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As a cook, restaurateur, food writer and business woman, Prue Leith has played a key role in the revolution of Britain’s eating habits since the Sixties. In 1995, having published twelve cookbooks, she gave up writing about food to concentrate on fiction. She has published five novels, the latest of which is A Serving of Scandal. Prue lives in Notting Hill, London and Moreton-in-Marsh, Gloucestershire.
A proud family. World War 2 is not yet over. Snubbed by aristocratic neighbour Lord Frampton at a coming-of-age ball, Donald Oliver dreams of the day he'll have his vengeance. A wild daughter. Laura Oliver, beautiful and tempestuous, falls in love with Giovanni, an Italian ex-prisoner-of-war, now a humble cook. Disdaining her father's snobbishness - and his wrath - the couple flee to London. A desperate hope. Giovanni and Laura arrive to a city that has not yet re-awoken after the traumas of war. Facing destitution, only their love for one another and their dream of opening a restaurant business keeps them going.
The perfect summer read - a novel about love and gardening in which a woman, recovering from divorce, rebuilds a lost garden in Oxfordshire and finds healing - and romance - in the process. We know Prue Leith is a dab hand in the kitchen. And now we know she can cook up a tasteful story about a garden - although no kitchen garden this. The gardens of the fictional Maddon Park (based on some impressive real estates recognised in the acknowledgements) are expansive and mature. And so this is a delightful novel for the mature reader. If you want a racy bonk-buster this book is not for you. If, one warm summer evening, you feel in the mood for gentle relaxation, find the cushions for the garden chair, pour yourself a glass of soft rose wine and settle down to this delightfully tasteful read.
Cooking for the higher echelons of Government is certainly lucrative but put a foot wrong, let the tabloids misinterpret something and your world can come crashing down. This scenario is at the heart of Prue Leith’s latest book, a lovely tale although not her best in my opinion. So enjoy this and move on to Choral Society. Comparison: Elizabeth Buchan, Lou Wakefield, Annabel Dilke. November 2010 Good Housekeeping selection. The Good Housekeeping view... Good Housekeeping’s Food Consultant Prue Leith dishes up the paperback of her fifth novel, A Serving of Scandal, about a professional cook whose career is put at risk when she falls for a politician.
Featured on The Book Show on Sky Arts on 19 February 2009. Three single women join a choir all looking to find different things, a new challenge, friendship, a new man. What they do find is each other and come together on a project to restore an old Cornish house and turn it in to a spa. Expect laughter and tears and a very entertaining novel from this author who not only cooks but writes a good story too.
Featured on The Book Show on Sky Arts on 19 February 2009. Three single women join a choir all looking to find different things, a new challenge, friendship, a new man. What they do find is each other and come together on a project to restore an old Cornish house and turn it in to a spa. Expect laughter and tears and a very entertaining novel from this author who not only cooks but writes a good story too.
The Angelotti family reels when the lost son, given up for adoption in the war, traces his birth family and returns to the fold, with devastating consequences. As poverty-stricken newlyweds, Laura and Giovanni Angelotti were forced to put their first child - a boy - up for adoption. They have had other children since, and their first little Italian cafe has become a restaurant empire, but Laura is still haunted by thoughts of the baby she lost. Tom is a successful businessman enjoying the fast-paced City lifestyle - until his best friend and business partner is killed in the 9/11 attacks and his world turns upside down. Searching for meaning in his life, he decides to track down his birth family: the Angelottis. But Laura has been keeping an explosive secret about Tom's parentage that means his reappearance in her life is bittersweet. She may have found her son, but will it be at the cost of everything it has taken her fifty years to build?
The Angelotti family reels when the lost son, given up for adoption in the war, traces his birth family and returns to the fold, with devastating consequences. As poverty-stricken newlyweds, Laura and Giovanni Angelotti were forced to put their first child - a boy - up for adoption. They have had other children since, and their first little Italian cafe has become a restaurant empire, but Laura is still haunted by thoughts of the baby she lost. Tom is a successful businessman enjoying the fast-paced City lifestyle - until his best friend and business partner is killed in the 9/11 attacks and his world turns upside down. Searching for meaning in his life, he decides to track down his birth family: the Angelottis. But Laura has been keeping an explosive secret about Tom's parentage that means his reappearance in her life is bittersweet. She may have found her son, but will it be at the cost of everything it has taken her fifty years to build?
