The Taste Diaries by Michael Devlin
Posted: 13 April '12 by Niall and Kelly
The Taste Diaries from Michael Devlin
We recently received an email from Michael Devlin, food columnist for the Ulster Herald newspaper, wanting to know all about our recipe for corned beef hash for one of his weekly articles.
Fair enough, I thought – he’s obviously a man of great taste!
We found out exactly how cultured Michael’s taste is after a quick search on Google. He’s a published author and his book, The Taste Diaries, is available on Amazon!
A couple of mouse-clicks later and we had our very own copy.
Michael Devlin launching his book, The Taste Diaries
What’s in the book
The Taste Diaries is a collection of Michael’s favourite articles from his column in the newspaper – but it’s much more than that.
Michael – or “Delia”, as his cooking-averse friends call him – sets out to encourage men to get into the kitchen and try their hand at cooking. To this end, The Taste Diaries is very definitely a blokes cookbook – there’s no messing around with fancy decorations or intricate recipes, just good, practical dishes that really deliver on flavour – covering everything from Potted Salmon to Moules Mariniere, from Chicken Tikka Masala to Chilli con Carne.
Michael knits it all together with some well-chosen stories and observations. His writing style is easy-going, light-hearted and funny which makes this a good read, as much as a cookbook.
The details:
- Title: The Taste Diaries
- Author: Michael Devlin
- Pages: 194
- Format: Paperback
- Publisher: Melting Pot Publications
- ISBN: 978-0956728005
- Cost: RRP. £13.99 Paperback
- Where to get it: From www.amazon.co.uk
Final thoughts
Our house is literally coming down with cookbooks, so we’re fairly ruthless when it comes to buying (or recommending) a new one. So when we say that Michael Devlin’s Taste Diaries has a guaranteed spot on our bookshelf, it says everything you need to know about how much we like this book.
Most of the recipes are pretty straightforward – a mixture of snacks, meals and even a few cocktail recipes – so the kitchen-dodging man-in-your-life really has no excuse. Some may not be the most complicated of recipes, but that’s the point – good, solid comfort food that anyone can re-create, with a few surprises in there when you want to push the boat out or to impress your other half.
Although it’s aimed at getting men into the kitchen – and I think the writing-style of the book and the humour will probably go down best with male readers – The Taste Diaries is a book that everyone will enjoy and get something from.
Good work, Delia!
The Taste Diaries by Michael Devlin
Potted Salmon from The Taste Diaries
Other information
All of the photos used in this post are courtesy of Jude Browne Photography, whose work adorns Michael Devlin’s Taste Diaries.
You can find out more about Jude Browne’s photography by visiting the blog: http://judebrownephotography.wordpress.com
Tags: book review, cookbook, jude browne photography, michael devlin, northern ireland
Categories: Books for Cooks
