COMPETITION

Cuckoo cookery

Japistos

In Competition No. 1416 you were asked for the title and publisher's blurb for yet another unnecessary cookery book with a new angle.

Miles Kington recently pointed out that eccentric cookery books have a long tradi- tion behind them. His researches unear- thed a striking title by a member of the Royal College of Physicians in 1812: An Account of a Particular Preparation of Salted Fish, to be used with boiled rice, or boiled potatoes, for the purpose of lessening the consumption of wheaten bread. Equally unexciting was Beer and Beer-Making in Ancient Times: Vol. 3, Ethiopia and the Far East (Berlin, 1928). Among the more resistible postwar titles he cited were The Isle of Wight Cookery Book and Wiki Wiki Kau Kau by Tutu Kay.

You supplied plenty of exciting ideas, but some of you got a little over-excited expounding them. Hugh Brogan's Olympic Cooking for the Under-Fives was 'divided into 40 step-by-step culinary exercises to improve co-ordination and muscle power simultaneously'. Nicholas Murray's Book of Subaqueous Canapes, aimed at scuba divers, sewage engineers, police frogmen etc., came in a handsome waterproof binding. Charles Brown's author had 'cont- rived a collection of collations designed to satisfy the meagre appetites of cardiac cripples created by a morbid fear of food, induced by warnings from contemporary nutritional experts'. Peter Sheldon's Syd Greasley, in his Cooking for Real, showed you how to duplicate `the tastes and textures you expect in pubs and cafés throughout Britain'. Perhaps the oddest volume was T. Griffiths's What is Cook- ing? `At last a philosopher has addressed himself to this important subject . .

Over to the winners, printed below, who get £10 each. The last bonus bottle of Champagne Victor Canard (Brut), pre- sented by The John Milroy Wine Mart, 3 Greek St, London W1, belongs to Noel Petty. Our grateful thanks to Mr John Milroy for having generously patronised our competition for 12 weeks.

The EEC Cookery Book This book is the culmination of five years' intensive research by the culinary branch of the Commission of the European Communities under the DUMP (Dietary Uptake Maximisa- tion Project) sub-programme. As such, it is the first authorised recipe book to deal with official Euro-cuisine. The principal topics are: — 101 things to do with beef and butter — the wheat and butter diet cooking beef with wine — cooking wheat with wine cooking beef with wheat — cooking beef, wheat and wine with butter — why not add some olive oil?

It is stressed that at this stage the book iS consultative only, a previous draft having been vetoed by Italy and Portugal on the grounds that it placed Sicilian goatherds and Madeiran cork- growers at a relative disadvantage.

(N Cduld you convert a dull packet ofpolaielnpeeritstyP)s into a tasty packet of prawn cocktail flavour by a judicious sprinkling of E503? Or stiffen a watery gravy by the simple addition of modified stare!' (E652)? These are just two of the tips in the exciting new cookbook Cooking with E Nurn; bers. A refreshing antidote to the plethora °` didactic whole-food tomes, this book looks unashamedly at the positive side of those mYstf rious Euro-additives and shows them to be indispensable to any modern kitchen. The read- er will discover that a whole world of flavours and textures lies around the comer, at the nearest industrial pharmacy. There are huge, money savings too; the recipe for traditional pâté de campagne, for instance, calls for nothing but textured soya protein, monosodium gluta- mate and butelated hydroxide! For all those unfraid of new ideas, this book is a must! (Peter Norman)

The School Meals Book

Never forget that your man has tastes and needs formed long before he met you. For the English male no period is lived with such intensity as his schooldays. Part of him remains forever a schoolboy. He will never be wholly yours till you find that part — and feed it.

As wife to the Headmaster of one of Eng- land's leading preparatory schools, Coqua is ideally qualified to tell you how to recreate in authentic detail the meals your husband or boyfriend experienced in his formative years. Do you know how to put the lumps into Porridge and custard? Coqua demonstrates. How long before lunch should he smell the cabbage? What if he tries to leave his stew? Coqua supplies the answers. Mince? Her chap- ter is definitive. This unique cookery book contains enough menus for over a fortnight without repetition, although it is unlikely that so much variety will be required. (Keith Norman)

Food fit for heroes is how Arthur Scargill hailed Eva Smith's first book, The Striker's Snap-Tin. Now she's back again with her follow-up — Pickets' Picnics. With experience of the coal

strike and Wapping behind her she's come up with a comprehensive collection of sustaining recipes to outlast the longest dispute.

Ideologically sound food with longer-lasting flavour — that's Ms Smith's recipe for a satisfied line. Tasty eaten straight from greaseproof, even tangier when heated on a brazier or blazing police car, these recipes are ever-practical food- on-the-go for no-go areas. Orgreave Oaties, Tolpuddle Turnovers, Wapping Wedges provide fuel for the fighters — and, an added bonus, they are ideal for those unsupervised school lunches.

Tried and tested by picket lines up and down the country, every one is a winner, from the first ballot to the last ACAS meeting. Strike a blow for freedom — and good food! (D. A. Prince)

The Great Battle Cookbook

Following the recent spate of realistic war- games, Major-General `Spoons' Chard-Skillitt, veteran of Kitchener's Catering Corps, has painstakingly researched the field catering at fifty famous engagements. Now you can, eat as Sidney, Cromwell, Napoleon, Wellington and Rommel ate, and cook for yourself Chicken Marengo, Squirrel Naseby or Rook Soup Ban- nockburn. As well as the principal dishes, dictated by the available ingredients (at Agin- court a cow garnished with onions and garlic, at Hastings merely a collation of kelp, turnips and winkles), 'Spoons' has documented the various breads, from Alfred's toasted Hobscones to the Croissants Muscovites of Buonaparte's chef. There is even a chapter on hand-milling, and readers who can find two flattish round stones can have hours of ihterest experimenting with flours from different grains.

Whether planning a major military recon- struction or a small backyard skirmish, you will find this book indispensable.

(Gerard Benson)