The English Cookbook Review by the Literary Agent, Serendipity Publishers, Great Britain

Cooking With Class is a delightful book with a great deal more to offer than the majority of cuisine orientated works and one which I very much enjoyed.  The combination of recipes and personal memories is one which, at first, I viewed with more than a little skepticism yet soon found that The Rt. Hon. The Countess of Shannon has blended these two distinct aspects of the work together with incredible skill and precision so well, in fact, that the two complement one another perfectly and can be seen to be inextricably linked.  The Countess’ book possesses all the necessary ingredients for a successful work of its kind and is a real joy from beginning to end.

I would envisage the potential readership for the book to be somewhat diverse, encompassing a range of individuals from varied cultural backgrounds.  Although the recipes contained therein are elegant and sophisticated, well suited to dinner parties featuring royalty and dignitaries, they are not so exclusive as to be inaccessible to the ordinary lover of gourmet cuisine and will certainly brighten up any soiree, no matter who may be on the guest list. 

Cooking with Class represents a refreshing departure from the plethora of Delia-esque books which have lately appeared on the bookshelves and may prove popular in a niche market because of this.

To say that the work is unusual and innovative is something of an understatement.  The Countess has displayed real vision in combining some of her own favorite memories of special occasions with one of her great passions and the results are extremely impressive. 

The anecdotes she has selected for inclusion all seem to have been very carefully chosen and are present to fulfill a particular purpose.  They do fit in very well with the theme of cooking, dining and entertaining and tell us something about the author herself, with the reader responding in a very positive way to all the information she imparts.

One would not necessarily assume a cookery book to be either amusing or entertaining but the Countess’ work is both.  Not only does she prove herself to be a genuinely witty writer, something which is hard to achieve and impossible to fake, she also has some very funny tales to tell and does so in a lively, vibrant and vivacious style which endears the reader towards her. There are some real laugh out loud moments interspersed throughout the book and the reader feels happy and privileged that the author should be sharing her recollections in so appealing a fashion.

The style in which these wonderful vignettes are written is another great asset to the work as a whole and the Countess has a graceful, eloquent mode of expression which can even be considered lyrical in places.  She is a natural wordsmith and knows how to create a host of different images with marvelous economy of language, being easily able to make the reader’s mouth water with descriptions of sumptuous dishes, laugh at amusing incidents from her past and delight in the great pleasure there is to be gained from both cooking and eating.  We cannot help but warm to the author as she casts her spell of words over us and fall happily under her power most contentedly.

The illustrative material which adorns the work is another very positive feature and again we see a real departure from the traditional cookery book. Whilst Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver present pictures of the meals they have created, the Countess has opted for a far more original slant, with the photographs accentuating the personal elements of the book.

We are treated to images of the Countess and her family in an array of stunning costumes against a backdrop which ranges from Stonehenge to The House of Lords. That the author is such an aesthetically striking individual certainly does her book no harm and the photographs ensure that hers is a visually appealing coffee table book as well as an intrinsically practical guide to gourmet cooking.

It seems evident that a substantial amount of thought and planning has been invested into the actual structural framework of the book and this has been most worthwhile.  The work begins with some inordinately useful biographical information about the Countess herself as well as the late Duchess of Valderano, to whom the book is an excellent testament, and this serves to set the rest of the book in context. 

There is a plausive smooth fluidity to the structure the Countess has forged and the work is so captivating that it can be read and appreciated in a conventional way, from beginning to end. Yet one must not forget that the essence of Cooking With Class is rooted in the practical and the author has ensured that this is a useful work to which one can refer time and time again.

The bulk of the work has been divided into small sections, each of which is thematic in nature. Thus, we have sections dealing with simple meals for lazy days, exotic refreshing salads, deliciously tempting deserts, full menus for special occasions and the Countess’ own family favorites.  The majority of recipes have a personal note from the author, perhaps detailing why this particular dish has been selected for inclusion or recollections of a time when it was enjoyed.  It is this kind of delicate personal touch which elevates the Countess’ work over and above the majority.

There is nothing even remotely clinical about the work and it is much more than a ‘how to’ guide.  Ingredients and their combination are described passionately and fervently, with the Countess really bringing the dishes and their composition to life.  She engages all of the reader’s senses, describing the taste, the texture, the sight and the smell of these wonderful culinary creations and one also gains a strong impression of the clatter of utensils and the chatter of lively conversation accompanying their consumption.