A Review By Tamsin at Kenilworth Books

‘The Flavour Thesaurus’ falls into the sophisticated category of ‘books unlike anything published before’. This is not a book of recipes, and it is not quite a dictionary or encyclopaedia, but it is un-put-downably readable. ‘The Flavour Thesaurus’ is a beautifully designed book, constructed like Roget’s thesaurus, with main categories of flavour types: ‘Earthy’, ‘Green and Grassy’, ‘Meaty’, ‘Roasted’ and ‘Creamy Fruity’ to pick out a few favourites. It is then sub-divided into particular foods – under ‘Roasted’, for example, is chocolate, coffee and peanut. Each food is then described with various flavour combinations: coffee and cardamom, coffee and ginger, chocolate and rose, peanut and cinnamon and so on. A book for a keen cook, or a glutton, to dive into and wallow. After half an hour’s browsing I conclude that I have never really tasted anything properly before. Utterly fascinating.