Food from Plenty is a weighty, beautiful book containing over 300 recipes. What really sets this cookbook apart is its  approach to recipes.  It starts where all good cookbooks should, with roasts, roast chicken to be more exact.  Once you have mastered the basics, author Diana Henry, gives the cook 9 additional recipe ideas for different flavours with roast chicken. Added to that are great ideas on what to do with leftovers.

And so the book goes on. Most chapters start with an  informative introduction: cuts of meat and a synopsis of how to use them, different grains and pulses, and how to cook with them , and cooking with bread.

Food from Plenty is divided into 11 chapters covering various foodstuffs and styles: the roast; vegetables; pulses;  grains; fish; choice cuts of pork, lamb and beef; soup; wild things; sweet fruit; crust and crumbs; and eggs.

The book promotes the virtue of buying good quality produce, locally if possible, to produce dishes you’d want to eat, aimed squarely at the home cook. Diana shows  how to save money by cooking ahead, using up gluts from the garden, and how to cook with respect for sustainability and resources. Recipes originate from all over the world – from Corfu to Vietnam, but at the heart of it are easy-to-achieve recipes, full of flavour .

Diana Henry was named Cookery Writer of the Year by The Guild of Food Writers in 2009 and 2007 for

her work in The Sunday Telegraph’s Stella magazine. As well as writing a weekly column for Stella, Diana is the author of several cookbooks, including Crazy Water, Pickled Lemons, The Gastropub Cookbook and Cook Simple. She also writes for many magazines, including House and Garden, Sainsbury’s Magazine and Waitrose Food Illustrated.  Photographer Jonathan Lovekin is often referred to as the best food photographer in the business.

Interested in buying this book? For the next 2 weeks Red Pepper Books is offering a special discounted price for Food from Plenty. Visit – Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, they are able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference.

Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.