We celebrate the publication this week of We Cook Plants by Sarah Bentley and the community cookery school Made in Hackney, offering sustainable and delicious plant-based cooking. Also, it’s World Pasta Day on October 17th!
Read MoreIn the UK (and the US) quince season is getting into full swing. Chef and food writer Clare Heal says it’s time to make membrillo, and plenty more besides…
Read MoreFor those of us in the Northern hemisphere, the coats are coming out of storage, and leaves are turning, as things start to feel decidedly cooler. A perfect time to turn from cold plates to dishes that are warmer, and warming. This is when slow cooking comes into its own, producing melting textures and layers of deep flavor.
Read MoreAs the weather turns thoroughly autumnal (for those of us in the Northern hemisphere, at least) thoughts turn towards warming comfort food. In the latest contribution to our Consuming Passions series, food writer Ellen Manning reflects on the simple pleasures of slow cooking. In a world that rarely slows down, she makes the case for meals that do.
Read MoreThere is a delicious diversity to the books appearing in the ckbk newsletter this week, with recently added titles focused on the cuisines of Japan, Morocco and Italy, alongside a 1970s classic from culinary icon Prue Leith.
Read MoreMulti-award winning American food writer Clifford A. Wright has written for a Who’s Who of culinary publications, and authored 17 books, including the two-time James Beard Award winning A Mediterranean Feast. He brings his considerable passion and expertise on the subject to his book Mediterranean Small Plates, in which he brings us a tempting array of the tapas, mezze, antipasti and the like, that are much loved in the region.
Read MoreWe are delighted to bring you two books from food writer, photographer, and gardener Mark Diacono. His book A Taste of the Unexpected, which won the Guild of Food Writers Food Book of the Year, shares the author’s journey to growing his own food. A Year at Otter Farm, winner of the Andre Simon Food Book Award, continues this work, charting the creation and running of his smallholding in Southwest England
Read MoreOver the previous six articles, we’ve explored some of the key foundations of taking professional-looking food photos with your phone, from iPhone setup, lighting, composition, to angles, styling and storytelling and editing. Now it’s time to bring them all together in action.
For this final piece in the series, I visited the chef and author Dipna Anand at her beautiful new Gastropub Brilliant Gastro in Southall (you can find Dipna’s cookbook Dip In Brilliant available in full on ckbk, by the way).
Read MoreAs a continent, South America is rich in diversity between its countries, but whether you look to Argentina or Brazil, Peru or Colombia, each country and its cuisine is built on exceptional local produce, ancient tradition, and a multilayered set of influences from incomers across the centuries. We have three books newly added to ckbk that bring you some of the tastes and traditions of South America.
Read MoreVegan cooking is now rich in variety, via different cuisines from across the globe, and the use of all manner of cooking methods. We have three new plant-based books on ckbk, so whether you are a confirmed vegan, or just getting started, there are endless dishes to explore.
Read MoreKeep track of what you have cooked with ckbk’s new I Cooked This collection. You can order the collection by the date you cooked it, by the star rating you gave the recipe, or in many other ways, so you have a full record of what you cooked when, and which dishes you enjoyed most.
Read More‘This cookbook has been written to share the culinary journey of the Zoroastrians as they migrated from the Persian Empire to the shores of India. It summarises how Parsi food has been influenced by Persian cuisine but is distinctively different in its preparation. As the title suggests, it is just the route to an end—a beautiful way of being intertwined with different cultures while maintaining a clear identity of its own.’ Niloufer Mavalvala
Read MoreWelcome back! We're now at one of the most anticipated parts of food photography, the edit. It’s where so many people think the magic happens. You’ll often hear the phrase “Oh, you can just fix that in the edit.” But I’m here to tell you: editing shouldn't be a crutch. It's not where the real magic happens. That starts in-camera. Editing is simply where we add the finishing touches. The sprinkle of sea salt. The drizzle of olive oil. A way to elevate the image, not disguise mistakes.
Read MoreMax Tan is passionate about classic cookbooks and is on a mission to ensure that pioneering cookbook authors are not forgotten. In this feature, published to mark what would have been her 90th birthday, he celebrates Jennifer Brennan’s groundbreaking 1981 work, The Original Thai Cookbook, which is now available on ckbk.
Read MoreThe sun is shining, the holidays mean gathering friends and family, more time to cook, and helpers at hand. No one wants to be shut up in the kitchen, and summer is the prime time to cook outside.
An open fire is our original heat source, and the most fundamental way to cook. But used, as we are, to temperature controls and precise cooking times, how do we approach the naked flame? We have two books newly added to ckbk to help you harness the capabilities of that flavor-giving heat source.
We are delighted to bring you Christine Wong’s recently published book The Vibrant Hong Kong Table: 88 Iconic Vegan Recipes From Dim Sum To Late-Night Snacks—a flavor-packed collection of dishes that pay homage to the culinary traditions of the chef’s city of origin, updated for a plant-based diet.
Read More‘Combining academic knowledge with Brazilian soul, Morena developed a culinary style that is both sophisticated and deeply rooted in popular traditions. (…) She has built a name not only for her skills as a chef but also for the way she weaves gastronomy with education, art, sustainability, and social inclusion. For her, cooking is a way of communicating with the world—and her language is affection. She believes Brazilian cuisine is, above all, emotional.’ Luciana Corrêa
Read MoreMorena Leite, the author of Brazil Rhythms and Recipes, is one of Brazil’s most well-known chefs but she more than just a chef. She is an artist of flavors, a passionate educator and a tireless social entrepreneur. Her work goes far beyond the kitchen — she connects people, transforms communities and plants seeds of food consciousness wherever she goes. Interviewing her I saw a sparkle in her eyes, a guiding faith behind her actions, and a clear life purpose. Morena is a unique individual — not just for her achievements or her singular name, but because she inspires generations through food made with love, technique, and intuition.
Read MoreIt’s that time of year, kids are off school, grownups are stocking up on sunscreen, and if you are lucky you might be packing a suitcase to head off for an adventure or two. But whether you are taking up residence in an Italian villa for a month, or revelling in a fuss-free staycation, holiday cooking will set the mood.
Read MoreWe have couple of gorgeous bakes newly risen from the ckbk oven—two books guaranteed to have you mastering the technicals and whipping up a showstopper.
“The baking at Margot is not always easy to define: our influences range from the fresh bold flavours found in Australian food, comforting recipes from the north of England to traditional Italian baking techniques and Polish and Hungarian fillings; we bake for both Jewish and Christian festivals.”
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