Le Creuset has veered away from its traditional image creating a new range which includes the Karahi, £55, a modern take on the dish for cooking and serving balti, curry and stir-frys. Information and stockists www.lecreuset.co.uk.
The Cristel Luxe French cookware saucepans are eye-wateringly expensive - the four-piece stainless steel set costs £278 - but they are stunningly goodlooking. Plus they have detachable handles which means these can go into the oven, onto the table and you can also use the handle to remove the lid. For stockists call 01276 24438.
Those who use a Brita water filterer will thank God that they have updated their jug to a sleek, more rectangular version with a silver lid. The new design has a gauge to tell you when to replace the filter. Available at most hardware stores and kitchen departments (£24.95) www.brita.co.uk.
Are you the proud owner of candles in big storm vases? In that case, you probably burn your hand every time you light up. The answer? Rush out and buy the extra-long Guzzini Ghigò lighter (£15.95). It looks good too. Stockists: 020 8646 9655.
Take five
OFM tests baking trays
Circulon non-stick by Meyer
£38,stockists 0151 482 8282
5 stars
Good lifting handles and a nice heavy base for making gravy (15"x9."). Non-stick, but can't be put in the dishwasher.
Tefal Integral
£25, stockists 0845 602 1454
4 stars
(14."x10.") Decent weight but the lifting handles might make it too large for a small oven. Good for gravy, but didn't have the all-over heat distribution of the Circulon.
Professional roasting tin, Cucina direct
£69, 020 8246 4300
4 stars
This wonderful, heavy pan has jutting handles and at 17"x12" wouldn't fit a huge Smeg, but it comes in smaller sizes.
Lakeland enamel roaster with rack
£22.95, stockists 015394 88100
3 stars
Pretty,smaller than the others at 9"x13", but nice and weighty. Rack useful, particularly for fatty fowl. Cleans well.
Mermaid roasting dish
£23.95, stockists 0121 554 2001
2 stars
www.mermaid cookware.com
Lighter-weight (10."x14."), nicely indented handholds but hell to clean and a nono for the dishwasher.
· Short orders
Comfort Food (BBC Good Food,£16.99) is exactly what the title of this cookbook implies - a collection of homely, wholesome, nourishing, easy-to-prepare meals at the end of a long, hard day.
Heston Blumenthal's Family Food (Penguin/ Michael Joseph, £20) bears the hallmark of his thoughtful and quirky approach to cooking. His premise is this: 'Children who do not experience a wide variety of foods in positive situations at an early age will tend to have a limited acceptance of foods as they grow older.' As he points out, the French schooling system has incorporated cooking for the last 10 years,and with three small children of his own (pictured throughout the book and very cute) he has set to work.Over-wordy at the beginning, but the recipes are interesting and approachable.
The Gordon Ramsay empire spreads to the supermarkets.The chef has produced his first box of chocolates, Just Desserts. 'People haven't time to make puddings, they're fiddly, and I developed these as a nice way to end a meal,' he says. And they're yours for just £5.99.
Hotel Bemelmans by Ludwig Bemelmans (Ebury Press,£7.99) is a classic exposé of the people and practices behind the hotel business that made Anthony Bourdain, author of Kitchen Confidential, curl his toes and admit that his shocking style wasn't as innovative as he'd hoped. Bemelmans wrote his book in 1956 and it's a vivid and funny account of the truth behind the calm façade of the American hotel and restaurant business at the start of the twentieth century.
The beautiful port of Rye celebrates its prize catch in Rye Bay Scallops Week starting next weekend (25 January).Many of them go to top London hotels and across the channel to Boulogne. Scallop season runs until April.
We tested the Bradley Smoker in the office canteen and can thoroughly recommend it. About the size of a small fridge, it's electrically powered and comes with a choice of scented briquettes for different smoke flavours. You'd need to be a fairly serious cook to justify its cost - £399 - but you could smoke three large salmon at once to feed around 60 people... so if you're planning big-time catering this year, it's worth it for these fabulous flavours. For details contact www.bradleysmoker.co.uk; 0845 665 0728.
