Jo Pratt: In the Mood for Entertaining
Cookbook Review

Jo Pratt is an exciting new young cookery writer who's just as photogenic as Nigella, but with a fresher, younger approach.

Jo's worked with many of the big name chefs - Gary Rhodes, Gordon Ramsay, Jamie Oliver. In In The Mood For Entertaining she's created food that looks gorgeous and is a breeze to put together.

Couple that with her friendly, youthful style, lively, zinging flavours and pretty presentation and you've got a book you'll be very happy to own.

We gave Jo Pratt's In The Mood For Entertaining to our reviewer Grace, a keen young cook who's always on the lookout for new ideas to try. Here's what she said.

I'd already cooked my way through Jo's first book, In the Mood for Food and loved it - but I rate this newest title, In the Mood for Entertaining even higher.

Jo's first book had quite a busy design, but in this new volume the look is kept simple and clean. Her clearly presented recipes are easy to follow, and there are dozens of beautiful whole-page photographs to drool over - and even better, when you cook the food it comes out looking just like the picture (well, almost!).

A quick flick through is enough to get your tastebuds going, but I spent several contented hours reading the whole book from cover to cover - perfect bedside browsing.

In the Mood for Entertaining is broken down into four chapters for different occasions: 'Two's Company',‘Feeding a Crowd’, 'The Dinner Party' and ‘Relaxed Entertaining’. Each section is crammed with recipes, and the book has tons of ideas for breakfasts, lunches, simple suppers, more elaborate dinners and lovely grazing food for nights in with friends.

My favourite bit of the book is ‘Midweek Masterpieces’; Crispy Tarragon Chicken with Butter Bean, Leek and Mustard Mash is delicious. Jo's food tends to be light and reasonably healthy, although sometimes she does go to town with a richer treat - Mocha Toffee Sundaes are perfect if you’re feeling indulgent!

What I like best about Jo’s recipes is that they're not only easy to make but they're original too; she uses a great range of different ingredients to come up with lots of flavoursome dishes that I can't wait to try. Thanks, Jo - you're an inspiration to any cook who loves serving food that looks as lovely as it tastes.

RECOMMENDED FOR DELICIOUS, EASY AND GOOD-LOOKING FOOD

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