As anyone who has seen him laugh and charm his way through the room at Quo Vadis would expect, Lee is as generous in prose as he is when talking about the book, heaping praise on the close team who helped bring it all together.

The chop goes wonderfully with so much, from olive oil, mash or potato and celeriac gratin to green beans, asparagus, peas, courgettes, Jerusalem artichokes or chicory. Jeremy applies this to the menus at Quo Vadis, where the cooking is bright, fresh, light and quintessentially British in a manner most modern. A beautiful book full of excellent, accessible recipes many of which have become staples in my household. The great and good in food are all gushing about this book and as part of food’s upper tier it’s no surprise to see this praise for Mr Lee.At the end of the hour, lower the temperature to 100C fan/gas mark ½ and bake for a further 20 minutes, until golden and crusted. A striking dish with the pale green sauce pooled in the plate, contrasting with the delicate silvered skin of the hake. Press the cake down lightly with the bottom of a frying pan, then cook for a further 30 minutes, until the edges of the cake have coloured deep gold. Like his cooking, Lee’s long (very long) awaited first book, the gorgeous Cooking: Simply and Well, For One or Many, with photos by Elena Heatherwick and illustrations by John Broadley, is authoritative, substantial, witty, romantic, beautifully presented and completely moreish. It’s wholesome food with twists but not too much and absolutely something people who love to cook would use.

It’s also a journey through Lee’s career, from his signature snack of baked salsify, back to a classic pommes anna from his time at the London club Boodles, as well as a tribute to peers, mentors and his food-loving parents, who would think nothing of driving across Scotland for hours to pick up a good lobster. Jeremy Lee uses an old fashioned soup spoon for measuring which is quite quirky although he says a tablespoon will do just as well.The word "classic" is used far too often to describe stuff nowadays but, in this generation of a million new cookbooks out every day (it seems), this will rise to the top and always be remembered. The pressures of writing daily menus and working in a busy kitchen meant that structuring a whole book seemed overwhelming. Sit this upon the gentlest heat and warm until the shallots have softened and the anchovies have melted. Great work from, clearly, someone who doesn't need to sell books to pay the mortgage, although PLEASE come back on Saturday Kitchen.

The book is arranged with a chef’s eye for ingredients, and favourite things to eat throughout the seasons, rather than in courses or meals. Lee hastens to add that at least it didn’t take 20 years to put together, like Alan Davidson’s Oxford Companion to Food. You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice.They’re filled with books about food, from nouvelle cuisine pioneer Michel Guérard to current London pastry sensation Ravneet Gill. It is brilliantly illustrated by John Broadley and photographed by Elena Heatherwick, and will surely be one of the most distinctive cook books published for years from the renowned chef, Jeremy Lee. A wider, shallower cake shaped and cooked in a cast-iron skillet or frying pan is as delicious as those cooked in hatted moulds.