As Hugh says: “I have honed the River Cottage approach to food over a decade now, and I believe passionately that it is relevant to everybody, every day. You only have to decide that food, and its provenance, matters to you and your family, and the River Cottage way of doing things can offer a whole raft of solutions: food sourcing and shopping strategies, thrifty kitchen tricks and, above all, approachable, delicious, easy recipes.”

“This book makes no prior assumptions about where you shop, what you may or may not know about growing vegetables or keeping livestock, or whether you can tell the difference between a cep and a chanterelle. But once you own the book, these things may well begin to matter to you. All you will need to reap the benefit is a commitment to spend at least some time in the kitchen, with fresh ingredients, a few times a week. And if you don’t have that at the outset, I believe that a little time spent with this book – perhaps in bed, before you go to sleep – will soon put that right! Above all, I intend to tempt and charm you towards a better life with food – with a set of simply irresistible recipes that just happen to be seasonal and ethical.”

Hardcover: 416 pages

Buy now from Amazon UK: River Cottage Everyday

About the Author
Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is a writer, broadcaster and campaigner. His series for Channel 4 have earned him a huge popular following, while his River Cottage books have collected multiple awards including the Glenfiddich Trophy (twice), the Andre Simon Food Book of the Year (three times), the Michael Smith Award for Work on British Food award at the Guild of Food Writers and, in the US, the James Beard Cookbook of the Year. Hugh lives in Dorset with his family.

The New Self-Sufficient Gardener: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Planning, Growing, Storing and Preserving Your Own Garden Produce by John Seymour

The complete illustrated guide to planning, growing, storing and preserving your own garden produce from ‘the grand master of self-sufficiency’ (Kitchen Garden), John Seymour John Seymour’s classic guide gives you the knowledge and expertise to create your own self-sufficient garden and produce what you need. Whatever the size of your space, discover how to garden organically and maximise your harvest, without the need for radical changes to your lifestyle. From cultivating vegetables to making cider, keeping chickens to training vines, you’ll garden in tune with the seasons, growing for the year, eating for today and storing for tomorrow. No specialist knowledge required: just clearly explained principles and practicalities ideal for any gardener.

The New Self-Sufficient Gardener: The Complete Illustrated Guide to Planning, Growing, Storing and Preserving Your Own Garden Produce – click here to buy this wonderful book from Amazon UK

John Seymour, the acknowledged founding father of the self-sufficiency movement, was an active campaigner for the countryside and the environment. Students come from around the world to learn about his lifestyle & philosophies at the centre he established in southern Ireland.

‘My team at River Cottage really know how to find and cook good, fresh food. Together we are creating a series of handbooks crammed with expert information. They will be passionate, but practical so that you can have a really useful book to hand whenever you feel the urge to forage, preserve, bake, grow or cook’ Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Buy now from Amazon UK: Veg Patch: River Cottage Handbook No.4 (River Cottage Handbook 4)

Drawing directly from his experience as an acclaimed climate-change gardener, and of setting up a kitchen garden from scratch for River Cottage, Mark explains the practical aspects of organic growing, introduces us to a whole world of vegetables we may not have previously considered, and does away with alienating gardening jargon once and for all. Mark begins with a catalogue of vegetables that will grow in this country, explaining for each their benefits, what varieties to go for, dos and don’ts, and popular culinary uses. He then invites us to create a wish list of foods, and shows us his own list from his early gardening days.

Next, he explains how to turn this wish list into a coherent kitchen garden plan appropriate for our space, whether it be a patch of acidic soil, a roof-top garden or an allotment, whether we put on our wellies in every free moment or are ‘time-poor’ gardeners. Then he puts all the theory into practice, showing us how to look after nutrients in the soil, how to resist pests and diseases, and how to make our garden sustainable and organic. In clear, concise sections we learn about seed trays, supporting plants with climbing structures, mulching, composting, companion planting, irrigation and promoting pollination, and there are additional tables showing sowing and harvesting times, plant sizes, and alternative varieties of plants for different sites. About thirty recipes and a directory of useful addresses finish the book, and the handbook is complemented by bright colour photography throughout.

Practical and inspiring, with a textured hard cover and an introduction by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, Veg Patch is destined to join Handbooks No. 1, 2 and 3 as an indispensible household reference.