As mentioned in the short paragraph ‘about me’ to the right, I have a kitchen cupboard full of various cookbooks. My family know I will always appreciate a cookbook gift – you can tell I enjoy my food just by looking at me! Its therefore inevitable that I will receive a cookbook for Christmas, as will the other half (if I no longer call myself Chef, is she still Mrs Chef?!).
The thing about the kind of books that you get for Christmas, the aggressively marketed celebrity endorsed cookbooks, is that they are not cheap upon first release! For example, Jamie Oliver’s latest, 30 minute meals has an RRP of £26.00, as does Nigella Lawson’s Kitchen. At first glance this seems ridiculous – I mean, lets be honest, if you divide the cost of the book by the occasions that you use it, does it really offer value for money?! It was my realisation that we had hundreds of pounds worth of recipe books that do not get used that inspired me to start writing the cookbook test lab. If we make more recipes from the books, we get better value for money out of each one. Simple.
The other obvious way to get better value for money from your books is to get them at the best price possible. I’m a Yorkshireman with Scottish blood – I like to think I’m getting a bargain.
There are numerous price comparison websites out there. I tend to use billybargain.co.uk. Yes, it sounds a bit silly and cheap, which surely doesn’t endear it to the stereotypical middleclass foodie, but should you buy the books above, it immediately finds them both for half price or under. Two presents for the price of one cannot be argued with. It can also be used for DVDs and games, amongst other items.
Another tool at your disposal, and a favourite of mine, is the ‘Red Laser’ app for use on the iPhone. Go into a shop, pick up an item, scan its barcode using the phone camera. The iPhone reads the barcode, recognises the item, and goes online to get the best price available.
Good luck with your shopping this year!
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