Friendship has its own distinctive seasons, constantly changing and evolving, just as the years revolve.

Cooking for a friend, you can show your affection in a direct, practical way. Composing a menu to suit or intrigue a particular beloved person, you are demonstrating how well you understand and appreciate them.

This book is divided into three overlapping seasons, following the 1929 classic La bonne cuisine by Madame Saint-Ange. In each section you will find dishes and suggestions appropriate to the season as well as ideas for particular seasonal moments, such as sardine baguettes à la Colette, designed to be packed into bicycle baskets for picnics. The recipes are designed to be straightforward to follow so you can concentrate on your guest rather than dashing between stove and table.

This is a book to stimulate your appetite to invite a dear friend round as soon as possible and cook for them.