We are almost halfway through the year, which means there are more new cookbook releases on the way for us!
There are so many cookbooks I am interested to see in the second half of this year. However the below titles are the ones I will buy or preorder without having a look through first as I am that sure I will like them.
As always this list a bit of a mixed bag, some come from cookbook writers whose previous works I have loved and others are first time cookbook authors whose transition from the internet world of cooking I am keen to see translated into our ever favourite recipe format, the cookbook.
Links are there for your reference (not sponsored or anything), and I suggest searching around for the best price as at the time of writing some of these titles are quite pricey (we can only hope it goes down closer to their release date?!).
To read my first Cookbooks Worth Waiting for List for this year click here, and to read the recap of that list click here.
Let me know in the comments below if you are looking forward to any of these books as well, or if there are others you have on your list.
The Plain Cake Appreciation Society by Tilly Pamment (July 2023) - The first book to be released from this list in early July is Tilly’s (of @tillystable) first foray into cookbook writing. I am really excited to see this one, as I’m sure many of you are as well. Tilly’s well known aesthetic is equal parts beautiful and delicious and to see it, along with her recipes, in a cookbook is something I am very excited about. Tilly has not just written this book, but styled and shot the whole thing as well - no mean feat! I was lucky to get some ‘insider’ knowledge about this book recently, and I have been told there aren’t too many recipes using chocolate (which I can’t eat), which brings me a great sense of relief (thank you Angela!). Sometimes I open a new baking book to find it so chocolate heavy I know I will barely make anything out of the book. But to know I am in safe hands with Tilly makes me all the more excited to see her book in a few short weeks.
Portico: Cooking and Feasting in Rome’s Jewish Kitchen by Leah Koenig (August 2023) - I have been looking forward to this book for what feels like a long time. Back in 2021 when the current pandemic kept us all at home, I was lucky to do some recipe testing for this book (along with lots of other people!). I made three dishes and loved all of them. I tried a fennel gratin, that had no cream in it, which I traditionally dislike in such dishes as I find them too rich. This gratin was so delicious I made it a couple more times. I also tested a chicken and celery dish that looked like it would be quite plain, but somehow definitely was not. The final recipe was a Roman Jewish version of arancini balls, which were delicious, if not slightly fiddly on top of making the risotto, but it was lockdown so I had time!
I cannot wait to finally see the other recipes in this book and read what Leah has researched and discovered about Rome’s Jewish kitchen. The food of Jewish Rome (and Italy generally) is quite different to traditional Roman or Italian cuisine, due to the religious rules known as kashrut (to prepare and eat kosher food) - no pork and no dairy with meat is the very basic ‘gentile’ way of describing it (there’s really more to it, you can read more here for a better description). Pork is so widely used in all Italian cuisine, that it’s removal changes the cuisine entirely in my opinion - so this book is sure to have very different recipes than other Roman/Italian cookbooks, and I am very much looking forward to it after enjoying many of Leah’s previous books.
Garlic, Olive Oil and Everything Else by Daen Lia (August 2023) - Another first time cookbook author, Daen has flown to the top of the TikTok food scene and is now sharing her recipes in a cookbook. I am personally not a massive fan of recipe based Reels or TikTok (I don’t even use TikTok honestly), however discovering more about Daen, her recipes and food in an ‘old school’ format (i.e. a cookbook!) is something I can get behind. I really like Daen’s use of flavours, notably those that come from her Spanish and Italian heritage - like garlic and olive oil! - and while some on social media may criticise their use, I think these ingredients and Daen’s recipes will feel right at home in our cookbook loving part of the world.
Gohan: Everyday Japanese Cooking by Emiko Davies (September 2023) - I think we all love Emiko, and her many books on Italian cuisine, however we are now finally seeing more of the food that Emiko grew up with and that is part of her food history rather than that of her current home in Italy. Emiko has spoken of how this book was a harder sell to publishers as they perceived a book on Japanese cuisine less ‘sellable’ than one on Italian, but I know I and many others are so glad this book is almost with us. I do not personally eat lot of Japanese food or ingredients generally, but I am keen to support this new book of Emiko’s as I know how much I love her previous ones. I know this book will be heartfelt, well researched and beautifully photographed as all her previous works are. And hopefully I will find some recipes that become unexpected favourites too.
Now and Then by Tessa Kiros (October 2023) - A few years ago I made it my mission to expand my collection of Tessa’s books. I found some older titles on eBay, and even one I’d never heard of in Books for Cooks in Melbourne. So when I saw we would finally be getting a new book from Tessa (her last was published in 2016 I think), I knew it would make my cookbooks worth waiting for list. What I really like about Tessa’s cookbooks is they all have their own very unique story and often bring the reader along in some kind of discovery of a place, cuisine or Tessa’s family/family history. No two books of Tessa’s are the same, however all are beautiful and always have really thoughtful design elements that bring such a personal touch to each publication. The description of this book says it will be part memoir, travel guide and food odyssey and it feels like it will be a reflective piece filled with new recipes and memories.
Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024.