With Presents In Mind

By Holly Rowland

Christmas is just around the corner, and the problem is, “What To Give?” Cheques are so impersonal, great for kids but they always have all sorts of presents to open, and grown-ups so few. So, why not a very special cook book just for them, or even a cook book for the whole family? Or for your Host/Hostess instead of flowers that last for only a few days. Cook Books last forever, (or at least mine do) Here are just a few ideas hot off the press to help you and your friends have a very joyous and happy Christmas.

NO RESERVATIONS: Around The World On An Empty Stomach by Anthony Bourdain

A Bloomsbury/Raincoast Book $ 39.95

Anthony Bourdain’s latest book is just as entertaining and fascinating as he is. And I know it having met the man himself. It was just before his book launch year ago and I met him for lunch at Zambri’s. Like so many of you I had read all his books and I was in for a complete surprise when I met him. He was polished, completely charming and his accent, “mid-Atlantic”. Not a single “French-kitchen” word was uttered during our luncheon when he answered questions fired at him by a mixed media. The man is as delicious as his food, his writing and his adventures. Just open his latest book and let him take you by the hand and join him in wondrous places where you can almost taste the food and all the pictures almost spring to life. I love it!

CULINARY CONCEPTS: 100 Recipes and Tips for the Home Chef

Gibbs Smith/Raincoast Book $38.50

Culinary Concepts, an extraordinary cooking school founded by the author has taught thousands for nearly 13 years. Now her secret recipes are revealed in this user-friendly cookbook with tips and techniques to make cooking fun and efficient. Simplicity at its best from Appetizers to Desserts will make this cookbook theirs to treasure for years to come. Even reading the recipes and looking at the illustrations make my mouth water.

GENTLEMAN’S RELISH and Other English Oddities. A Gourmets Guide

By The National Trust National Trust /Raincoast Book $16.95

This is the perfect little Christmas present to send off to anyone with British blood (plus a sense of humour) and a desire to explore the exotic and the unexpected. A little book to produce at the end of a Festive Occasion and quiz, amuse and entertain. A fascinating gathering of histories, recipes and anecdotes of the eccentric tastes of the English from Bovril and Marmite to Bombay Duck and Branston Pickle, you’ll love these strange and unexpected culinary oddities. A great Family present children as well as grown-ups will thoroughly enjoy!

OZ CLARKE’S POCKET WINE GUIDE 2008

Harcourt/Raincoast Book $16.50

Oz Clarke ‘does it again’ with another one of his pocket wine guides, thoroughly and meticulously revised and updated, and indispensable for wine lovers both old and new. London’s Oz Clarke has all the major wine-writing awards, and that says it all. He tells you all about favourite wines, top values, producers , regions to watch and new vintages.

Matching wine and food for the novice is a synch and you’ll learn that the wine dictates the choice of wine, what wines are red or white grape, how to store, decant, pour, glasses to use….etc., etc. A veritable fount of knowledge to make life easier, delightful and knowledgeable.

THE SAVOY COOKBOOK

Pavilion/Raincoast Book $29.95

A real fun book for the people who love to mix things up, alcoholically speaking. 750 recipes for classic cocktails in total, a couple of years of something different to tipple every night. Oops…there goes the liver ! Seriously, this book was originally published in 1930, with 100,000 copies sold to date. I believe that the Savoy is currently experiencing a face lift and I wonder if the bar will be changed. I have a vague memory of going to the Savoy Bar during WW2, but was too young to even think of ordering Smashes, Fizzes or Flips. London’s Savoy is unsurprisingly the birthplace of some of the most famous cocktails in the world. This book will be a welcome gift for any fan of the thirties style of decadence and swell-elegance.

CRUST by Richard Bertinet: Bread to Get Your teeth Into, Free DVD

Kyle Cathie/Raincoast Book $ 34.95

For those of you who have already got their hands literally into DOUGH, Richard Bertinet’s first, award-winning, crowd pleaser, this book is a “must”. It comes with its own DVD, and introduces recipes that require a little more understanding, but will still inspire readers with the confidence to make them at home. Wow! What a book….just think, Croissants, Sourdough, Flatbreads. All the sorts of breads that you love but never dreamed of making yourself. The 30 minute DVD gives additional guidance on techniques as well as showing recipes step-by-step. And the photographs by Jean Cazals will give you a perfect picture to inspire and spur you on to becoming a Real Live Baker.