Personally The Ultimate Recipe Book, worried me, as an avid collector of cook books, the thought that out there was one recipe book so comprehensive - that just flicking through it would put a stop to my monthly flirtations with Amazon, forever.

I needn't have fretted, as no 200-page recipe book was ever really going to stop me in my tracks, but author Angela Nilsen was going to have a damn good try! Taking fifty classic dishes, BBC Good Food writer Angela brings new meaning to 'tried and tested' as she painstakingly reconstructs each dish into its ultimate form.

It's a tall order trying to perfect Yorkshire Pudding or Lemon Tart, so Angela Nilsen recruits a little help from some of her famous friends - Rick Stein is advisor on Fish Cakes, while Gennaro Contaldo, Valentina Harris and Ursula Ferringo all have something to say about risotto.

It's this modest attitude that makes the book so appealing, occasionally the author's sauces burn or cakes flop, just like anyone else - and she's not afraid to make mistakes or take advice in her pursuit of the ultimate. The book is divided into Entertaining, Suppers, Salads, Soups, Sauces and Cakes, with the emphasis on classics. So you'll find Quiche Lorraine, Gratin Dauphinois, Sticky Toffee Pudding alongside contemporary favourites Lamb Biryani and Thai Green Curry.

The background to Angela's research is truly fascinating, appealing to the food geek in all of us. And you are with her all the way in her choice to make Scrambled Egg in 40 minutes or 50 seconds. It's the baking chapter that I found most illuminating. Baking really benefits from forethought, exactness and if you will science, with it's flour/fat ratio pastry could almost be made in a laboratory. Angela Nilsen, puts an unenviable amount of effort into her recipes, so you don't have to, and with the Ultimate Recipe Book, you'll get perfect results every time, as they say.

Nora Ryan