What's really going on in the kitchen?Whilst cookery programmes are broadcast at peak viewing times and chefs regularly claim celebrity status, food writers announce the death of cooking. Parents, experts, campaigners and policymakers grow increasingly concerned about the proliferation of pre-prepared foods and a growing trend for eating alone and on the run. Kitchen Secrets explores the thoughts, values and opinions of home cooks, their practices and experiences, and the skills and knowledge they use to prepare and provide food. It offers new and challenging ways of thinking about cooking, examining and often contesting commonly-held beliefs and theories about the role of practical cookery lessons, dinner parties as showcases for culinary flair and the de-skilling effect of convenience foods. Kitchen Secrets lifts the lid on the modern range to see what's cooking.

Frances Short is an independent writer and researcher and is an associate lecturer at the Open University.