Cook’s Diary 2020 Review

Reviewed by Louisa Nashir

Nowadays everyone seems to use smartphones and tablets for everything, from storing photos, documents, dates, addresses etc but as much as I enjoy my smartphone I also like to keep an up to date diary and an address book. Technology is amazing but it’s also not 100% secure or reliable. Recently I dropped my smartphone and unfortunately, it wasn’t fixable so everything on my device was lost in cyberspace until I was able to replace it and re-download everything from the cloud. This is why I like having a diary! Call me old fashioned but you cannot beat the feeling of a real photograph or putting pen to paper rather than typing out a few words. To me, a diary gives me a real sense of achievement when completed and I loved flicking through older ones and seeing what I had been up to in previous years. Being a mum and volunteer for a few local community groups I am busy and have lots of meetings throughout the week to discuss plans, funding, days out, etc. This is on top of keeping my family well-fed and healthy. So I was delighted to receive a 2020 Cook’s Diary from www.cooksdiary.co.uk. The A5 diaries are available in 3 beautiful, eye-catching designs (emerald green marble design with gold foil, a fern design with gold foil and a floral design). I chose the emerald green marble design as emerald is my birthstone and I really loved the look of the diary. The diary is a great size and id designed to lie flat thanks to its wire binding, the black ribbon marker was also a lovely touch and gave the diary a real quality appearance. The diary is jam-packed with recipes and tons of useful information.

Opening the diary, I was met with a pocket that had a sticker sheet inside, the stickers are a really useful tool to add to the diary to help you remember dates, appointments, anniversaries, etc. On the next page was space for my name and telephone number and also space for me to add my emergency contact details. The diary went on the feature the following:

• 2020 Year Planner
• Contents Page
• Useful Reminders (GP No’s, MOT due date, Energy Providers, Takeaways)
• Personal Contacts
• Calendar Dates (UK holidays, Notable dates, Religious dates, Phases of the moon, Sunrise & Sunset times, BST dates)
• 2019 and 2020 quick view calendars
• Cook’s Hints and Tips (How to cook various meat cuts, Fridge arrangement, Storage times for fresh and cooked foods, Cooking times for grains and pulses.) Recipes for dips, dressings, sauces & desserts
• Metric conversions (Length, Area, Volume, Capacity & Weight)
• 2020 Diary (Complete with weekly recipes)
• Notes
• Useful Websites
• Favourite Meals
• 7 Recipes
• Birthday and Anniversary Gift Record (Also traditional wedding gift guide & Birthstone & Flowers
• Christmas Gift Record (Recipient name, Ideas, Bought, Cost)
• Books to read, TV shows and films to watch, Places to visit and Events to attend
• 2020 Thoughts and plans
• 2021 Thoughts and plans
• 2021 Year planner

As you can see the diary is packed full of useful hints, tips, recipes, and pages to let your culinary juices flow.

As soon as mine arrived I began filling it in and now have most of the next year’s events and activities down on paper where they are safe. My only gripe is the need for the Birthday, Anniversary and Christmas gift record. I can understand the idea of using the pages for lists but I don’t agree with the cost of the item needing to be documented. Maybe it’s just me but it won’t be something I will be filling in as I buy for the joy the gift brings, not the price. 

Other than that, I am absolutely thrilled with my Cook’s Diary and cannot wait to try a new recipe out weekly. 

With the festive season approaching at an astonishingly alarming rate, I now have a few presents on my ‘to buy’ list ticked off after discovering the Cook’s Diary. I intend on purchasing a few for friends and family who like me enjoy keeping a diary and will enjoy this all in one style of diary for 2020.

RRP is a fabulous £9.99 – For the amount in invaluable information and diary space this is a BARGAIN! 

The website also sells various other diaries and notebooks as well as cookbooks so get online and get your Christmas shopping started and make someone smile this Christmas with a Cook’s Diary.

Rating: 5/5

RRP: £9.99

For more information or to buy visit cooksdiary.co.uk.