Book Review: Food for Friends: Modern Vegetarian Cooking at Home

Brighton's Food for Friends has been an established landmark on the vegetarian foodies' map for many years, serving sophisticated, locally-sourced dishes in its laid back and modern restaurant. Now, its owners have published their first ever recipe book, allowing fans of the restaurant to try out the dishes at home.

As a long-term fan of FFF with a habit of dropping in to the restaurant any time I find myself South of the M25, I couldn't wait to get started. The book itself is beautifully designed and very inviting, so it wasn't long before myself and my boyfriend, also a vegetarian, had picked out a couple of choice recipes and fired up the oven.

Initially we picked out a main course and a dessert: a puy lentil moussaka, and a recipe for chocolate and almond brownies. Both turned out delicious, and needless to say, did not last long in our home. Next on the list is 'Snorkers not Porkers'; a tasty-looking yet deceptively simple recipe for vegetarian bangers that was once a much-loved staple at the restaurant.

The book itself was a joy to work from: as well as being stylishly presented, it is practical: labelling on suitability for different types of diet are clear and consistent, and there are some great recipes for important "basics" such as vegetable stock and tomato sauce.


Another practical thing I love about this book is that it has good, heavy pages that stay open wherever they are left - a surprisingly important detail in a recipe book, and one that has been unfortunately overlooked in many of the more 'hippie' style cookbooks I've encountered in my time. I have to say, it looks good on the coffee table, too.

I'd recommend this as a good, easy-to-follow recipe book for any vegetarians looking to widen their repertoire, whether they've visited the restaurant or not. Long-standing fans like myself will, however, be particularly pleased by the inclusion of some long discontinued old favourites!

Food for Friends: Modern Vegetarian Cooking at Home is Published by Infinite Ideas where it is available for £16.99