Michael Smith goes back to basics with a twist!

Michael Smith has been passionate about cooking simple, great-tasting food since his mom first introduced him to cooking at an early age. Since then, Michael has become one of Canada's most successful cookbook writers and a hugely popular celebrity chef on Food Network Canada. But, never far from his own home kitchen, it's the time-tested basic recipes that he regularly cooks for his family. In Back to Basics, Michael shares 100 sure-fire classic recipes, tips, and cooking techniques. And, in every recipe he shows how easy it is to add a twist or two to your cooking.

Chock full of mouth-watering photography to inspire, Back to Basics is Michael's simple approach to cooking basics that he wants to share with every home cook. Once you understand the basics behind a recipe, you can then stir your personality into your cooking. You'll see how easy it is to impress family and friends in your own kitchen. And, once you know the basic rules, you can break them. You'll never get stuck making a dish just one way!

Inside, you'll find Michael's favorite classic recipes like Crispy Crusty Chicken Strips with Global Dips, Beef Pot Pie with Cheddar Biscuit Crust, Bacon Roast Pork Tenderloin, Tomato Basil Crusted Whitefish, Goat Cheese Gnocchi with Sage Butternut Squash Sauce, and Bacon & Blue Cheese Risotto. And, no meal is complete without dessert, so try making classic sweet treats like Pumpkin Pie Tarts, Apple Cinnamon Fritters and Peanut Butter Brownies.

Michael's passionate commitment to cooking simple classic recipes will inspire and guide you as you impress yourself in your own kitchen. Enjoy!

Food Network star Chef Michael Smith has been cooking professionally for over twenty years. An honours graduate of the prestigious Culinary Institute of America in New York, Chef Michael's contagious love of food has earned him friends and admirers worldwide. His early career was spent in restaurants from London to South America, but in 1992 Chef Michael returned to Canada and joined the kitchen at Prince Edward Island's The Inn at Bay Fortune. Soon Chef Michael's focus on regional cooking and local ingredients had earned the restaurant a reputation as one of the top places to eat in Canada. Six years later, Chef Michael invited television cameras into the inn's country kitchen for his first hit television show, The Inn Chef, which premiered on the Life Network. Its popularity helped to launch Food Network Canada. After opening his own restaurant in Halifax, Chef Michael returned to Food Network Canada in 2001 in the show Chef at Large. It was followed by Chef at Home in 2004, which gave viewers a behind-the-scenes look at Chef Michael's home kitchen and the way he cooks for family and friends. This show became wildly popular almost immediately and still remains the highest rated Canadian show on Food Network Canada. Chef Michael is the author of three previous Whitecap cookbooks. Open Kitchen: A Chef's Day at The Inn At Bay Fortune, published in 1998, won the bronze medal at Cuisine Canada's Cookbook Award. Chef Michael followed its success with The Inn Chef and Chef at Home: Cooking with and Without a Recipe,which has sold over 30,000 copies.

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