Book Review: Rory O’Connell’s new book is the equivalent of having a culinary mentor peering over your shoulder in the kitchen.

Rory O’Connell is your wise friend in the kitchen. He’s the cook who will walk you through the process of making light, crisp pastry, poach the perfect monkfish with accompanying green sauce, even make complicated stuff like langues de chat biscuits (definitely a life skill worth knowing).
Whilst Cook Well Eat Well is unambiguously a book of dinner party recipes, there are many tricks and treats here that can be ticked off as valuable life skills, rather than simply seeking success in seamless entertaining.
And, whenever you stumble on the path to perfection, this helpful cooking master changes the typeface to bold to make sure that sauce won’t curdle: do not allow the pan to become too hot; save at least 5 tablespoons of the cooking water; simmer very gently...
With this book in your kitchen you will learn to boil eggs in salted water, roll cookie dough out between layers of baking paper, add roasted almonds to your hummus. Best of all is Mr O’Connelll’s understated manner: in an age when we are told to speak out and broadcast, Rory never raises his voice. He doesn’t need to: this is a book of culinary confidences, secrets he’s unveiling, and revealing, to you
Cook Well Eat Well reads like a very personal list of complete, authoritative and well tested menus, from an old friend, someone from whom you always ask for the recipe. Well here are those recipes, a lovely selection of treasures you will cook again and again, from one of Ireland’s most distinguished food and lifestyle gurus.