My Books

An Appetite for Ale - NEW

£19.99 CAMRA (The Campaign for Real Ale)

  This groundbreaking new book brings beer back on the table where it belongs. I wrote it with my son Will who runs an award-winning gastropub, The Marquess Tavern in Islington. He wrote the beer stuff and I did the food which includes both recipes which have beer as an ingredient and recipes that go particularly well with beer. As well as the usual suspects (curries, pies and Ploughmans) there are dishes you wouldn't automatically associate with beer such as Prawn, Fennel and Leek Risotto, Salmon Burgers with Goats' Cheese and Sun-dried Tomatoes and Japanese-style Winter Vegetable Stew with Miso. Not to mention some wickedly indulgent treats such as Chocolate and Cherry Roulade and Mango and Passion Fruit Beer Jellies. Most of the dishes have recommended beer matches and there's a comprehensive beer and food pairing section. A must-have for any beer-lover!

Will and I have just jointly won the Bishop's Finger 2007 Award for Beer and Food Writing for this book at the British Guild of Beer Writer Awards! Tim Hampson, The British Guild of Beer Writers Chairman was nice enough to say, ‘An Appetite for Ale’ is an exceptional piece of work. The knowledge and passion of the authors shines from every page.”

"A fine present for the beer-lover in your life . . . crammed with easy-to-make (and deliciously illustrated) recipes, suggested beer matches and details of beer-friendly restaurants." Jonathan Ray, Daily Telegraph

"An Appetite for Ale . . . is the first book to truly embrace the relationship between great beer and terrific cuisine - both as an accompaniment and an ingredient" Delicious

"[The recipes] given by Beckett mère et fils are never difficult, complicated or impractical. The book is intended to provide home cooks with a repertoire that would partner beer well; indeed, many of the recipes involve beer. None of them, though, would be over-challenging to create in the pub context. This is good, honest food, updated, re-imagined and sometimes perfected."  Andrew Jefford, Morning Advertiser


Food, Wine and Friends - NEW

£19.99 Ryland, Peters & Small

"In this inspirational new book, award-winning food and wine writer Fiona Beckett offers a wonderful range of menus for social occasions of all kinds, with recommendations for the ideal drinks to partner her mouthwatering recipes. A meal based on a spring visit to the farmers' market, a Provençal-style lunch, a romantic dinner for two, a summer picnic — these are just some of the menus to get your imagination going. You will find classic dishes such as Boeuf Bourguignon alongside intriguingly original recipes such as Pot-roast Brisket with Zinfandel, Roast Garlic and Pumpkin Polenta. There are also light, healthy options such as Little Seafood Jellies with White Wine and Dill, and Sicilian-spiced Seabass with Grilled Tomatoes and Baby Fennel. Indulgent delights include a 'Just Desserts' evening and a Summer Berry Tea; and Fiona's approach to cheese, creating cheeseboards to reflect the seasons, is just one of the fun new ways of eating suggested in this book. Wine puts the finishing touch to a meal, but it is not everyone's choice. By following Fiona's advice on beers and cocktails, coffees, teas and other non-alcoholic drinks you can make all guests feel equally welcome."

"Fiona Beckett creates the type of food I love to cook and eat - simple, hearty and full of flavour. Pair this with her talent for writing some of the most user-friendly wine and drink pages I have ever read and you will see why I love this book" David Herbert, Food Editor, Easy Living

 

 

How to Match Food and Wine

£6.99 Mitchell Beazley May 2002

 

One of the launch titles in Mitchell Beazley's innovative "Wine made Easy" series How to Match Food and Wine lets you into the secret of how to make wine and food matches work. Choose from 'safe bets' to 'adventurous alternatives' depending how brave you're feeling: there are even matches for tricky ingredients such as chillies and chocolate! With sections on wines to drink with the world's favourite cuisines and what food to serve with that extra special bottle How to Match Food and Wine is an indispensable guide.

*UK winner of the Best Book on Matching Food and Wine, World Cookbook Awards 2002

Wine by Style: A Practical Guide to Choosing Wine by Flavour, Body, and Colour

£12.99 Mitchell Beazley, February 2006

A new, updated edition of my first book which, as the title suggests, takes wine styles rather than grape varieties or wine producing regions as its starting point. Since the first edition came out in 1998 many restaurants and shops have started to list their wines by style to make it easier for customers find the wines they're most likely to enjoy. So whether you're into crisp dry whites, fruity rosés or full-bodied reds (or all three at different times) it should, I hope, point you in the direction of some rewarding discoveries.

 

Cooking with Wine

£8.99 Ryland, Peters and Small, 2005

 

An ideal gift for a winelover who enjoys cooking. Recipes include Wild Mushroom and Champagne Risotto, Duck Casserole with Red Wine Cinnamon and Olives, Osso Buco-style Veal Chops with Green Olive Gremolata and Chocolate and Cabernet Pots.
 

