This should have been the River Cafe cooks’ first book instead of their fifth because it really is easy and authentically Italiantoo.

In 19 short sections, weare told how to grill a Florentine steak, fresh scallops or radicchio, how to mix bread and tomatoes for an antipasto, and how a roast chicken is delicious with nutmeg and prosciutto.

Although the cooking skills needed here are minimal, some recipes call for exotic ingredients (zucchini flowers, fresh porcini mushrooms) that are not readily available. The authors do try to give a stockist list which is good as far as it goes, and there is a helpful store cupboard compendium, together with suggestions about how to, for example, peel tomatoes or prepare dried cannellini beans.

The book, as always, is beautifully designed and conceived and, yes, I would buy it like a shot.