ELABORATE COOKING UNCOVERED. My book is the culmination of many years of cooking all kinds of food from all over the world. The ingredients listed in my recipes are meant only as guidelines as I really do believe that cooking is a personal form of art expressed from the heart. The personal tastes of each one of us as individuals varies and this gives you as the cook the ultimate opportunity to be personally creative with my recipes rather than just following them word for word and cooking them. 

ON COOKING ESSENTIALS -If I had to start from scratch, my initial requirements would be:- vegetable oil, virgin olive oil, malt vinegar, butter, margarine, lemon juice, orange juice, plain flour, tomato ketchup, soy sauce, eggs, milk, cream, sugar, honey, rice, pasta and tinned plum tomatoes.

ON SAUCES - The ability to make a good sauce is an asset to any cook or chef. If we give any dish a festive air by dressing it attractively and accompanying it with a  tasty sauce the result is bound to be a success. One just has to make sure the sauce has a smooth texture and is free from any lumps. It is important to begin by understanding the three main sauces and a number of stocks before looking at the recipes for sauces section.

ON SOUPS - Nothing in this world could be simpler than making a soup. All you have to do is wash a few seasonal vegetables, chop them and put them in a pan with some sort of fat, then add some water or stock, season and let the soup boil until it is ready to be eaten.

ON RICE - Rice is perhaps the most traditional dish in the world. It is widely used in Asia as part of daily cooking. Depending on the type of grain and its use, there are variations in the available cooking methods.

ON FISH - Fish is wonderful. Fish is healthy and it is low in fat and carbohydrates. Fish has lots of Vitamin A and D, the main source of protein and it can be easily digested. To me fish is obviously an alternative to meat dishes with such new combinations and flavours that it opens the door to a galaxy of sophistication.

COOKING FISH WITH ALI. If you like fish and cooking it maybe this book is not for you. It is for those who hate cooking and for those who do not want to be told to cover their dishes with a clean cloth or wash their food before eating it. It is also for you the reader who likes to have haute cuisine but not have to search the world for ingredients. I wrote this book in response to public demand and in celebration of the fish family.

Fish is wonderful, inviting and irresistible for its healthy diet, being low in saturated fat and carbohydrates as well as being rich in Vitamins A and D. Fish also contains protein and minerals and can easily be digested. Every time I talk about fish I bubble over with great enthusiasm as if I am cooking it or eating it.

Almost every fish has its place in this book and you are presented with some of the most fascinating exotic seafood dishes from around the world. From choosing and buying fish, to filleting and freezing, I give you sound advice, coupled with a no nonsense, straightforward attitude, with quick and easy recipes and as little mathematical equations as possible.

ON STOCKS - Stock is absolutely vital to make or produce any good dishes but when it comes to fish it becomes as important as air to me. Of course, this is because I find the flesh gets enhanced with lots of flavour and I feel justice has been done.
On Fish Stock- Every single chef that I have worked with has had their own special way of making sauces and although, I must confess, they were all very delicious, when it came to making fish stock they all had one thing in common. The classic recipes were used and these don't even take more than a minute to put together and less than ten minutes to cook.

ON SAUCES
On Hot Related Fish Sauces - once you know how easy it is to make a good fish stock, you can enhance the flavour of your fish sauces by adding the fish stock to the liquid, then simmer the sauce to reduce before serving. The following sauces which are the ones you are most likely to see at the dinner tables in restaurants, are all included in my book :- Allemande, Bemaise, Bechamel, Italienne, Soubisse, Normande, Momay, Lyonnaise, Genevoise, and Tomato.
On Cold Related Fish Sauces -I have included in this section recipes for Mayonnaise, Rouille, Tartare and Montpelier.
On Classical Fish Sauces & Dressings - Here again I have only given you recipes which are both widely known and used and are simple to make. Included are Veloute, Beurre blanc, Beurre rouge and Hollandaise.
On Flavoured Butter Sauces - The 15 popular and mouth watering sauces I have included are :- Garlic, Pistachio, Tarragon, Parsley, Coriander and pink peppercorn, Devilled, Green, Horseradish, Maitre d'hotel, Meunier or Lemon, Black, Shrimp, Paprika, Sauce au Beurre and Butter for snails.

ON SALADS & DRESSINGS - Salads consist of a mixture of edible leaves with some sort of dressing such as oil and vinegar. Although lettuce is the basic foundation of any salad we see some restaurants adding cooked and uncooked vegetables. French salads are composed of one vegetable only. In America they also use fruits and vegetables of all kinds. In Greece they use cheese and olives and in Italy anything goes. Salads can be divided into two types and these are referred to as simple or compound. The differences are as follows:-
Simple salads are raw and always accompany hot roasts.
Compound Salads consist of cooked vegetables and always accompany cold roasts.
On Dressings -The general rule for a good dressing is not to use malt vinegar but to use French wine vinegar. The oils to use are virgin olive oil, walnut oil, ground nut oil and soya oil.