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May 15, 2016

Leicestershire & Rutland Cook Book Review & Giveaway

More, Giveaways 54 Replies

Ah, isn’t it nice to read a book where there are references in it you recognise? This applies to fiction and non fiction in my eyes.

So I was sent a review copy of The Leicestershire & Rutland Cook Book and being the diligent little reviewer that I am, I read it cover to cover and in order. As in I started at the front and moved all the way through to the end. Now, the foreword by the chappy who owns Hambleton Hall got my back up a bit. It harked back to the old days of when Leicestershire was not such a centre of gastro delight. Now I am not so young as to not remember these days. A posh meal out in Leicester in the 80s was hard to find. In fact even in the 90s it wasn’t especially easy. But the last word he gave on his little intro irritated the hell out of me. ‘I still sometimes envy our continental neighbours for their food traditions and great ingredients, but for game, beef, lamb, cheese and of course pork pies, we are unbeatable!’ It feels so apologetic. Surely this is not foreword fodder. I’m hoping people who are not as anally retentive as me will skip straight past this to Tim Burke’s foreword, the Leicester Mercury restaurant reviewer and writer of the wonderful local blog Eyes on the Prize. I love Tim. The man can write. I had the pleasure of meeting him and his fabulous girlfriend at the launch evening and he was as engaging in person as he is in print.

Anyway, I really do like this book very much. There are recipes for gin cocktails, pork pies, curries, burgers, french toast, cakes, pies, lots of venison and Stilton as you might imagine, and on the whole the book feels balanced. If I were being hyper critical I’d say there’s a lot of meat. The veggies might feel a little sad given the heritage of Leicester’s Indian veggie cuisine. I’d also suggest that the amazing chefs who have submitted some of these recipes might think about their audience a little more – most people who buy this will admittedly be foodie types. But some of the recipes are laborious at best. Then again chefs are chefs, not cook book writers. The two are very different things.

All the recipes have been submitted by restaurants/cafes/small producers with a little blurb about them and what they do. Now this is a tricky format to follow but I think Tim has pulled it off in his edit. It could have felt like one long advert but it does not. It feels proud. There are a few places I’d like to have seen represented amongst the pages, but you never quite know the politics on these kind of books.

Anyway, it’s good. I like it. I tried lots of the recipes on the launch night and enjoyed them very much.

I have 3 copies of The Leicestershire & Rutland Cookbook worth £14.95 (RRP) each to giveaway to three people. There are lots of ways to enter – see the Rafflecopter form below. The first way is just to leave a comment on this post. Easy peasy. Closing date 26th August 2016. How to enter:

  • Complete the Rafflecopter form below to confirm your entries made via blog comments, Twitter, Facebook etc.
  • This giveaway will close on 26th August 2016.
  • Please read the rules below.
  • Winners are announced on the Rafflecopter form after the prize has been claimed by the winner.
  • First timers: Please watch how Rafflecopter works (video)! It is 46 seconds long. It explains everything.
  • If no form is showing, hit refresh and it should appear.
  • Complete the form – or your beloved entries will not go into the draw. And that would be such a waste of time.
  • Mandatory entries need to be completed first – so leave a blog comment before you try and complete any of the other methods of entry.
  • Want more chances to win? Come back daily after tweeting about the giveaway and fill the form in again.
  • If you are viewing this by email you will need to click through to enter.

Rules and things:

  • Open to anyone over the age of 18, UK & Europe. Sorry to anyone younger or further afield.
  • There is 3 x signed copies of L & R Cookbook RRP £14.95 to giveaway to three people.  There’s no cash alternative to the prize and the prize is not transferable. No part or parts of the prize may be substituted for other benefits, items or additions.
  • Instructions form part of the terms and conditions. Entries using any software or automated process to make bulk entries will obviously be disqualified. The winner will be picked at random using software and then contacted by email. If you win and then don’t respond to this email within 7 days then another winner will be picked so check your emails and your spam! The goodies will be delivered to the winner as soon as possible after you have sent me your delivery address.
  • I am running this giveaway on behalf of Meze Publishing who will be responsible for sending the prize to you by post should you win. Their decision is final and binding and no correspondence will be entered into.
  • This is where I get all stern – please don’t say you have liked the post and followed me on Twitter and Tweeted away like a Tweety thing if you haven’t as guess what? If you win I will check you did do the things you said you did. It’s only fair after all. And I do like fairness.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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54 comments

  6. Brilliant book! I am always so interested in the local cuisine of areas, I think it’s fascinating :)

  9. I really want to read this cook book. Thank you for the chance. I love reading your blogs, Keep up the great work :-)

  15. I live in Leicestershire would love to see what the recipes from local business’s are.

  19. I visit Leiceseter and Rutland a lot so would be interested to see which recipes are seen as theirs

  28. I would love to win this! I grew up in Oakham, Rutland, and am very intreguied by what the recipes will be! Pork pies? Stilton? I now live in London, so winning this would be fab! Such a proud feeling being from the tiniest county! Xx

  29. Wow would love this as I use to live in the Rutland Area. Oakham Market was one of the best places to get fruit and veg and other foodie bits

  31. wow I collect cookery books and these look great -I dont know about food from those regions so will be interesting

  34. Great giveaway. I am not familiar with Leicestershire food so would love to learn more.

  40. Great giveaway, love food and cooking but as I don’t come from your neck of the woods I don’t know much about the local grub there.

  42. I am totally with you on this one Holly. As a fellow Leicester girl myself there is something amazingly gratifying about reading about the places that you grew up with. Gives me a little fuzzy warm feeling inside :-) Would love to win something like this x

  53. Looks like a nice recipe book. Interested in the Stilton recipes in particular as I love Stilton!

Comments are closed.

Holly Bell
I’m a mum of 3 boys, a cookbook writer and also a finalist on the 2011 Great British Bake Off. I’ve decided to record the recipes I use, partly to save them somewhere and partly in case someone else might like to use them... [Read more]

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