Is there a more versatile ingredient for a host of recipes than chicken? Delia Smith is in no doubt of the centrality of chicken to many really tempting dishes and Chicken will clearly be one of the most popular volumes in her four-volume The Delia Collection. These recipes are culled from Delia's notebooks of many years and her wealth of experience pays dividends. While it's true that we've seen variations on these recipes before--not least from Delia herself--those on offer here represent a compendium of some of the key approaches to the subject.

As in the other volumes in this series, Delia cuts her text as close to the bone as any piece of meat--the virtue of this series is the unfussy, direct approach to each individual subject. As in the volume on fish, Delia tackles everything from the straightforward, such as an easily realised Oriental Chicken Waldorf Salad, to the more ambitious (a tempting Thai Creamed Coconut Chicken with Thai Green Rice). In fact, though, nothing here is over-ambitious and with Delia's straight-from-the-hip approach, most readers will find everything here is easily achievable. But the food is never penny-plain; some recipes are mouth-wateringly exotic. Chicken Kebabs Marinated with Whole Spices, Yoghurt and Fresh Coriander Chutney, for instance, is a winner. As Delia points out, yoghurt as marinade does wonders for chicken and the charcoal adds that crucial extra dimension. As with every other recipe presented here, every step is lucidly laid out, with well chosen illustrations giving a clear idea of what to aspire to.

While many cookery books are beautifully designed products (and there's nothing wrong with that), Delia's editors have completely eschewed such an approach--there is no attempt to make this anything other than a basic (and very useful) guide to preparing a key ingredient in cookery. --Barry Forshaw