a classic vanilla bean ice cream and lessons with liam

A highlight of my food blog is the opportunity I get to review fabulous cook books. Having written my own book last year, I have a fair idea about what goes into the making of them. One of the cook books that has impressed me the most recently is – Lessons with Liam by Liam Tomlin.

This is not just a recipe book, although you will find many classic and very interesting recipes amongst the selection, this is a book about basic cooking skills and techniques.

If you haven’t been through chef school and are eager to become more of a kitchen ninja, this book is most definitely the one for you.

Liam, who has worked in professional kitchens his whole life, has a very impressive pedigree, and owns a cookery school noticed that when teaching, people lacked knowledge of very basic cooking techniques and mastering these is the foundation to become a better cook.

Its beautifully photographed by well known food photographer Russell Smith, who has managed to turn all the step by step recipes into works of art. Even though I have been to Hotel School (way back when) – it was fabulous to brush up on some of my knowledge, and as a visual person, this book is laden with pictures which make it easy to follow and a delight to look at.

The book is filled to the brim with tips and advice from Liam. It’s just like having a professional chef in your kitchen. The chapters cover everything from stocks, sauces, dressings, salads, fish, meat, vegetables, grains, potatoes, to pastry and knife skills.

What I really enjoyed was that interspersed throughout the book were a collection of recipes that are interesting and sound quite delicious. Having also tasted a few of these at the book launch, I know they are delicious too. So while you are learning to debone a duck or make beurre blanc, you can be inspired by dishes like miso salmon, sweetcorn and basil soup, tartare of tuna with togarashi dressing and the pear tart tartin.

Both classic and modern, presented beautifully and explained with precision, this is a must-have book for the serious cook, and I will use it for the rest of my life.

Trying to pick recipe for this review was tricky, but I made a pavlova recently and had 6 egg yolks left over, so the vanilla bean ice cream was the perfect solution.

Vanilla bean ice cream

• Recipe on Drizzle & Dip

This recipe was absolutely delicious. Rich, creamy and dare I say, unctuous. It will be what I whip up every single time I make a pavlova and have 6 egg yolks lying around. It is also the perfect thing to serve with a pavlova too.

I look forward to connecting with you again