Cook books
Combining two of life’s great pleasures – food and reading – a cookbook is the perfect gift for the weekend gourmand, the harried singleton… and everybody in between. Luckily, the array of titles – together with cuisines, topics and writing styles – has never been greater. Take reference book Knife (Quadrille €27.95) by Tim Hayward is a gleaming, razorsharp paean to the chef’s greatest weapon. Meanwhile, Eat. Live. Go. (Hodder & Stoughton €23.99) sees Donal Skehan continue his mission of bringing simple restorative and inspirational recipes to busy and energetic people. In A Taste of Home: The Ballyknocken Cookbook (Gill Books €19.99), Catherine Fulvio turns to her own family’s store of recipes with a selection that will appeal to both novice and experienced cooks. Sabrina Ghayour has followed Persiana with Sirocco (Mitchell Beazley €34.95), a joyous book, scented with still more spice and eastern promise. A worthy follow-up to a modern classic. And Deep South (Quadrille €35), by Brad McDonald, is a lip-smacking paean to andouille, bbq, pickles and greens. Albeit with a refreshing modern spin. Land Of Fish And Rice (Bloomsbury €36.40) by Fuchsia Dunlop concentrates on recipes from
Shanghai and the Lower Yangtze region. Elegant, erudite and utterly comprehensive. And talking of China, don’t miss Phaidon’s classic China: The Cookbook (Phaidon €41.93) by Kei Lum Chan and Diora Fong Chan. It includes hundreds of regional recipes, as well as sections on techniques, history and equipment. When it comes to Spanish tucker, there’s no one better qualified than Monika Linton. She’s the founder of Brindisa. And her book, Brindisa – The True Food Of Spain (Fourth Estate €41.93), is pure Iberian gold. Learned, evocative, and truly essential. As is By The Atlantic (Prospect Books €25.19), the latest gem from Caroline Conran. Here, she gets stuck into the food of south west France and Basque country. A fine work. One of the top picks of the year, though, comes from Shaun Hill. Like this fine chef, Salt Is Essential (Kyle Books €35) is modest, wise and eminently sensible. It’s wonderfully written, too. In short, a tome that should have a place on every cook’s shelf. The world may be going to pot. But one can always find succour and solace in a really good book.