Do not make the mistake of thinking this is a cookery book. It is a beautiful lifestyle guide which contains recipes.

The photographs are exquisite, the food is deliciously styled, and the prose reads like the sort of pretentious and expensive advertorial found only in the most upmarket coffee-table magazines.

The selected dishes — recipes is too mundane a term — are divided into seasonal sections.

“Just think of the green and leafy celebration of spring, the exuberant abundance of summer, the earthy aromas of autumn and the warming richness of winter. Not only are they illustrated by the varied shapes and hues of the fruit piled into the bowl on the kitchen bench, they are also evident in the staples that appear in the cupboards and refrigerator ...”

Using seasonal, fresh produce sounds good in theory, but if this book is to be your Bible, you will need money and access to the sort of specialist food shop I have yet to find in SA. Fortunately, there are enticing suggestions using ingredients available from selected shops — if you live in a big centre.

Even so, the book is a treat for chefs and armchair recipe addicts who want something to salivate over while their microwave dinner warms up ( )