A new year equals new cookbooks! There are many to look forward to already in 2025, below are my top picks for the first half of the year.
2025 already seems to have a strong showing for Eastern European cuisine and stories, as well as cookbooks featuring Middle Eastern and South Asian food and authors. Diversity in cookbooks I think, is intrinsic to a good cookbook collection, so I am very much looking forward to learning more and discovering more recipes this year.
My picks feature cookbooks from first time authors and those with a book or two on our shelves already, these picks are as always a bit of a mixed bag but all titles I think will be worth waiting for! This list doesn’t capture everything that is coming soon in the world of cookbooks in the first half of 2025, and there are certainly more books I am keen to check out. Any other books added to my collection over the year will be reviewed over on my newsletter, sign up here so you get to read all the cookbook reviews and support my work.
Kapusta by Alissa Timoshkina (March 2025) - It’s been a while between books for Alissa, so I’m really looking forward to what Kapusta will bring. This book is all about vegetable forward recipes from Eastern Europe, which I think sounds very interesting and a way of looking at the food and food traditions of the various countries that make up Eastern Europe in a different way then we’ve seen before.
Sour Cherries and Sunflowers by Anastasia Zolotarev (April 2025) - Another Eastern European centric release, is this first cookbook by Anastasia Zolotarev. I’ve seen a bit of the behind the scenes of the making of the book from Anastasia on Instagram, which is what led me to think I needed this book on my self. I really like the illustrated cover, and the connection between food and family this book seems like it will bring.
Lugma by Noor Murad (April 2025) - the first solo cookbook from Noor, who has previously worked with Yotam Ottolenghi, has me very intrigued. Another stunning illustrated cover (a bit of theme in this list!), and the promise of personal stories and food from around the Middle East - sounds like something I want and need in my cookbook collection!
Rooza by Nadiya Hussain (February 2025) - I am really excited to see this book from Nadiya. Rooza means fast, and it is what those in Bangladesh observing Ramadan call Ramadan. This book covers meals served during Ramadan from many different countries, and I am really looking forward to seeing all the recipes and learning more about this very important religious observance in the Muslim calendar. The wait won’t be long with this one, as the release date was last week, and my copy is awaiting my return at home!
