Jan Braai is one of my favourite cookery authors.  He is really funny and it really does come across in his writing.  We met him at Hammer and Tongs a few years ago during the London food festival and he writes exactly as he speaks which I love.

Jan is South African and his speciality is the Braai (bbq) and so his books all relate to everything cooked on the fire or things to accompany food cooked on the fire.  He believes in making the fire and then making it bigger on the basis that you will need it bigger than you imagine and then when your fire starts to die you will struggle with cold wood or food that just won’t cook as you want it to be.  This is actually true (as we have found out to our detriment a few times).

The book itself really does explain everything you can and will ever need to know about cooking outside - unless that is on a gas bbq and then that just does not count as cooking outside apparently.  He tells you how to build a fire, what implements you need and hassome pretty brilliant recipes. 

Different foods require different heat and Jan explains all of this at the start with help on where is less hot/more hot etc.  He also tells you on each recipe so you know what sort of heat you require, steaks for instance require a very hot fire to be seared over whereas pork requires much less heat to ensure it is cooked all the way through.