Archive For The “Books” Category
If you are an avid UK food TV viewer then you will no doubt have watched Market Kitchen. It’s the food magazine programme that took the place of the dearly-missed Good Food Live. It’s a popular hour-long show reflecting recipes for fresh, seasonal produce. Its ever-changing cast of guests helps to keep the audience returning…
How to Drink Gin! That’s a curious name for a book, isn’t it? One would think it’s a simple process. Step 1 – Fill glass with gin. Step 2 – Throw head back and pour aforementioned beverage into open mouth. Step 3 – swallow. But there is much more to enjoying gin than that. How…
What a great little book. My Winter Kitchen: Warming Recipes for the Coldest Months is a book for cooks. Its small format makes it ideal for the kitchen book-stand and that’s where it will live with pages smeared with sauce. I am working my way through each of these delicious recipes, which are written in…
The Whisky Dictionary, or to give this book its full title – The Whisky Dictionary: An A–Z of whisky, from history & heritage to distilling & drinking, is the discerning sipper’s guide to everything appertaining to whisky as well as whiskey. The difference between those is also explained. Everything from American rye to bourbon spirits…
The Black Book of Gin Cocktails is by Brockmans who distil, in my opinion, one of the best gins … and there are a lot out there. This slim gift-quality book is black in both name and appearance. The black cover is embossed (or is it etched?) and that dusky theme continues inside with full-page…
Did you ever watch the movie ‘Moonstruck’ with Cher? It’s one of my top ten films of all time. Much of the action is set in the family kitchen – a room of significant proportions and a great deal of charm. We witness breakfast being made (in fact a couple of those) and dinner being…
Champagne: Wine of Kings and the King of Wines by Tom Bruce-Gardyne introduces the reader to the colourful story of how this delicious sparkling wine became the centrepiece of any smart party or event, and almost anywhere in the world. Champagne has universal appeal. This impressive tome looks at the essential and celebrated method of…
Glorious Game by the celebrated Face Publications is well up to their very high and exacting standards. It is a substantial tome in full colour with gold-edged pages. This is a sumptuous cookbook of recipes from one hundred and one of the UK’s and Ireland’s best-loved chefs and food writers, and they offer the whole…
Chinatown in Soho London throngs with tourists and locals every day of the week. This isn’t, however, the first Chinatown in London. The original Chinese area was in the East end of the capital in Limehouse. That run-down neighbourhood suffered severe bombing during the Second World War, forcing many Chinese to find another home. The…
Holidays in the UK are becoming more popular. The shrinking pound has perhaps encouraged people to look at what England has to offer. The Lake District is beautiful, mostly tranquil, and perfect for outdoor pursuits. Those who have already visited will return year after year. It must have something special! Marco Polo Guides has a…
Oh, deep joy! It’s summer at last and I think I have found my cookbook of the year …and it’s still only July! Every page offers sunshine in delicious fashion and wafts one off to a tropical paradise. The Island Kitchen: Recipes from Mauritius and the Indian Ocean by Selina Periampillai is a winner. I…
Big Chef Mini Chef – Cooking for Kids with Kids is a book stuffed with joy and inspiration. Yes, the star of the volume is a young lad living with Cystic Fibrosis and this book is raising both funds and awareness, but it’s all about food and fun! This large-format book is inspired by and…
Well, here is a rather interesting cookbook! It has hints of familiar cuisines but Mandalay: Recipes and Tales from a Burmese Kitchen offers a delicious insight into an unfamiliar destination and culinary culture. The Republic of the Union of Myanmar was once known as Burma. It shares borders with India, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos and China….
Let’s Get Tropical: Over 60 Cocktail Recipes from Caribbean Classics to Modern Tiki Drinks It will soon be that time of year. Those warm (we hope) summer months when our thoughts turn to al fresco lunches and dinners under the stars. To go with those meals will probably be some exotic drinks, and it’s the…
The Sea Journal: Seafarers’ Sketchbooks is more than just a glimpse into a few nautical logbooks, it is a fascinating study of the discoveries made by some sixty-odd renowned adventurers over the last 600 years. The author, Dr. Huw Lewis-Jones (a much-travelled historian with a special interest in maritime exploration and polar voyages), has brought…
Turkish food has been popular for decades and that love has increased over the past years as more holiday-makers have been heading to those sun-kissed shores. I have heard that those vacations are more popular than ever this year due to the ‘Brexit effect’. Those visitors will likely return with a taste for many dishes…
The M.V.M. Cappellin Glassworks and the Young Carlo Scarpa is a new publication in the series “Le Stanze del Vetro”, a project on Venetian glassmaking in the 20th century, from a successful partnership of the Fondazione Cini and Pentagram Stiftung. This sumptuous book from the renowned Skira publishing company is associated with the autumn exhibition…
Tu Casa Mi Casa: Mexican Recipes for the Home Cook is a gorgeous volume of Mexican recipes from the internationally celebrated chef Enrique Olvera. He was featured in the Netflix documentary series, Chef’s Table. This is his first home-cooking book and a very creditable one it is too. Enrique Olvera is a native of Mexico…
Idols: The Power of Images is yet another sumptuous volume from Skira Editore. They are a paramount publisher of quality books on art and design, and these books are highly collectable. This tome takes the reader on a journey back through the centuries to a time when we find the first sculptural representation of the…
The Good Hotel Guide 2019 is the leading independent guide to hotels in Great Britain and Ireland. It enjoys that position as it is written for those looking for impartial advice on finding a great hotel in which to stay for a holiday, a short break or for a special occasion. This well-respected guide has…