Changes

If there's one food which could tempt me to buy a deep fat fryer then it's Scotch eggs. I've tried other methods of cooking them, but it's not the same and I've not bought one since I took a batch back to a shop and pointed out that they should have shelled the eggs. Bates' recipes completely bypass the 'standard' Scotch egg and go straight for the flavoursome with a black pudding version, one for vegetarians, a smoked haddock version and the more exotic Thai red curry. There's plenty of advice about how to make the eggs so that they don't fall apart - and to produce that all-important slightly-runny yolk.

But, as ever with such books, the devil is in the detail. Take the photographs. By page seven there are five pictures of Bates. Yep - I know - appealing young man, but it's not what I buy a cookery book for and it's padding. And I have to mention that picture on the title page. It looks as though Bates is either parked rather badly on double yellow lines or he's cycling into oncoming traffic. Either way it doesn't inspire confidence. Moving on from the photos themselves there's the question of presentation. In the picture of the honey cheesecake the dish is topped with some sugar work (and rather elementary sugar work at that) but it's not a part of the recipe and to my mind detracts from what should be a simple, genuine pudding. And don't even get me started on that 'fine dining' stripe of food on the picture of halibut steak, chorizo, refried beans and guacamole...