100 creative recipes that can all be made ahead at a leisurely, stress-free pace, so that the cook is free to enjoy the festivities The festive season is when most of us need a bit of help in the kitchen, with parties to prepare for and the big day itself, when family and friends converge for a Christmas feast. This is where the "do-ahead" approach to cooking advocated here comes into its own, allowing the cook to enjoy being with their guests instead of stuck in the kitchen. Cooks can do all the work ahead of time with this a range of fresh, modern recipes, from amuse-bouches to little sweet things. With practical advice for making delicious and creative festive food well in advance, from party canapes, to Christmas lunch with all the trimmings, even drinks and edible gifts, ideas for scaling up, menu planning, and storage, this is the book that no foodie can do without. Includes dual measurements.

`This is a book you really want. No fifteen-minute magic or culinary sorcery, just practical, staged cooking of the most sumptuous dishes.' Yotam Ottolenghi

`It's fantastic. I want to cook every single thing in it.' India Knight

`Everything you could want from a cookbook: useful, beautiful, delicious.' Dolly Alderton

Welcome friends with an aperitif, before serving up a home-cooked feast, without spending precious socialising time in the kitchen.

Chef James Ramsden first honed his skill for creating exciting, tasty food without fuss at his popular supper club, The Secret Larder. He owns two critically acclaimed restaurants, including Observer Food Monthly Awards Best Restaurant 2017 Pidgin and its younger sister, Magpie; and hosts the hit podcast series The Kitchen is on Fire.

Here, he shares the secret to preparing meals for guests. The key is simple: make it in advance.

With 150 creative and stress-free recipes for easy entertaining, there are a range of fresh, modern ideas from pre-dinner nibbles to mouth-watering mains and cocktails to toast the lot.

Chapters include:

Small nibbles; Soups; Mains; Vegetables and sides; Puddings; Little sweet things; Drinks; and Menu suggestions.

Every Last Crumb is a collection of thrifty, delicious dishes designed to make the most of your bread, minimise food waste, and inspire creativity. Comprising around 80 recipes, each chapter looks at a day in the life of a loaf and offers a variety of exciting ways to use it. "This isn't a baking book. It's an eating book" - James Ramsden. Inspired by the traditional cookbooks of yesteryear, Every Last Crumb fuses old-fashioned culinarily resourcefulness with a modern palette to create a giftable book with a zero-waste mentality at its core; from classic sandwiches and bread and butter pudding, to brown bread ice cream and even fermented rye bread beer. Filled with beautiful line drawings, this nostalgic cookbook offers a retro feel with a broad appeal, in particular for those who consider themselves foodies - home cooks and food lovers, amateur bakers, cooks who like variety and novelty, and who occasionally want to step outside their comfort zone. Taking you through the five day life cycle of the loaf, each chapter offers a range of recipes to suit your loaf, making sure you make the most of your leftovers in the most delicious way. With thousands of people across the nation having rediscovered the joy of baking during lockdown, this is the modern antidote to reducing waste, using the whole loaf and a little culinary ingenuity. Chapters include: Day One - A Freshly Baked Loaf Day Two - Toast & Friends Day Three- Salads & Puddings Day Four - Crusts Day Five - Crumbs Word Count: 21,008