Cravat-a-licious

by Matt Preston, Random House, 400 pages, $42.99.

You may have seen him wearing his trademark colourful cravats on television's MasterChef or being interviewed on Rove. Matt Preston, the eccentric and utterly enthusiastic foodie, is one of the world's most celebrated food writers. We know this because Preston – not one to hide his light under a bushel – tells us about the range of awards his food writing has won.

It is easy to see why he is so well regarded. Cravat-a-licious is a value-for-money compendium of the articles he has written over the last 10 years for newspapers and magazines like The Age, Vogue and Delicious. Preston notes that articles may have been "improved" by reinstatement of lame jokes a generation of previous editors excised, the correction of errors (Rice Bubbles are not harvested by hand) and inclusion of details left out of the previously printed version.

His writing is peppered throughout with a fine sense of humour and a dash of self-deprecation.

However, his flamboyant, cravat-wearing image belies a more serious and deep understanding about what makes good food and great eating.

In spite of his restaurant-critic and food-writer roles, he can still enjoy a simple icecream sundae with choc sauce and sprinkles – and he recognises that eating out is sometimes "more about the people, the place and simple, unassuming food than the quality of the glassware or the provenance of the micro-herbs".

He has a colourful turn of phrase with an antipodean flavour.

His relationships with people are clearly an important part of enjoying food and he does a fine job of sharing the connectivity that food provides between people and their food.

He includes articles about famous chefs he clearly reveres, not just for their mastery of food but for providing the service that goes with a memorable food occasion.

This book is brimming with delicious stories, recipes and other restaurant-related titbits. It is too large a helping to read in one big gulp, but suits dipping into.

• Mary-Anne Baker is a policy planner from Tasman.

- © Fairfax NZ News