Behind the Cookbook: Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well

The latest book to be added to ckbk’s collection is Pellegrino Artusi’s era-defining work, Science in the Kitchen and the Art of Eating Well.

The book is a foundational text on Italian cuisine, first published in 1891 (not long after Italian unification) and still of key relevance today. It is celebrated by contemporary Italian chefs such as Giorgio Locatelli (who described it as “life-changing”) and writers including Bill Buford and Anna del Conte.

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Consuming Passions: Freekeh

Amoul Oakes is a London-based chef, originally from Lebanon. Her restaurant in London’s Maida Vale, Amoul’s, was open from 2003-2018 and was acclaimed by critics including Jay Rayner for its soulful home-cooked dishes, which reflected Amoul’s recollections of the food made by her mother and grandmother. Her book, Amoul: Some family recipes is now available in full on ckbk. Here Amoul shares her enthusiasm for the ancient grain freekeh, and offers a bonus recipe for freekeh served with chickpeas and spinach.

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Newsletter: Christmas with ckbk – everything you need to prepare for the main event 🎄

No matter how many office parties or meetups with friends and family the coming weeks hold, Christmas Day itself is central to the holiday season. And for the cook of the household that can mean a lot of work and expectation. Tip one: delegate. Tip two: take your time to look through the wealth of Christmas recipes and resources on ckbk to make your Christmas lunch a pleasure to cook and eat.

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Consuming Passions: Rosewater and Orange-Flower Water

Until bullying vanilla swept them aside, the flavours of orange blossom and of roses were the UK’s favourites in both sweet and savoury food. Following vanilla’s all-conquering rise, flower waters are now comparatively rarely used in Europe and the USA (except in better restaurants from the Near and Middle East and the Indian continent). 

What a lot we are missing, ignoring the flavour heritage of many centuries of British cuisine that has fascinating roots…

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Newsletter: Go green with garden-to-table cooking + indulge with Cookiepedia

Canadian Luay Gharafi, the author of Seed to Table: A Seasonal Guide to Organically Growing, Cooking and Preserving Food at Home, joined his local Community Supported Agriculture program in 2009 and was immediately hooked. From there he went on to study in Toronto, enrolling in George Brown University's culinary arts program. In his food, fresh produce, and its cultivation, comes first.

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Behind the Cookbook: A Sardinian Cookbook, A Lombardian Cookbook and Wild Weed Pie

They say there are two types of people in the world: Italians and those who wish they were. Despite a very Italian first name, I fall firmly into the second group.

I’ve loved Italy since I spent six weeks backpacking down the Mediterranean coast from Rome to Sicily in the early 90s, discovering cacio e pepe pasta, buffalo mozzarella, authentic cannoli and Campari soda. I love its food, wine, architecture and history, but most of all I love its people and the way they embrace life and share it with whoever happens to be nearby, most often around the table.

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Newsletter: Global cooking with Mark Bittman + Remember, remember the 5th of November

When bestselling cookbook author and former New York Times columnist Mark Bittman presents you with The Best Recipes in the World: More than 1,000 International Dishes to Cook at Home, you sit up and pay attention. Newly added to ckbk, this book is the gathering of a lifetime of knowledge from one of the best in the business. With many books to his name, Bittman had long wanted to write one bringing together the very best food from around the world.

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