I received the book "Kevin alone in the kitchen" by Kevin Aiston just before Christmas. I thought that my family would disown me when instead of looking after the Christmas dishes I started to read this book. With my mind's eye I saw burnt mushroom soup, too salty carp and overcooked cabbage. Despite this, with good intentions and with a spoon in one hand and the book in the other everything went well. As I read the book I had to try hard at times not to burst out laughing directly into the cabbage with mushrooms.

This book by Kevin Aiston is only ostensibly a cooking book. In my opinion it is an amazing, cultural repository about Great Britain, containing titbits about dishes, seasonings and customs. Do you know why allspice has this name? What is "toad in the hole"? Where does the name beef Wellington come from? What are Scotch eggs, and how do you put out burning oil in the kitchen? You will find in this book the answers to these and other questions. The author observes our all Polish habits in depth, and accurately, ironically and in a slightly quizzical way condemns our culinary and customary little sins. A housewife insisting on another piece of tasty homemade cheesecake even though the guest is full and has no desire for anything else - what a typical picture during a family visit to our grandma's or aunt's home. For us this is typical, but for a foreigner it is difficult to understand and accept.

It is likely that the vast majority of people we might ask about English cuisine first of all do not believe that it even exists and, if anything, they connect it with the worst dishes in the world. The author goes all out to change our minds about English cuisine. He interlards anecdotes with titbits about typical English recipes. The descriptions are precise and full of humour and overall the dishes are not too complicated. Everybody can use them.

Even though my fried eggs are not brown or black, and I usually slightly fry meat before roasting, I will use a few of the recipes in the future. I only do not know whether I will be brave enough to prepare some of them. Snickers covered in dough and fried in deep fat, or sandwiches with chips are like a bungee jump for me. However, maybe I really will try it. Some people say that the results are priceless.