There's no doubt that Chef Michael Smith is passionate about food. You'll catch his enthusiasm just by watching his hit Food Network television shows Chef at Home and Chef Abroad. Now he's back with the much-awaited follow-up to his first book, Chef at Home, which has sold over 28,000 copies.

The Best of Chef at Home is a collection of the recipes that Michael is most passionate about, the everyday comfort food his own family craves. Both simple and easy to adapt, the recipes reflect Michael's belief that making great food is about relaxing, enjoying the process, and losing yourself in the moment.

It includes everything from quick recipes for weekday meals, like macaroni and cheese, to fancier fare for entertaining guests, like short ribs braised in red wine. Michael's laid-back approach encourages creativity in the kitchen, with suggestions for altering and adjusting each recipe until it is truly your own.

Why not try adding pine nuts to your chocolate chip cookies? Or curry powder to a classic chicken stew? Once you know the basics, you can create flavourful food for your family and friends with a personal touch.

Try your hand at Chef Michael Smith's most popular crowd-pleasers:

• Chicken Noodle Soup
• Brined Holiday Turkey with Herb Gravy
• The Perfect Burger
• Classic Chicken Stew
• Old-Fashioned Apple Pie
• Chocolate Chip Cookies

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.

Michael Smith's profile page