The humble potato: endlessly adaptable, quietly brilliant and capable of stealing the show in everything from comfort food classics to elegant dinner-party dishes. No wonder there are celebrations for International Day of the Potato on May 30. Whether you’re in the mood for something indulgent, inventive or timeless, these three potato cookbooks prove the spud is anything but ordinary.
Read MoreWherever you are this weekend, there’s every excuse to fire up the barbecue or lay out a picnic blanket. National BBQ Week kicks off from Memorial Day on Monday (in the US), while the UK enjoys another well-timed May Bank Holiday
Read MoreWhat does healthy eating really look like - and how can it be joyful, comforting and sustainable? In our latest Q&A, chef and author Christina Pirello shares her insights on The Macroterranean Way. The title expresses a unique food philosophy that blends Mediterranean tradition with Eastern healing wisdom.
Read MoreWe’ve just added two cracking chicken books to the ckbk shelves. First up, The Good Chicken Cookbook by Marcus Bean – a guide to cooking chicken sustainably, from beak to tail.
With tips on prep, using the whole bird, and even chicken care, it's perfect for anyone wanting to give their Sunday roast a conscience.
Chef and best-selling cookbook author Andie Pilot grew up in Calgary, near the Canadian Rockies. After visiting Switzerland every summer as a child to see her grandparents, she moved to Switzerland in 2010, and now lives in Emmenthal, near the Alps, with her Swiss husband. In Pilot's books, two of which are newly available on ckbk, she shares her experience of cooking Swiss recipes, and her journey of exploration into Swiss cuisine and its traditions.
Read MoreExecutive chef of celebrated Greens Restaurant in San Francisco, Katie Reicher is only the fourth chef at the helm of this restaurant whose 45 year history is renowned for its all-female leadership, sustainable locally-sourced ingredients and vegetarian cuisine with global flavors.
Katie’s first book Seasons of Greens: A Collection of New Recipes from the Iconic San Francisco Restaurant is a gorgeously photographed gathering of the philosophy and fresh recipe style that are at the heart of Greens Restaurant.
Read MoreYou might think that a baker’s daughter, for whom the bakery had been a second home, would follow in her father’s footsteps and take over at the stoves. Certainly Louise Johncox spent much of her young life watching her father bake, and sampling all his comforting, much-loved wares. But she chose to train as a journalist, and it was only when she set out to tell their family story—a job her training is well suited to—that her own baking really began.
Read MoreWith its assured use of aromatic spices the many flavor-packed culinary techniques and traditions of South Asia are well worth exploring. This week we bring you two brand new books that we are very excited about.
Read MoreAs days lengthen, the sun shows its face, and coats are cast off, thoughts turn to outdoor cooking, to lighting the grill and revelling in the taste of food cooked over fire and seasoned with fresh air. We’ve got three books newly live on ckbk to inspire your grill cookery throughout the outdoor season.
Read MoreCooking and television have a long association, with viewers enjoying the opportunity to see techniques and dishes demonstrated with flair. TV chefs are welcome culinary guides, whose familiarity encourages us when we approach their cookbooks. Little wonder that when it comes to recipes, those by TV chefs are often among our favorites.
Read More‘You’re going to get the secret to several incredible bowls of noodles, but you’re also going to get a story about immigrants leaving a place called home and creating a new one, both in China and in the United States. You’re going to get recipes that showcase the malleable language of food, the transformations that take place through time and through space, and the magical powers familiar flavors have in unfamiliar environments.’ Jason Wang
Read More‘I made a conscious decision when I started writing cookbooks not to make it into a science or an education. I wanted to stay on a level with the readers of my books, who mostly didn’t go to culinary school’. Trish Deseine
Kicking off our St Patrick’s Day celebrations we have three books from hugely popular Irish-French food writer Trish Deseine, newly added to ckbk.
Read MoreFrom March 3 to 9 it is British Pie Week, an annual opportunity to indulge in a British national obsession, the pie. There is a long history of pies in Great Britain. They have been around since the Middle Ages, with the first recorded recipes appearing in the 1300s. Originally a way to preserve meats for longer by encasing them in a paste crust, once hot-water pastry was developed the pie became a vehicle for elaborate shaping, and decoration fit for a banquet table. As ovens became more widespread, they also became part of more ordinary mealtimes. And after the arrival of the potato in Europe in the 16th century, the main meal staple ‘pie and mash’ was born.
Read More‘If I knew you were coming I’d have baked a cake…’ As the song says, sometimes a cake is the very thing. A cake says celebration like few other foods, and baking a cake for someone always says something special. Which is why we can never have enough cake books, and are extremely excited to get baking from World’s Best Cakes: 250 Great Cakes from Raspberry Genoise to Chocolate Kugelhopf—by Roger Pizey and newly added to ckbk.
Read MoreOne of two authors featured in this week’s newsletter, bestselling author and chronicler of rural and regional Australian food and community histories, Liz Harfull learned to cook from recipes gathered together from family and neighbours. Whether created informally and organically, or through organised collaboration, community cookbooks are at the heart of cooking culture and recipes in the South Australia that Liz grew up in.
Meanwhile, esteemed professional bread instructor Michael Kalanty honed his teaching methods over years teaching students at the artisan bread course he designed at the California Culinary Academy, and we are delighted to add a new and updated edition of his book How to Bake Sourdough Bread to ckbk.
Read More‘My straightforward recipes take you through breakfast basics, show-stopper sevencolour Sunday lunches, heart-warming soups and stews, sweet cheats and even traditional African favourites, just like Gogo used to make them…I hope that The Lazy Makoti’s Guide to the Kitchen will become your trusted guide to easy, unpretentious and delicious cooking – just what a cookbook was meant to be.’ Mogau Seshoene
Read MoreJust in time for Valentine's Day, four titles by Antonio Carluccio are added to ckbk this week. We take a look back at Carluccio’s remarkable journey – from the son of a stationmaster in a small Italian village to the UK's cherished "Godfather of Italian food.” Plus we offer suggestions for cooking with Salsify, sometimes called the "oyster plant" for its subtle, slightly briny flavor.
Read MoreDiscover Jo Pratt’s family friendly cooking in her bestselling cookbooks, or take a leap into the culinary unknown with The Curious Cookbook, a compilation of unusual recipes from across the ages, published by The British Library.
Read MoreIn our latest feature, influential Scottish chef and restaurateur Shirley Spear goes behind the cookbook on both her books—The Three Chimneys: Recipes & Reflections, and The Three Chimneys Marmalade Bible.
Plus we introduce molecular biologist turned cookbook author Nik Sharma’s latest offering, Veg-table: Recipe, Techniques, and Plant Science for Big-Flavored, Vegetable-Focused Meals.
Read More“Recipes are stories. They are tales that travel through time—gifts shared with us by witnesses of bygone eras, preserving memories of times spent with family and friends.” Bruno Feldeisen
Recipes are indeed stories, and what better way to explore the world, than through the stories so generously shared by its chefs. We are thrilled to have a quartet of Canadian books newly added to ckbk, each with a generous offering of Canadian goodies to share.
