Nights Out At Home: Recipes and Stories from 25 years as a Restaurant Critic

by Jay Rayner

‘For the past twenty-five years, I have been reviewing restaurants across Britain and beyond, from the humblest of diners to the grandest of gastro-palaces. And throughout I’ve been taking the best ideas home with me to create glorious dishes for my own table. Now I get to share those recipes with you.’

In Nights Out at Home, Jay Rayner’s first cookbook, the award-winning writer and broadcaster gives us delicious, achievable recipes inspired by the restaurant creations that have stolen his heart over the decades, for you to cook in your own kitchen.

With sixty recipes that take their inspiration from restaurants dishes served across the UK and further afield, Nights Out at Home includes a cheat’s version of the Ivy’s famed crispy duck salad, the brown butter and sage flatbreads from Manchester’s Erst, miso-glazed aubergine from Freak Scene and instructions for making the cult tandoori lamb chops from the legendary Tayyabs in London’s Whitechapel; a recipe which has never before been written down.

It also features Jay’s irresistible, MasterChef Critics-winning baked chocolate pudding with cherries, and his own personal take on the mighty Greggs Steak Bake.

Seasoned with stories from Jay’s life as a restaurant critic, and written with warmth, wit and the blessing, and often help, of the chefs themselves, Nights Out at Home is a celebration of good food and great eating experiences, filled with irresistible dishes to inspire all cooks.

Genres: Food, Cookbooks, Nonfiction, Food and Drink

384 pages, Hardcover

Published September 5, 2024

About the author

Jay Rayner is a British journalist, writer and broadcaster born in 1966.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Interesting premise. A cookbook in full narrative form. Enjoyed it. I tend not to be so keen on Jay Rayner when he’s on Masterchef. Not sure why. Knows his onions, can cook and has a good turn of phrase. Maybe too acerbic for me? This book is a collection of his own favourite recipes, each with a tale of why, what its origins are and how he’s made it his own. Actually there weren’t so many recipes out of the 60 or so that I will cook at home but I thoroughly enjoyed the story of each and the inspiration to try new things. Enjoyable. Different to Bee Wilson’s ‘How to Cook’ but similar approach to why rather than just ‘here’s the recipe’. Well done Jay.

[Patrick Dennehy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A super book.
I might be biased, as I like cooking and I like eating and I've always liked reading Jay's reviews. But, as a novel take on the tried and trusted cookbook, it really works. I've even stuck post-it notes on some pages for the recipes I want to try *spoiler alert* - the green beans with pork is fabulous. Enjoy; just don't get too hungry!

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5. I flicked past the recipes as I wasn't that interested in them but a nice mix of stories and musings on food and reviewing restaurants.

[Diana Kitson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book because l love food, and l love eating it and cooking it. He has a nice style of writing, which makes you hungry, and is very honest about the restaurants he visits.There are recommendations of restaurants to try, and for those us who don't have the cash, there are recipes to try. Can't wait to give them a go.

[Rebecc · Rating 5 out of 5]

If Jay Rayner is suddenly in the news in the next few days because he's been abducted it will be me who is the culprit & he will be beavering away cooking awesome things for me in my kitchen, (joking just saying!) Adored this book, so funny with anecdotes & even better accounts of restaurants he has dined at & food he has devoured. Turns out we've been to quite a few of the same places (in London) & both love Chinese, chillis, desserts & all things Frenchy including Gavroche's Souffle. However, I am not a good cook & though I am tempted by nearly all of his featured recipes I know better than to bother the local fire brigade (hence my need to abduct Rayner!). This book is for you if you love food whether it's eating it, loving restaurants & chefs, anecdotes about his mum Clare or even if you want a properly bound hardback book to balance your plate on. Buy it.

[lyny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Jay Rayner’s writing and podcasts, and his clear sightedness about fashions and ‘authenticity’ in food and his own privilege etc, and this book is a combination memoir, and account of dishes he has eaten and replicated for home. I enjoyed it, but it doesn’t work as well for readers who don’t live in England, since so much is nostalgia about particular restaurants. It also wasn’t helped by the format – stiff hardback binding which doesn’t allow the book to lie flat, and no ribbon to bookmark recipes which are simply scattered among the memoirs. And instead of any photos of food, it has inserts of old menus. It's the first time where I've felt the book published format really undermined it.

[Vera · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full review: https://bookerthanyou.blogspot.com/20...

