Deborah Madison, cookbook author chef, has been instrumental in shaping attitudes to meat-free eating – somewhat ironically, given that Madison is not in fact a vegetarian. Deborah spoke to ckbk about why The Savory Way – which won the Julia Child/IACP 1990 Best Cookbook of the Year – remains a favorite, and how attitudes and cooking trends have changed in the 30+ years since the book was written.
Read MoreFood is a gateway to human emotion, believes Ramin Ganeshram, the New York City-born journalist, historian, and author. As a child, Ganeshram learned to cook “by osmosis” as her Trinidad-born father wove stories as he chopped, stirred and kneaded. As well as learning to cook, she learned the importance of food as a medium for telling ourselves and others about who we are, and where we come from.
Read MoreChef and restaurateur Denis Cotter opened Café Paradiso in Cork, Ireland, in 1993. It’s been in business for 28 years – a huge achievement in such a fickle industry – and still wins plaudits for doing things differently. The restaurant is closed because of the pandemic, giving Denis time to talk to ckbk about Paradiso’s past, its present – and what the post-pandemic future may hold for restaurants.
Read MoreLate winter can be an uninspiring time in the kitchen. Spring vegetables are still on the distant horizon, and the icy temperatures call for dishes that can deliver warmth, simplicity and sustenance. Say hello to grains….
Read MoreParalympic cycling gold medallist Lora Fachie MBE appeared in a special edition of The Food Programme on BBC Radio 4 about Cooking Blind. Read more about how ckbk is proving to be a boon for Lora and other visually impaired cooks.
Read MoreAre you a mere chocaholic or a borderline chocolatier? How deep does your chocolate knowledge go? Take our quiz, created in partnership with artisanal chocolate maker Guittard Chocolate Company, to find out how much you really know.
Read MoreLunar New Year, celebrated in many countries in East Asia, begins on 11-12 February this year, marking the first new moon of the lunar calendar. 2021 will be the Year of the Ox. Family and feasting are vital to Lunar New Year, and many of the celebratory banquet foods have symbolic meaning. Learn more and plan your celebratory meal.
Read MorePeter Hertzmann believes that learning to cook involves learning about methods, not simply following recipes. His new book 50 Ways to Cook a Carrot, uses the root vegetable to demonstrate a whole battery of kitchen skills, from julienning and braising, to transforming carrots into meringues, foams, and powder. Peter explains the reasons for writing the book, who it’s for – and why carrots…
Read MoreFood writer, author, and stylist Jennifer Joyce grew up in the US and has lived in the UK for 27 years. Her love of good food is matched by her sense of wanderlust, her curious palate, and her brilliant recipe-writing skills (Jennifer’s recipes really work). In My Street Food Kitchen, Jennifer explores the street-food scene in Mexico & South America, the Mediterranean, East and Southeast Asia, India, the Middle East, and the US, and delivers recipes that taste as good in your home kitchen as they do on your travels. We quizzed Jennifer about what ‘street food’ is, how she researched the book and tracked down the recipes – and asked about her favorite cookbook authors.
Read MoreGiuliano Hazan is a talented cook and teacher, and the author of Hazan Family Favorites, a collection of recipes from his grandparents and parents, his own recipes, and dishes his wife and daughters love to cook and eat. Giuliano recalls the important things his mother taught him, from how to cook, to being true to oneself – and chooses three much-loved family favorite recipes
Read MoreJanuary in the food world has become near-synonymous with Veganuary, the annual 31-day meat- and dairy-free challenge. If you’re one of them – or if you would like to know more about what vegan eating is all about – ckbk has a huge range of recipes and resources.
Read MoreIt will be a year that none of us will ever forget, but for all the wrong reasons. The Covid-19 pandemic wrought emotional and economic destruction for so many, but there’s no denying its epoch-defining importance, in our lives and in our kitchens. As we prepare to bid goodbye and good riddance, ckbk rounds up the recipes that defined how and what we ate in 2020 – and what we are looking forward to in 2021.
Read MoreRegula Ysewijn’s childhood fascination with British culture led to her becoming a food historian and author of two of the most respected books on British baking: Pride and Pudding (2016) and Oats in the North, Wheat from the South: British Baking, Savoury and Sweet (2020). She’s also a trained chef, a graphic designer, does her own food photography – and is a judge on the Flemish version of Bake Off. Regula tells ckbk about the childhood nursery rhyme that sparked her interest in Britain, what motivates her writing, what she finds most intriguing about British baking culture.
Read MoreChristmas celebrations may not have gone exactly to plan this year. Gatherings may be smaller and prone to last-minute adjustments, yet the urge to observe and celebrate festive traditions seems stronger than ever. We hope the recipes and ideas from these books, from classic cookies to traditional dishes, will provide help in marking this most unusual of Christmases. Here’s our guide to help you get into the spirit of the season.
Read MoreYou love the holidays, but how much do you really know about Christmas foods? Take our quiz to test what you know.
Read MoreFood writer Gemma Croffie understands the value of cookbooks from bygone eras. There are plenty of reasons to look to the past, she says: They’re a window onto the past, they’re full of advice that’s actually useful – and they can be downright funny, too. Read them, cook from them, and you’ll also discover the roots of many of today’s cooking trends, from nose-to-tail eating to reducing meat. Here’s her selection of classics from ckbk’s vintage collection
Read MorePrue Leith, a presenter of The Great British Bake Off, has partnered with her niece, Peta Leith, a professional pastry chef, to write The Vegetarian Kitchen. Kerstin Rodgers interviewed the pair over Zoom about their collaboration, how they handled lockdown, friendship with food-writing legends Mary Berry and Elizabeth David, and what life is really like in the Bake Off tent.
Read MoreThe 850 recipes in Farm Journal’s Country Cookbook, collected from cooks all across the nation, are a collection of America’s best. Author Nell Beaubien Nichols was a prolific food writer and chronicler of American foodways, with no fewer than 17 cookbooks to her name, written over a period of more than 50 years. She is best known for the series of books written for the magazine Farm Journal.
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