 

 

Champagne and Sparkling Wine

£8.99 Ryland, Peters and Small 2004

 

A beautifully illustrated small book introducing the fascinating world of fizz - how sparkling wines are made, where they come from and, most importantly how to enjoy them at their best. There are - as I hope you'd expect - plenty of ideas about how to pair them with food and some fabulous cocktails.
"This book makes a superb stocking filler or present and couldn't be more apt around Christmas time when corks will be popping everywhere. With Fiona Beckett's assured hand, it certainly makes for a good read."
The Good Web Guide.co.uk

Cheese from Fondue to Cheesecake

£16.99 Ryland Peters and Small 2005

 

A reprint of my earlier title Cheese with added recipes

“Wonderful photography, excellent advice and suggestions... it is good to find a book that gets down to the basics and answers the questions we hadn't even thought to ask”
The Good Web Guide

* Winner of the Best Cheese Book in English (UK) in the 2003 Gourmand World Cookbook Awards

 

 

Steak

£8.99 Ryland, Peters and Small, September 2007

My husband, the long-suffering guineapig for all my recipe testing, enjoyed Steak more than any of the other books I’ve done which I suppose tells you quite a lot about the type of book it is (meaty and macho!) There are though, I have to say, some pretty nice recipes in it from bistro classics such as Entrecote Marchand de Vin and Bavette aux Echalotes, to contemporary steak recipes such as Seared Steak Carpaccio, Korean-style Stir-Fried Steak and, possibly my favourite in the whole book, South African sugar-cured Chateaubriand.

Meat and Two Veg

£12.99 Absolute Press, October 2007

'Meat and two veg' is a splendid British Institution that deserves revisiting, not least on the grounds that we should all eat more veg. This Successor to the best-selling Sausage and Mash is packed full of the comforting homely dishes your mum and gran used to make - casseroles, pies and roasts - all given a contemporary twist.  Top favourites with my family were the West Country Chicken Casserole with Cider, Apple and Celery, Spring Lamb Stew with Herbs and Lemon and Rabbit, Bacon and Tewkesbury Mustard Pie. You should also try some of the gratins .

Sausage and Mash

£12.99 Absolute Press, October 2004

If you love sausages in any guise this is the book for you! Not only about sausage and mash, as the title suggests, but sausages in pies, with pasta, beans, lentils and rice: sausages for every occasion from breakfast to barbecues. Classic sausage dishes such as Sausages in rich Guinness Gravy, 'Mini Sausage Toads' and Hot Dogs are included along with more innovative recipes such as Italian Sausage, Mozzarella and Artichoke Pizza, Thai Sausages with Leek and Lemongrass Rice and Chinese-style Sausages with Stir-Fried Greens. There are suggestions on the best drinks to enjoy with them too!
"One of our great comfort foods has finally been given the recognition it deserves"
Independent on Sunday

 

 

Beyond Baked Beans - Real Food for Students

£8.99 Absolute Press

 

At last a book that recognises that students these days have sophisticated tastes - they just don't have the budget to indulge them. Recipes range from easy-to-rustle up Fuel like Moroccan Carrot Salad through Favourites (Baked Chicken with Garlic and Lovely Lemony Potatoes) to slap-up Feasts (Smoked Salmon Pizza and Lemon Vodka Sorbet) And of course there's a Booze section too.
"Anyone of any age who has never cooked but suddenly has to would be grateful for this book"
Daily Telegraph
"On reading the book from cover to cover I regretted there was nothing around like this when I was a student and that it was Fiona who had the idea for this book and not me"
Antony Worrall Thompson - Daily Express
"As the name suggests, Beckett's modern recipes - like modern students - show savvy and style"
The Independent
“Brilliant”
www.deliaonline.com

Beyond Baked Beans Green - Real Veggie Food for Students

Absolute Press, July 2004

 

Although there were a lot of veggie recipes in my first book it was clear that there was a demand for a 100% veggie version of Beyond Baked Beans so here it is. Same formula - the book is divided into quick fixes for every day, popular recipes for sharing in a student house and flashier recipes for when you feel like showing off. There are lots of new recipes I'm really, really pleased with such as Half- Baked Potatoes, Homage to the Spicy Beanburger, an amazing Veggie Caesar Salad and GMVs (you'll have to buy the book to find out what they are!)

"This book provides for all the gastronomic needs of the ever-growing herbivorous student population. The author claims that her book can be enjoyed by meat eaters too, and she's right - I could easily see myself living from it alone"
Tom Hirst, The Times
"The book is full of delicious meals that are filling, nourishing, cheap - and happen to lack meat... it makes a change to read a cookery book that does not urge you to spend money on the finest ingredients and luxurious saucepans."
Catriona Howatson, Daily Telegraph