In-depth cookery book reviews.
Over the last 10-15 years I’ve developed a real love for and interest in tea, especially Chinese, Japanese and Taiwanese teas. Coinciding with my deep love of Japanese food and drink, I’ve researched and learned about the different types of Japanese tea (such as sencha, gyokuro, hojicha, genmaicha, matcha), about their growing and processing, their ... Read more »
Selin Kiazim had an unusual and admirable ambition in mind when writing her enigmatically titled cookbook, Three. She wanted to give an accomplished eater and competent “recipe cook” the tools to have the confidence to play with their cooking, to drop their reliance on the stricture of recipes and feel free to create. The secret, ... Read more »
Our love affair with Middle Eastern food began at Uni with a Manchester Asian sweet shop that inexplicably also sold Lebanese dishes. It was affirmed by Lebanese buffet lunches of amazing quality, freshness and value, discovered at the Phoenicia restaurant just off Kensington High Street. Although now closed, memories of the tantalising fragrance of garlic, ... Read more »
Whether intentional or not, the canvas of Thali by Maunika Gowardhan is an instant evocation of the Hindu Holi Festival of Colours, bright flashes of red, pink, yellow, blue, turquoise and green flung across the book’s cover and through its pages with a sense of joy and abandon. Great book design is a unique art ... Read more »
I’ve been anticipating the publication of Mandy Yin’s Sambal Shiok cookbook for many months, and now the book’s in my hands, it doesn’t disappoint! As Yin explains, Malaysian food reflects the diversity of the Malaysian people and encompasses a glorious range of ingredients, flavours and techniques from the Malay, Chinese, Peranakan, South Indian and indigenous ... Read more »
We fell in love with yakiniku (also known in Japan as Korean barbeque) when visiting Japan, and have loved it ever since. This year, one of my Christmas gifts from Pete was a table-top Korean barbeque grill by Primst, and a big box of bamboo charcoal briquettes. We veered towards Japanese flavours for our first ... Read more »
We’ve reviewed some fabulous cookbooks on Kavey Eats this year, much as we did last year. Here’s a rundown of the ones we loved, along with links to the recipes we’ve shared from each. (Contents) This Year’s Books Chinese Takeaway in 5 by Kwoklyn Wan | Serendip by Peter Kuruvita | Sumac by Anas Atassi ... Read more »
The publication of How to Bake Anything Gluten Free by Becky Excell follows the phenomenal success of her debut How to Make Anything Gluten Free (previously reviewed here), which prompted Nigella Lawson to endorse Becky as “the Queen of gluten-free baking” (I can only imagine the resulting paroxysms of joy in the Excell household). Becky’s ... Read more »
This 10 year anniversary green and gold clad edition of Veggiestan by Sally Butcher comes at an opportune time: vegan and vegetarian cookbooks almost outnumber the omnivore cookbooks publishers are currently offering, as climate consciousness encourages us all to reduce our meat intake and increase the production quality (and hence cost) of the meat we ... Read more »
I adore tofu! Although it’s often dismissed as a wobbly block of pale, bland protein favoured by those seeking meat substitutes, I truly think this assessment is missing the joys of a delicious, versatile and nutritious food. Rather than thinking of it as a replacement for meat, it is far better to appreciate tofu as ... Read more »
The Place of Onions, in old Lille. After last night’s rainstorm the intense sticky heat has broken and today is cool, breezy, fresh… I love it! A drop of… [more]
We went to Star Wars: Secrets of the Empire at The Void this morning, an amazing VR experience where we got to be Rebel Alliance members going undercover as… [more]