It is 1968. Angelica Angelotti has grown up in the Italian food business started by her English mother and Italian father. Now she is using her cooking talent to strike out on her own, moving to Paris to go to culinary school. There, among the excitement and wild emotion of the student barricades, she falls in love with her charismatic but unreliable cousin Mario - a manic depressive ten years older than her whom her mother had sacked from their restaurant. Navigating a blossoming career, from the Savoy hotel pastry kitchen to the world of food writing and presenting, alongside an increasingly toxic relationship, eventually proves impossible. Angelica has to leave Mario, and makes the decision to move back to the family home in Gloucestershire to help her other cousin Silvano with a new branch of the family business - reopening the local pub, the Frampton Arms, as a restaurant. As they get to know each other better, Angelica realises her mistake: she chose the wrong brother. But when Mario reappears, determined to win her back, and as other jealous relatives plot the downfall of the Frampton Arms, will Angelica be able to hold on to her business and the man she's come to love?
Great British Bake Off judge Prue Leith draws on a life-long passion for food with one hundred recipes from her own kitchen table. Whether it's Halibut with Green Linguine, Fast Roast Teriyaki Lamb or Slow-cooked Rat-a-tat-touille, these are delicious, fuss-free dishes that Prue has cooked countless times for family and friends. Inside are quick-to-whip-up suppers and dinner party showstoppers that are as much a pleasure to cook as to eat. Expect firmly established favourites, lazy leftovers, meat-free meals, exciting new flavour combinations and fresh takes on classic dishes. There's also a chapter of puds inspired by Prue's time on Bake Off - every one guaranteed to be `worth the calories'. This is Prue's first cookery book in twenty-five years, and she has woven intimate and witty stories from her life around many of the recipes. Celebrating the food we all want to make at home, Prue gives an unparalleled view into the cooking life and style of one of the nation's best-loved cooks.
The first instalment of an epic multi-generational family saga by the judge of Great British Bake Off A proud family. Snubbed by aristocratic neighbour Lord Frampton at a coming-of-age ball, Donald Oliver dreams of the day he'll have his vengeance. A wild daughter. Laura Oliver, beautiful and tempestuous, falls in love with Giovanni, an Italian ex-prisoner-of-war, now a humble cook. Disdaining her father's snobbishness - and his wrath - the couple flee to London. A desperate hope. Giovanni and Laura arrive to a city that has not yet re-awoken after the traumas of war. Facing destitution, only their love for one another and their dream of opening a restaurant business keeps them going. From Cotswolds farmland to London fish markets, society ballrooms to icy gutters, this is a tale of prejudice and ambition, power and passion, and one couple's struggle to overcome all obstacles and carve out a life of their own.
The eye-opening story of one woman's incredible appetite for life: the memoirs of Prue Leith, judge of C4's GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF and former judge of BBC2's GREAT BRITISH MENU. Now fully revised and updated, including Prue falling in love and marrying again in her 70s. 'What a terrific tale it is - of a South African girl who could stand the heat and made the kitchen into a remarkable career' Telegraph Prue Leith describes herself as greedy in all senses of the word. Cook, caterer, restaurateur, food writer, journalist, novelist, businesswoman, teacher, television presenter, charity worker, lover, wife and mother, she has certainly been greedy for life. Prue came to London in the early 1960s and, not long afterwards, opened Leith's Restaurant. By the mid-seventies she was a food columnist on the Daily Mail, had published several cookbooks and opened Leith's School of Food and Wine. But it wasn't all work. Prue writes with honesty of her love life, her longing for children, the birth of her son, the adoption of her daughter and much else besides. In this fully revised and updated edition she tells of how she met, fell in love with and married John Playfair as well as her exciting new role as a judge on Great British Bake Off. Prue's down-to-earth attitude to life and her remarkable energy are an inspiration to anyone.
