Max Halley created a storm in London’s food world with his radical rethinking of the sandwich. Trained as some of London’s best restaurants, he ditched his formal chef’s whites to open Max’s Sandwich Shop in 2014. The book which captured this entirely new take on the sandwich, written with chef pal Ben Benton, became a Sunday Times Top 10 Bestseller. As Max’s Sandwich Book comes to ckbk, we caught up with its outspoken author for his take on sandwiches and much more…
Read MoreShikha Kaiwar is a pastry chef and writer of the Shikha la Mode newsletter. She’s been baking with spelt since the beginning of her career and her desserts often feature this ancient grain. Her piece helps demystify spelt so that other cooks can confidently use it to create more complex, flavourful baked goods.
Read MoreLunar New Year is often called Chinese New Year, but is actually celebrated by millions of people worldwide, and in countries across East Asia, including Korea, Vietnam, Japan and the Philippines. The festival, which spans a couple of weeks, kicks off on the first full moon after the winter solstice. For this reason, the exact date is different year on year.
In 2023 the festival begins on January 22, a date which heralds the start of the year of the rabbit. Celebrations feature dragon parades, music, dancing, lanterns, and of course lots of wonderful food!
This week we are full of Consuming Passions! We’d like to hear about yours.
Dina Macki did not hesitate for a moment when asked her Consuming Passion. It could only be pomegranates. The British-born chef, food writer and presenter is from an Omani an Zanzibari family, and the jewel-like fruit is central to so much of the food she grew up with and adores. Her love for Omani food has led to the great success of her ‘Dine with Dina’ supper-club, and her upcoming book on Omani cuisine.
Brought up on pig farms in Essex and Kent, Chris Bulow is the creator of Salute the Pig, a website devoted to “the countless joys of porcine delights”. His piece for our Consuming Passions series is naturally on the subject of all things pig-related.
Read More“My number one desert island food would be feta cheese. It would go beautifully with any tropical fruit I might forage. Just thinking of its crumbly creaminess and saltiness coupled with a lusciously sweet mango makes the prospect of being marooned on a wild and uninhabited island quite appealing. As long as there is a crate of feta drifting behind me.”
Read MoreAs the new year gets underway our appetites change, from holiday feasting mode, to something a bit more invigorating. We need food to fuel a fresh start, food that will perk us up, not weigh us down. What could serve the purpose better than a salad. But it’s not summer, we hear you cry.
Read MoreSeasonal Salads by Fi Buchanan is published by Kitchen Press on January 5th 2023. The book, including 52 salad recipes to see you through every week of the year, is available in full on ckbk. We spoke to Fi about the year round joys of the salad bowl…
Read Moreckbk’s new-and-improved sharing menu includes the option to ‘embed’ any collection on your blog or website, just as you might include a YouTube video. Embedded collections are shown as mobile-friendly carousels of recipes.
Read MoreRobert Wemischner is a pastry chef and culinary educator who for the past 18 years has taught baking and pastry at Los Angeles Trade Technical College. Robert’s long-standing interest in the flavor potential of ingredients culminated in The Dessert Architect, a text book designed to teach budding pastry chefs the fundamental building blocks and approaches which will allow them to freely express their creativity. We asked the author what led him to write the book…
Read MoreDina Macki is a British-born cook from an Omani and Zanzibari family. Her ‘Dine with Dina’ Omani supper clubs have been a hit, and later this year will see the appearance of her debut cookbook which will be the first title on Omani cuisine to be published in English. On Instagram, where she has more than 24,000 followers, she is known as ‘The Pomegranate Queen’, so when it came to choosing the topic for her Consuming Passions piece, there was only one option…
Read MoreIt’s that time of year, when we make resolutions for the year ahead, and take a look back at the year we’ve had. On that note we’ve done our annual roundup, and you lot have been cooking! It’s exciting to see the enthusiasm and range of your use of our resources at ckbk.
Read MoreJeanne Strang’s book, Goose Fat and Garlic, is devoted to the regional and highly seasonal dishes of rural SouthWest France. Patricia Wells describes it as “a book with a ring of authenticity; a must for all cooks with a sense of curiosity and a dose of ambition.” The book has legions of devoted fans, among them Alison Stattersfield, who has recorded her progress in cooking her way every recipe in the book on her blog My Year of French Cookery. Below she explains why this book, and the cuisine of the region as a whole, means so much to her.
Read MoreAnother year at ckbk has just flown by and it’s time to crunch the numbers to see what books and recipes have been the most popular this year.
Read MoreDi Murrell celebrates the humblest of fish and its dual appeal “My love affair with fresh sardines began quite late on when we lived in France and, strangely enough, my fondness for the tinned sort was rekindled there too. Strange, because in both cases we were in regions that had little to do with the sea.”
Read MoreDoes your heart sink at the number of people to cook for, and the number of meals to be cooked, at this time of year? We’re here to help you turn the marathon of Christmas cooking from a chore into a joy. Whether you need your hand held, or want to explore new recipes, we have tips, and tricks, and scrumptious dishes galore.
Read MoreUnlisted collections are perfect for sharing a menu of recipes, or a curated collection of books, with a specific group of people – friends, family members, or professional colleagues. Find out about this new option for sharing collections with a limited group.
Read MoreThere is no better way to get in the holiday mood, and get on top of that gifts-to-get list, than to rustle up a few batches of something in the kitchen. A great thing to do with the little ones, and less expensive that heading to the shops, making edible gifts is a win-win. And with households always fuller than usual at this time of year, something yummy to offer around will always be welcome.
Read MoreTo mark the December 6th publication of Savory vs. Sweet, the debut cookbook from Miami-based influencers Shalean and Stephanie Ghitis, we spoke to one of the authors to find out how the cookbook came to be published.
Read MoreEveryone loves a cookie! Fun, festive, and good to eat. It’s National Cookie Day on December 4 in the US and UK. But wherever you are you need no excuse to whip up a batch of cookies. A great activity with kids over the holidays, cookies make thoughtful, inexpensive seasonal gifts. We have lots of books on ckbk brimming with recipes, techniques, and charm.
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