James Kempston's probing mind ranges over a wide variety of kitchen lore and science. The result is a guide to food, cooking and eating: what makes food taste good; what senses are involved in eating and how to stimulate them; how to assess and control taste; how to prepare food; what happens to food when you cook it and how to avoid losing natural vitamins and colour; how to alter recipes without fear, using them for inspiration rather than instructions; how to correct mistakes and make the inedible edible. All this and more is presented here, together with a host of recipes and experiments with which to test your new-found knowledge.