The eye-opening story of one woman's incredible appetite for life: the memoirs of Prue Leith, judge of C4's GREAT BRITISH BAKE OFF and former judge of BBC2's GREAT BRITISH MENU. Now fully revised and updated, including Prue falling in love and marrying again in her 70s. 'What a terrific tale it is - of a South African girl who could stand the heat and made the kitchen into a remarkable career' Telegraph Prue Leith describes herself as greedy in all senses of the word. Cook, caterer, restaurateur, food writer, journalist, novelist, businesswoman, teacher, television presenter, charity worker, lover, wife and mother, she has certainly been greedy for life. Prue came to London in the early 1960s and, not long afterwards, opened Leith's Restaurant. By the mid-seventies she was a food columnist on the Daily Mail, had published several cookbooks and opened Leith's School of Food and Wine. But it wasn't all work. Prue writes with honesty of her love life, her longing for children, the birth of her son, the adoption of her daughter and much else besides. In this fully revised and updated edition she tells of how she met, fell in love with and married John Playfair as well as her exciting new role as a judge on Great British Bake Off. Prue's down-to-earth attitude to life and her remarkable energy are an inspiration to anyone.
It is 1968. Angelica Angelotti has grown up in the Italian food business started by her English mother and Italian father. Now she is using her cooking talent to strike out on her own, moving to Paris to go to culinary school. There, among the excitement and wild emotion of the student barricades, she falls in love with her charismatic but unreliable cousin Mario - a manic depressive ten years older than her whom her mother had sacked from their restaurant. Navigating a blossoming career, from the Savoy hotel pastry kitchen to the world of food writing and presenting, alongside an increasingly toxic relationship, eventually proves impossible. Angelica has to leave Mario, and makes the decision to move back to the family home in Gloucestershire to help her other cousin Silvano with a new branch of the family business - reopening the local pub, the Frampton Arms, as a restaurant. As they get to know each other better, Angelica realises her mistake: she chose the wrong brother. But when Mario reappears, determined to win her back, and as other jealous relatives plot the downfall of the Frampton Arms, will Angelica be able to hold on to her business and the man she's come to love?
The second book in the Food of Love trilogy about an extended Anglo/Italian family in the ever-growing restaurant trade. Rebellious daughter, Angelica Angelotti, wants to strike out on her own away from the family. But some bad choices - including picking the wrong partner - lead to heart-wrenching consequences. Angelica has grown up in the family restaurant business started by her Italian father, Giovanni, and his English wife, Laura. Surrounded by gorgeous Italian food, now she wants to try something different. Defying her father's wishes, she moves to Paris to learn French cuisine. There, caught up in the excitement and emotion of the May '68 student riots, she falls in love with a charismatic but unreliable man. Back in London with him, Angelica's future career blossoms at the Savoy Hotel and further develops when she becomes a food writer. What happens to her marriage is another matter and her parents' concerns are proved painfully justified. Moving back to run the inn on her family's estate in Gloucestershire may feel like failure, but little does Angelica know that what awaits her there is the greatest challenge of her life - and a second chance at love.
Growing up in the outback of South Africa, sensible Poppy realized she would always have to look out for her younger sister, the beautiful, wild, and unreliable Carrie. Years later, in London, Poppy, a stage actress with three children and a charming, handsome husband, never imagines that Carrie, now a sexy and passionate caterer, would try to hurt her. But Carrie can't help herself. She's resentful that Poppy has everything she always wanted: a successful, fulfilling career, a gorgeous husband, a loving family, a house in the country, while Carrie has nothing but debts, one-night-stands, and an uncertain future. Carrie discovers the chink in Poppy's armor, her husband Eduardo, and she sets out to exploit it in the way she knows best. She provides Eduardo with danger, excitement, and great sex - all things that have faded in Eduardo and Poppy's marriage. But in destroying her sister's peace of mind, Carrie risks losing all those who love her. Prue Leith has written a poignant and moving story about the real choices siblings have to make once they grow up and start taking stock of their lives. Sisters is a brilliantly crafted portrait of sibling rivalry, love, and the ultimate betrayal.
