Mark Sargeant

Eating great food excites and entices me. Preparing great food however, is a challenge.

“Makes It Easy” shows how to make 100 great recipes at home without spending a fortune or hours in the kitchen. The ingredients are easy to find and more importantly, easier to combine. There are recipes for breakfasts, formal or informal dinners. The flavors are balanced and enhance the tastes and textures of the ingredients. There is little masking or overpowering found within the 256 pages of this book.

Part of the joy I receive from reading a cookbook is derived from its photography. Too often, Photographer Jill Mead’s shots are uninspired and therefore uninspiring. I recognize author Gordon Ramsay, a London chef who holds three Michelin stars and budding television star, sees himself as central to the book.

I disagree. To me, it’s the ingredients and the dishes. Seeing multiple shots of the author in his two outfits leaves the impression this book is the product of a one-day photo shoot; an impression the quality of the book’s recipes does not support.… (more)