Mr Oliver is a rare beast - a British popular chef who is big in France. His books are translated and he even gets on TV. "School Dinners" even spawned an imitator - this in a country where most children sit down to three course lunches in the school canteen. The book is written with great confidence, as though Oliver has really settled into the rĂ´le of teacher, not just of Chef. Some of the recipes are just brilliant, my favourite being "Mad Moroccan Lamb" but I agree with the comments made already that the cake departement is a little wanting, which is the reason behind the four rather than five stars. The accompanying photographs to each recipe are generally excellent - there's nothing like having a picture to compare your results against - but the diagrams of which cut comes from where on a cow, sheep, etc really could have been better. I confess that I find the "wotcher mate!" style of some passages a little irritating. Oliver really no longer has any need to be a cult personality since he most certainly has arrived. A very worthwhile addition to the shelf, however. I imagine that the French market will love it.