Rayner makes a conscious effort to keep things simple, dialled into the needs of a home cook. No fancy chicken stock? Get the cubes. Don't have Chingkiang vinegar? Sub in the balsamic. One recipe calls for (I'm not making this up) one packet of Frazzles, one packet of Scampi Fries and 30g Pickled Onion Monster Munch. It's incredibly user-friendly, and the variety of recipes is just as surprising: from recreating Michelin restaurant dishes in a manageable way, to cooking up home alternatives of high-street favourites, it's a wonderfully eclectic selection.

This book is a beauty to behold, and while I wouldn't want to get my greasy fingers on it - so perhaps not strictly speaking a cookbook in the usual sense - it is a gorgeous read for any foodie and cook out there. Glad it found me.

[Jack Martindale · Rating 5 out of 5]

A more insightful, honest & warm read of a book you would struggle to find. You know it's a memorable read when you've purposely dog-eared a good 1/3 of the pages & the glorious thing here is that in the case of this book, these are often for recipes. So the fun will continue long into the future.

Having read & loved his earlier book 'My last Supper' & having met the man himself on two ocassion, it completely translates as an accurate and very friendly conversation about food. It's a love letter to why Jay is so passionate about what he does.

An absolute pleasure to read!

[Jane Pennington · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book very much. Jay Rayner is a man with much to say, and writes with a certain style that’s is engaging, informative and lots of fun. I’ve followed his restaurant review column for years now and have also read most of his books. This book is different, it’s a sort of memoir/cookery book mash up and for me..it was great. In his own words Jay ‘reverse-engineers’ his favourite recipes from restaurants that he’s visited. The recipes for the most part sound delicious and I’m definitely going to try some.

[Katy Wheatley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. It's everything I want in a cookery book. The best books for me are the ones you can read like a novel without having to cook any of the recipes. Then, if you do cook something and you love what you've made, that's a bonus. Chatty, funny and knowledgable, this is such a satisfying read. It made me laugh. it made me hungry and it gave me a list of places I really want to go and eat in.

[Sara Wright · Rating 5 out of 5]

I only own one other food writer's book - Nigel Slater's The Christmas Chronicals- one of my all time favourite books- and this was as good.

I know Jay Rayner from The Kitchen Cabinet podcast and I love him. I love his personality and the way he speaks (and writes).

It's full of interesting anecdotes and recipes I want to make!

It's now sitting on my bookshelf stuffed with a million book markers for all of the recipes inside I want to try

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Liked insight into process of reviewing, what working in restaurant kitchens is like, stories of famous chefs and kitchens, restaurant recommendations, knowing what ingredients are in certain dishes. Not too fussed about recipes. Will try to make some eg condiments

[Richard · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an unabashed Jay Rayner fan boy, I approached with trepidation, but fears were unfounded. A delightful read and none of the recipes looked intimidating.

Now I just have to cook a few of the fuckers, which will probably put me firmly back in my place

[Phil Eames · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great conversational, witty prose, with some really interesting recipes, many of which look doable; recipes themselves a little difficult to read as part of a book, but more than made up for by the entertaining prose around them.

[Matt Whitby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the writing, and Jay comes across as very personable. I cannot, however, in all good conscience give too many stars to anyone who mentions the travesty that is anchovies seventy-five times in a single book.

[Jamad · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t always review recipe books but this is more than that - Rainer’s usual writing plus some excellent recipes. How good is that?

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

Got this from Motherwell library, but will probably want to buy a copy, for the chat as much as the recipes.
I really like Jay Rayner’s persona and style.
Will probably pick up more in the future.

[Mike · Rating 5 out of 5]

Now to try some recipes.

[Oismiffy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A rare 5-star rating from me. While I won’t be making many of the recipes in this book, I have been inspired to experiment with reproducing my own restaurant quality meals at home.

[Soph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am going to cook and eat everything in this glorious book

[AA_Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jay Rayner is, unsurprisingly, very good at writing about food and drink. Slightly worryingly, it made me crave a daiquiri before 8am as I started listening to it, but as the book went on the cravings became more socially acceptable.

For years I’ve been trying to reverse engineer one particular dish (Ringan No Oro from Sanskruti in Ladybarn, if you were wondering) and have only just worked out a recipe I’m happy with, so I really do admire the dedication that’s evidently gone into this book. So far I’ve only tried the toastie from this, and very much enjoyed it.

That said, the recipes inspired by The Sparrows, one of my absolute favourite places to eat, sounded far too much like hard work so I think I’ll just book a table there instead.