My first cookbook was The Home Book of Chinese Cookery published by Faber & Faber in 1978, both in hardback and paperback. A revised edition was published in 1987; both editions are now out of print. This book was well received by the press and public, so if you can get hold of a copy, I would strongly recommend you to do so. It's still one of my own favourites - for apart from the recipes, which consist mostly of everyday dishes that I cook at home (some I learnt from my mother who learnt them from her mother and so on), as well as a few popular restaurant dishes that can be reproduced in a home kitchen, I have also included lots of reminisces and anecdotes, plus a chapter devoted to matching wine with Chinese food, which caused quite a bit of controversy at the time.

My second book was Chinese Regional Cooking published by Macdonald Educational in London in 1979 (Mayflower in New York, AP in Australia; there were German, Dutch, Swedish, and Norwegian editions as well). This is a glossy book with lots of colour photography not just of the dishes, but also of China, the land, people and of course food. In addition to the recipes, I've written quite a lot of background material, mostly of my personal experiences. As someone remarked at the time, it reads almost like my autobiography! This book remained in print for over twelve years or so. It is another favourite of mine.

After this, there followed in quick succession a dozen or so cookbooks. Some sold well, some less well. Chinese Cooking published in 1980 by Octopus for Marks & Spencer went into twelve reprints within the first six months, totalling over 250,000 copies; then it was republished under a different imprint in hardcover, which too was reprinted for several different editions. It was translated into seven different European languages - including Finnish! Other titles include Chinese Cookery (two different versions - one for Marks & Spencer, and one for WH Smith), Chinese Vegetarian Cooking, Microwave Chinese Cooking, Chinese Wok Cookery, The Festive Food of China (which was described by one critic as 'a gem'), Chinese Cookery Secrets (see below), Taste of China (see below), Chinese Cantonese Cooking, Chinese Sezchuan Cooking, Easy As 123 Cooking Chinese, A Book of Vietnamese Cooking, and The Chinese Kitchen (see below).

I have also co-authored a dozen or so books on Chinese and Asian cooking, the latest of which is The Food of China with Nina Simonds (Murdoch Books 2001).

Professional organisations:

Member of: BECTU (Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematography, Theatre Union, formerly known as ACCT Association of Cinema and Television Technicians) since 1960; BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) since 1974; The Society of Authors since 1979; The Guild of Food Writers since 1989; IACP (International Association of Culinary Professionals) since 1998.

Current Books

The Chinese Kitchen — a book of essential ingredients with over 200 authentic recipes — Forward by KEN HOM (Kyle Cathie 1999, Paperback 2001 £14.99; USA St. Martin's Press $17.95)
This much acclaimed book was short listed for The Guild of Food Writers' Food Book of the Year, and the German version Die Chinesische Kuche was awarded the Silbermedaille (silver medal) by the Gastronomische Akademie Deutschlands in 2001. Other foreign versions include Dutch, Danish, Swedish and Norwegian.
"Whether you take The Chinese Kitchen with you shopping or savour it at home, this bold and unique cookbook, with its great wealth of information and photographs will guide you clearly and simply through the thicket of ingredients readily available in supermarkets and Chinese grocers today...
"...I trust this major culinary work from the masterchef himself will be a proud companion to your Chinese cookery books as well as becoming a standard reference." KEN HOM

Chinese Cookery Secrets: How to Cook Chinese Restaurant Food at Home (Paper Front 1993, Elliot Right Way Books, 1997 £4.99, USA $7.95)
One of my books that is still in print and selling well (it's number 2 in www.amazon.co.uk's bestselling list). I've been using it as a textbook for my cookery classes, and some of my students would buy several copies to give to their family and friends.

The chinese kitchen — deliciously authentic recipes from the East (Lorenz Books 2001, £6.95) This actually is a paperback version of my Taste of China first published by Anness Publishing in 1993; subsequently a number of reprints appeared under different imprints, including German and French versions. It is quite a different book to The Chinese Kitchen (above) published by Kyle Cathie.