Understand the basics of stocking the store cupboard, choosing equipment, menu planning, budgeting, hygiene and food preparation, as well as simple presentation skills. A comprehensive ingredients section at the start of each chapter provides all you need to know about buying, storing and preparing different food types. This title includes familiar and filling recipes for everyday and easy entertaining such as seafood chowder, chicken fajitas, and lemon surprise pudding. The recipe section is organised by food group with chapters on eggs, vegetables, pasta, rice, grains and beans, fish and shellfish, poultry, meat, and pastry plus a final chapter on desserts and baking. An at a glance nutritional guide tells you how much fat, sugar, protein, carbohydrate, cholesterol and calories are in each portion. Every chapter in this helpful new book discusses the nutritional value of each food type and includes key information about choosing, buying and the different ways of preparing them. The 150 recipes have been selected to teach a wide range of key skills and include everyday tasty favourites that will help build the cook's basic skill repertoire such as fish pie, Irish stew and basic risotto. Each recipe contains minimal ingredients, and all the techniques are thoroughly explained and illustrated with step-by-step photographs. There are hundreds of cook's tips scattered throughout along with plenty of suggestions for varying the ingredient to suit individual tastes. There is even information on what to do when things go wrong. Serving suggestions help the reader make sensible choices about which foods to serve together.