Tamasin Day-Lewis

Sister of Daniel Day-Lewis, Tamasin has also made a name for herself as a respected food writer, TV producer & director. She is definately a food purist with pretty sophisticated tastes who champions organic, seasonal and regional ingredients.

She is prepared to try anything that isn't still alive & kicking! Some of her more unusual dishes are prepared from road kill - roast badger, blackbird pie, hedgehog cooked in clay (eeek!)

I found her a writer of great literary skill combining all my show more favourite things - travel memoir, restaurant reviews, fascinating background information on the ingredients she uses, practical advice and lots of yummy recipes. I also love her and her partner's dedication to finding the source of the food they cook with, travelling to meet the people who produce it.

Her descriptions of food are so poetic and mouthwatering that I have to give you an example of her description of eating a plate of stuffed zuccini flowers with fresh ricotta and buffalo mozzarella:

"The batter is so light it could almost lead you to believe it isn't several thousand calories a mouthful, its a virtual batter, a homeopathic potency of deep-fried nothingness. It is primrose pale, so crisp it shatters in the mouth once its hermetic seal is broken and the intensified flavours within are released to flood onto the tongue in a woosh of perfect contrast: creaminess, springy softness, milkiness with a lactic twinge."

If you are a foodie, don't miss this one! show less

Pass me the Peche de Vigne, darling!

Author Tamasin Day-Lewis, UK celebrity chef and food writer for the Daily Telegraph, Vanity Fair, Vogue and Food Illustrated, has put together a nice looking and detailed book from which the back of the book blurb quotes "To feed a family for a song and still encompass all that is great is down to Tamasin's amazing passion, with an eye to the purse strings." This lead me to believe it would be a more simple "how to spread your meals further and save money" show more type of book.

In some ways it is just that, but not in the true sense since many of the ingredients are not what the average household w
ould have in their pantry. She does encourage the reader to be creative, but most resourceful cooks when being prudent in the kitchen will not forage in the fridge, field and larder in search of things like Monkfish, Wild Salmon, Squid, expensive cheeses, vanilla pods, peche de vigne, and a variety of Port or wine, as suggested. Well, not in my house anyway!

The book also claims to have advice on things like keeping the store cupboard well stocked, and how to make the most of seasonal gluts, but for a cookbook missing a contents page this was not easily found. For these reasons I'm giving this book three stars (Amazon).

Overall: As a general cookbook it works. It is creative and I do like her suggestion for roast chicken with sausage, sage and prune stuffing, and what to do with the carcass. I have even tried a few of the recipes in the Happy Food and The Saturday Bake sections, with some success! However, for a book that at first appears to be written for
those on a budget it's not quite as satisfying as her delectable (expensive) puddings and lays heavy on me. show less

Supper for a Song bills itself as "a save it, stretch it, re-vamp it, don't waste it . . . a cook-delicious-food but count-the-cost and spare-the-energy" cookbook, a "book for the resourceful cook in the prudent kitchen". Tamasin Day-Lewis, a food writer who writes regularly for English and American Vogue, Saveur, Stella, Sainsbury's Magazine, Waitrose Food Illustrated and Reader's Digest on both food and non-food subjects. She has written several cookbooks and also produced and directed show more television documentaries.

Following a rather confusing contents page (which one could easily pass over without knowing it), Tamasin launches straight into the recipes. These range from Roast Chicken, Sausage Pie, Mince, Potato Bread, Cakes, Stews, Lasagne, some luxurious Happy Food, Bread, Puddings, and many more. They encompass a wide range of ethnic origins. They sound very tempting, and the un-enhanced photographs add to their appeal.

Each recipe is preceded by a few personal comments from the author, and the recipes themselves are laid out clearly and the instructions are easy to follow. There is also advice on buying, and on maintaining a well-stock sore-cupboard. However I am not convinced the book really achieves what it claims to. The ingredients for a number of the recipes are unlikely to be found in the average fridge or larder, and some of the ingredients are far from cheap, or even common fare in the typical supermarket. It may be "For the clever cook", but I question "in the cost-conscious kitchen".

The presentation is good but basic, and the variable layout does not always make the recipes as easy to follow as the might. show less

Supper for a Song is billed as being for the clever cook in the cost-concious kitchen. Tamasin Day-Lewis is a well-regarded food writer with an eclectic style, and while this cookbook represents her style, I don't believe that it lives up to its billing as a count-the-cost and spare-the-energy cookbook.

To fully take advantage of a lot of the recipes would mean having a well-stocked larder or cupboard, and while this is an admirable way to be, I can't see a lot of cost-concious cooks fitting show more into this category.

I received this book as the evenings start to darken and I am immediately tempted by a lot of the receipes which promise warmth and filling on cold winter evenings. However, I did find the layout of the book to be distracting with a mixtures of savouries and starters, rather than more clearly defined sections.

It is a beautiful cookbook with an exciting and interesting mix of recipes and tips. I just feel that it is completely missold by the strapline on the cover. show less