Knife Skills for Beginners

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The Maid meets Knives Out with a dash of Top Chef in the debut locked room culinary mystery set in a London cooking school by MasterChef semi-finalist and cookbook writer Orlando Murrin.

Some people are natural dancers, others marvelous in bed, butnot wishing to boastIm good with a knife. Most chefs are.

The Chester Square Cookery School in the heart of London offers students a refined setting in which to master the fine art of choux pastry and hone their hollandaise. True, the ornate mansion doesnt quite sparkle the way it used toa feeling chef Paul Delamare is familiar with these days. Worn out and newly broke, hed be tempted to turn down the request to fill in as teacher for a week-long residential course, if anyone other than Christian Wagner were asking.

Christian is one of Pauls oldest friends, as well as the former recipient of two Michelin stars and host of Pass the Gravy! Thanks to a broken arm, hes unable to teach the upcoming session himself, and recruits Paul as stand-in. The students are a motley crew, most of whom seem more interested in ogling the surroundings (including handsome Christian) than learning the best ways to temper chocolate.

Yet despite his misgivings, Paul starts to enjoy imparting his extensive knowledge to the recruitsuntil someone turns up dead, murdered with a cleaver Paul used earlier that day to prep a pair of squabs. Did one of his students take the lesson on knife techniques too much to heart, or was this the result of a long-simmering grudge In between clearing his own name and teaching his class how to perfectly poach a chicken, hell have to figure out whos the killer, and avoid being the next one to get butchered . . .

Reviews

Delicious fun! Knife Skills for Beginners is both intriguing and mouth-watering, starring a charming hero youll want as your best friend. Tess Gerritsen, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Spy Coast

Knife Skills for Beginners is a joy, packed full of fabulous culinary tips and recipes you'll want to make, alongside a decent dollop of murder and mystery. Orlando Murrin is an established chef and cookery writer, and it shows. I loved TV chef Paul Delamare. I think we should be friends. S. J. Bennett, award-winning author of the Her Majesty the Queen Investigates Series

A deliciously dark slice of murder and mystery. Chris Whitaker

If Ruth Rendell had teamed up with Delia Smith theyd have produced something like this. J. M. Hall, bestselling author of A Spoonful of Murder

Dazzlingly sharp with a wit that sparkles off the page. Jane Corry, Sunday Times bestselling author

Author Bio

Orlando Murrin is a food writer, media personality, and author who inherited a fascination with mystery from his grandfather, a Met detective who rose to become a crack MI5 interrogator. A former editor of BBC Good Food, founder of Olive Magazine, and semi-finalist on Masterchef, he currently hosts the BBC Good Food Podcast with TV presenter-restaurateur Tom Kerridge and writes for Waitrose Weekend. He is the author of seven cookbooks, including Two's Company and A Table in the Tarn, and has served since 2020 as President of the Guild of Food Writers.