This is not a cookbook. It’s a book about cooking. Think of it as cooking between the lines. Or what your mother should have told you. Yes, there are recipes, but this book is about the journey, not the destination, so taking centre stage are the hows and whys behind everyday ingredients and techniques – when to use coarse or finely ground salt; best pairings for common garden herbs; extracting and building flavour; champion chopping techniques; foolproof fillet; spud’s lore, jackets and all... Whereas lessons on technique are found mostly in hefty culinary bibles, this user-friendly book is for everyone who’s anywhere along the cookery continuum. It is the ‘ta-da’ moment for those who have been cooking, duty bound, for years, but didn’t show up for basics training.

In "The Elements of Cooking, New York Times "bestselling author Michael Ruhlman deconstructs the essential knowledge of the kitchen to reveal what professional chefs know only after years of training and experience. With alphabetically ordered entries and eight beautifully written essays, Ruhlman outlines what it takes to cook well: understanding heat, using the right tools, cooking with eggs, making stock, making sauce, salting food, what a cook should read, and exploring the most important skill to have in the kitchen, finesse. "The Elements of Cooking "gives everyone the tools they need to go from being a good cook to a great one.