to hammer home what cooking really is... and should be.
Nigel gives you a firm lesson in the fundamentals in just one or two sentences throughout the book. It's a cookbook that is mostly filled with great advice - kind of like a chefs journal on steriods. I highly recommend this book- it's the kind of book you can read twice and still learn more on the second reading. Bottom line = his opinions are really good advice and this book is like a casual conversation- except that he is the one doing all the talking.

Nigel's book is not like other cookery books, but if you read it and accept it's premise that most cooking is instinctive, you will get great results from this book. Don't expect it to be prescriptive down to the last pinch of salt - this is not Nigel's style. But you will discover your own way of doing things, and develop the confidence to go on and create your own dishes. I cannot recommend this book highly enough - it's fab!