If you're a Food Adventurer, you cook for pleasure. You love trying out new dishes on family and friends, and you never miss a chance to improve your knowledge and skills. You're at your happiest when you have hours to devote to a fascinating recipe. In The DIY Cook , each chapter is led not by recipes but by projects- nuts-and-bolts guides for the food-lover with free time for fun in the kitchen. Constructing a cassoulet, boning and stuffing a pig's trotter, building a trifle. Each project inspires related but simpler recipes, skipping across time, cultures and cuisines- Classics that you have always wanted to try- Poule au Pot, Roast Suckling Pig, Mutton Raan. Classics with an ingenious twist- Duck à la Presse made à la Voiture; Kentucky Fried Rabbit. Classics that might be new to you- Banh mi sandwiches, authentic right down to the rice-flour baguette; Vincisgrassi (think, 'Extreme Lasagne'); and Feijouada, a gloriously extravagant party dish from Brazil.

Tim Hayward, food enthusiast and journalist, restauranteur and author of Food DIY , is your guide on the ultimate food adventure.