Student cooking is not necessarily known for being haute cuisine, but these spice experts are offering some quick hacks and easy tricks to provide interesting and decadent meals which don’t break the bank.
Enter: Ian Hemphill and Kate McIntosh’s with their new book How to Add Flavour. This part-cooking-manual part-recipe-book explains the details and uses of 15 key herbs and spices, giving you 60 simple recipes to try these at home.
Having already authored of The Spice and Herb Bible, this father and daughter duo have outdone themselves by creating something uniquely useful to people who are unfamiliar with cooking for themselves but don’t appreciate bland food.
Spice Connoisseur Ian Hemphill set up Herbie’s Spices with wife Liz Hemphill in 1997 to provide home cooks with a way to access rarer herbs and spices and some recipes to try them with. Their daughter, Kate McIntosh, now contributes many recipes to Herbie’s Spices which can be found for free here for anyone who prefers to try before they buy.
How to Add Flavour is split into three sections. The first breaks down the properties of 15 of the most common spices and gives you their history, storage tips, pairing suggestions, health information, flavour profile, and handy recommendations. Did you know that to avoid garlic breath you should drink red wine with your meal as the polyphenols in the wine break down the compounds which cause bad breath? Neither did we!
The second section gives you a basic way to cook four essential proteins: chicken, beef, salmon, and tofu. These can be recycled for any favourite recipes you may have for anyone wanting to level up their cooking whilst remaining in their comfort zone, as well as providing an excellent base for more confident chefs to take the lessons of the book and create something new.
The final section includes 60 recipes which put the lessons of the first two to use. From turmeric chai chia pudding to jerk-style chicken thighs and an easy chickpea curry, there is something for every cook and every meal inside.
We tried the crisp stovetop ginger granola which was a remarkably simple recipe which created such a sweet and zingy granola. We would suggest not shying away from the ginger here, we added about 1 and 1/2 teaspoons and loved it. The best thing about this recipe, however, is that different nuts and seeds can be substituted in depending on what odds and ends you have lying about in your cupboards, meaning you can likely make this with items already in your kitchen.
The Mancunion also sampled the roast garlic white bean mash which, while taking a bit longer, was lightly spiced and distinctly moreish. The only recommendation we would give students at home is to take care when adding the stock: you can always add more liquid but you can’t take any away.
Our final recipe was the one bowl chile chocolate brownies that managed to convince even the most ardent spice sceptics that chilli powder is the best way to level up your brownies. Perfectly fudgy and rich, the hint of chilli truly lifts these brownies, providing you with a welcome twist on an old favourite. We would absolutely suggest adding these to your dessert rotation.
How to Add Flavour is available from 6 November 2025.
