In the past post on Shady TV Characters Staggering Down Memory Lane you included Len Deighton, best known as a writer of spy novels.
I have one of his cookbooks, the Len Deighton's Action Cook Book!
To elaborate: Len Deighton was a British writer, whose first novel, The Ipcress File, was published in 1962. It was turned in to a film starring Michael Caine in 1965.
Deighton was also a chef, and wrote an illustrated, weekly cookery column called Cook Strips for the Observer newspaper. In 1965 some of the columns were collected together and published as 'Action Cookbook by Len Deighton - Thriller writer and cook extraordinary turns from guns to gastronomy', published by Johnathan Cape.
In 2009 it was re-printed by Harper Perennial. This is the version I have.
The titles used vary. On the cover of the 2009 edition it says 'Len Deighton's Action Cook Book', but the title page has 'Action Cook Book - Len Deighton's Guide to Eating'.
The book opens with the basics, Nutrition, Refrigerators, Blenders, Measuring, Utensils, Cookers, different types of foods, what foods to keep on hand, and then on to the recipes, which are reprints of the Observer strips.
These range from the everyday (things I might actually try), to such bizarre items as Cuttlefish Served in its Ink - I will skip that one.
Food featured heavily in the Ipcress File, and other Harry Palmer novels. In the film version, copies of the Cook Strips are to be seen pinned up on the wall of Harry's kitchen, and the inside back cover has a photograph of Len Deighton teaching Michael Caine how to crack an egg.
The covers of both editions really plug the link between spies and cooking, with a revolver and a sprig of parsley on the 1965 original. My 2009 edition has a spy cooking spaghetti for his girlfriend - note that he is carrying an automatic in a shoulder holster.
The photograph of the 1965 cover below is from Worthpoint, the above 2009 cover is mine.
Do you have anything like this readers?
Paul Adams from New Zealand
