From Pasta to Pancakes: The Ultimate Student Cookbook

From Pasta to Pancakes: The Ultimate Student Cookbook by Tiffany Goodall

As a student at Newcastle University, Tiffany Goodall was depressed by the quality of food eaten by her contemporaries: everyone loved good food, but no-one felt that they could afford to cook it. Having trained at the infamous Ballymaloe Cookery School with Darina Allen and run her own private catering business from her home in London over her GAP year, Tiffany felt that she could help. With a budget of £5 per student, Tiffany started running Tuesday night themed meals as a way of encouraging her fellow students to try something new and healthy. ‘Tiff’s Tuesdays’ were born and each week a group of them would enjoy a better dinner than the beans on toast they might otherwise have had.
Written while she was still a student, Tiffany’s first book is an extension of her weekly dinner club. From Pasta to Pancakes, the Ultimate Student Cookbook is an entirely non-pretentious collection of recipes aimed at short-on-funds, big-on-hunger students. The recipes aren’t hugely challenging (think Lasagne, Fish Pie, Shepherds Pie and Thai Fishcakes), but they no doubt appeal to students after something wholesome and filling, not too complicated to make and which will easily feed a group of friends. That said, most students could probably muddle their way through Boiled Egg and Soldiers or a Ham and Cheese Toasty without Tiffany’s guidance – they are at university after all.
The book itself is accessibly laid out, with lots of pictures, uncomplicated recipes and easily found and afforded ingredients. Each recipe comes with Optional Extras, Serving Suggestions and, a key element in any frugally operated kitchen, Leftovers. Tiffany seems like an enterprising young cook with a genuine love of food and a bubbly personality. In The Ultimate Student Cookbook, her aim is to teach basic cooking skills and provide students with tasty, affordable alternatives to toast and takeways. In this, she has been largely successful, but there are no doubt bigger and better things to come from Tiff.