Successful City lawyer Jane is leaving her husband, Patrick. She feels there must be more to life than stability and looming middle-age. She goes to India in search of passion, excitement, and a fresh start. What happens there makes her question the life she's led so far: Does her career always have to come first? And has she thrown away true love by mistake?
The perfect summer read - a novel about love and gardening in which a woman, recovering from divorce, rebuilds a lost garden in Oxfordshire and finds healing - and romance - in the process. We know Prue Leith is a dab hand in the kitchen. And now we know she can cook up a tasteful story about a garden - although no kitchen garden this. The gardens of the fictional Maddon Park (based on some impressive real estates recognised in the acknowledgements) are expansive and mature. And so this is a delightful novel for the mature reader. If you want a racy bonk-buster this book is not for you. If, one warm summer evening, you feel in the mood for gentle relaxation, find the cushions for the garden chair, pour yourself a glass of soft rose wine and settle down to this delightfully tasteful read.
Cooking for the higher echelons of Government is certainly lucrative but put a foot wrong, let the tabloids misinterpret something and your world can come crashing down. This scenario is at the heart of Prue Leith’s latest book, a lovely tale although not her best in my opinion. So enjoy this and move on to Choral Society. Comparison: Elizabeth Buchan, Lou Wakefield, Annabel Dilke. November 2010 Good Housekeeping selection. The Good Housekeeping view... Good Housekeeping’s Food Consultant Prue Leith dishes up the paperback of her fifth novel, A Serving of Scandal, about a professional cook whose career is put at risk when she falls for a politician.
Featured on The Book Show on Sky Arts on 19 February 2009. Three single women join a choir all looking to find different things, a new challenge, friendship, a new man. What they do find is each other and come together on a project to restore an old Cornish house and turn it in to a spa. Expect laughter and tears and a very entertaining novel from this author who not only cooks but writes a good story too.
When Lucy and Rebecca agree to help the shy Joanna overcome stagefright during their choral class, an unlikely friendship develops among the three. And soon enough, the lessons turn to matters of the heart. Lucy has been recently widowed and now faces the loss of her "e;old-fashioned"e; food column. Rebecca is a flighty single mother with a voracious sexual appetite, and Joanna is a hard charging businesswoman, who comes home nightly to an empty house. From acclaimed writer Prue Leith comes a delightful novel that proves it's never too late for a lesson in life and love.
From Great British Bake Off presenter Prue Leith. The LEITH'S COOKERY BIBLE is a classic. The most authoritative and comprehensive cookbook there is for seasoned cooks and beginners, chefs and caterers from the celebrated Leiths School of Food and Wine. Covering soups, first courses, vegetable dishes, salads, main courses, stocks, sauces, dips, spreads, puddings, cakes, breads, biscuits, preserves, canapes, snacks and garnishes, the Leiths Cookery Bible is truly exhaustive. In it you will find a perfected recipe for almost any dish you are looking for - Steak Tartare, Beef Bourguignonne, Peking Duck, Gazpacho, Dauphinoise Potatoes, Chicken Kiev, Thai Red Curry, Cassoulet - and for any occasion, be it a quick supper or cocktail party, picnic, three course meal or afternoon tea. The 1,400 recipes range from timeless classics such as Cheese Souffle and Steak and Kidney Pie to more innovative recipes such as Salmon and Plaice Ravioli and Red Onion and Polenta Tart, and come from every part of the world, from Scotland to the South Pacific. In addition there are clear, illustrated instructions on how to perform every culinary operation from preparing a game bird to skinning a squid. From the prestigious Leiths School of Food and Wine, this is a comprehensive and authoritative cookbook that contains everything anyone could ever need or wish to know in the kitchen.