The Pedant\047s ambition is simple. He wants to cook tasty, nutritious food; he wants not to poison his friends; and he wants to expand, slowly and with pleasure, his culinary repertoire. A stern critic of himself and others, he knows he is never going to invent his own recipes (although he might, in a burst of enthusiasm, increase the quantity of a favourite ingredient). Rather, he is a recipe-bound follower of the instructions of others.\012It is in his interrogations of these recipes, and of those who create them, that the Pedant\047s true pedantry emerges. How big, exactly, is a \047lump\047? Is a \047slug\047 larger than a \047gout\047? When does a \047drizzle\047 become a downpour? And what is the difference between slicing and chopping?This book is a witty and practical account of Julian Barnes\047 search for gastronomic precision. It is a quest that leaves him seduced by Jane Grigson, infuriated by Nigel Slater, and reassured by Mrs Beeton\047s Victorian virtues. The Pedant in the Kitchen is perfect comfort for anyone who has ever been defeated by a cookbook and is something that none of Julian Barnes\047 legion of admirers will want to miss.