A Table for Friends: The Art of Cooking for Two or Twenty

Lovely book and a pleasure to explore. My only complaint is the old fashioned tiny pale grey typewriter script used in about 30 to 50 per cent of the book. We need to be able to read this book standing up in the kitchen. I imagine myself peering short-sightedly through my varifocals wearing a head-torch & clutching a magnifying glass when I come to make any of the recipes. That's why I graded book 4 not 5 stars. Please feedback to the designers. Not all of us have the eyesight of a 25 year old!

How can I describe this amazing book? I wish I could give it more than five stars it’s a brilliant recipe book excellent recipes and written from the heart.It’s is a riot of gorgeous photographs that captures the essence of this amazing author’s vision. Each page is a gem to be savoured.I had bought her first amazing book simply because she was a Venetian and then cooked my way through all her recipes. It was a huge joy and made her courgette pie last week.As soon as her new book was announced I pre-ordered without hesitation and it is incredible- I do hope everyone buys this wonderful book and enjoys making the Pasta Con Marscapone I made it last night and if this first dish is anything to go by I know the rest will be incredible.Please buy this book and her first one and enjoy them as they are absolute gems and should be on every serious cooks shelves.Amazing and I cannot wait start cooking my way through it 💜

I’ve just finished reading this book and made my first recipe.The pros: there are some delicious sounding recipes. When I read a new cookbook, I make a list of all the recipes I want to cook. In this case, it’s about half of them, which is pretty good going!The cons: as others have said, the tiny pale grey print of the ingredients list is almost impossible for me to read! I’m squinting to make it out,'which is really annoying and off -putting. If you have 20:20 vision, this might not be a problem but I need a magnifying glass!The first recipe I’ve just made is the chocolate rum pudding. I followed the instructions exactly and left it to chill for a day before attempting to unmould it - what a disaster! It was semi-liquid and more like a sauce than a pudding. I warmed it up, added lots more melted chocolate to try and set it, scraped it back into the mould and chilled it again - still runny! I would like to ask Skye what went wrong as I initially followed her recipe exactly. Having said that, it tastes delicious and I will use it as a sauce for ice-cream so it won’t be wasted! But this failure makes me wonder if all the recipes have been properly tested? Hence the 3 stars

I am so pleased with this new book by Skye McAlpine. It is beautifully presented,and full of useful,timeless recipes,both savoury and sweet. Drunken Strawberries, Pink rhubarb and Prosecco jelly, Coffee Mascarpone biscuit Cake, and Limoncello Semifreddo are amongst the many sweet recipes. New potatoes with lemon and Samphire, Aphrodite’s Roast Chicken, Spinach,Mint And melted cheese Syrian Frittata, Roast Pork with honey roast Persimmons are amongst the savoury. There are many menu suggestions,advice on cooking for two,through to twenty people,as well as common sense dining instructions. All in all, it is the simplicity that makes this book so inspirational. Everything in this book is doable, from the table settings to the food itself. This is the best lockdown purchase that I have made so far.

After eagerly awaiting Skye’s new book, it arrived yesterday afternoon and by supper I had already used a recipe. It’s beautiful to look at, inspiring to read and fabulous to cook from. Having followed Skye on Instagram for some time, I was so excited to read that she was writing a book and finally I now have my hands on a copy and I am bursting with enthusiasm to cook after reading it cover to cover within 24 hr. It is already my favourite book. Go buy it you will not be disappointed. Promise!