The Kitchen Bookshelf - Newsletter #6
The week been and to come - incl events, Julius Roberts and a few tears
Hi all -
Thanks to everyone who has been so enthusiastic about June’s theme:: cookbooks to travel by.
All month we’ll be indulging in conversation and cooking from those books that have the ability to transport us to far away places. A flick of their pages, maybe even a lick of the plate after one of their recipes, and the humdrum becomes a little mistier.
Thinking about this has made me wonder about the qualities needed for a cookbook to do that job of taking us away from where we are. Interesting recipes, ingredients and imagery for sure. But it’s also about the words and stories that accompany them. I need the recipes to sit within a context that places them squarely in the culinary - and therefore wider - culture they come from. A ‘foreign’ recipe isn’t of itself nearly enough to take me there.
That is certainly why I have chosen Andi Oliver’s The Pepperpot Diaries as our single cookbook club pick within the broader theme. A book so emphatically grounding us in its wider context that it comes with a music soundtrack and diary entries.
It is also why I think Caroline Eden’s latest book, Cold Kitchen, is such a fine example of a book to travel by. It is fundamentally a food book with recipes rather than a cookbook as such, but what a job it does of taking the reader on those journeys with her. I know from some comments in The Kitchen Bookshelf’s online discussions that I am not alone in feeling the love for Cold Kitchen.
When I asked the community here for your thoughts on cookbooks to travel by I felt you too are looking for that breadth. Fuchsia Dunlop’s Land of Fish and Rice; Russell Normans’s Brutto; Rachel Roddy’s Two Kitchens; Felicity Cloake’s One More Croissant for the Road; anything by Anthony Bourdain - these and more are the books you have told me about so far, and I can’t wait to hear about more.
The monthly theme has two strands you can get involved in:
The Pepperpot Diaries by Andi Oliver - this is the single cookbook pick to cook from and discuss in detail this month. A book that I love for its joyous exploration of a region I have never been to, but through this book feel its tastes making my mouth water to go.
Plus a broader conversation sharing ideas and recommendations about books that through the way they feature food have taken you to a different place or perhaps take you back somewhere.
Each strand has space on The Kitchen Bookshelf for sharing thoughts with each other. I’ll look forward to joining you in the comments for discussions: on The Pepperpot Diaries and for the conversation sharing more broadly your cookbooks to travel by.
And then there are digital meet-ups planned: for Thursday 13th June and Saturday 22nd June. More below on those as well as the usual weekly catch up including Seasoning events, and odds & ends from The Kitchen Bookshelf’s week
Merry weekends all!
Angela x
NEXT COOKBOOK CLUB EVENTS
To register a place for either of these events, just send me a message:
SEASONING - HOW TO COOK AND CELEBRATE THE SEASONS
Earlier this week I was at Books Bookshop in Oswestry, Shropshire to launch their cafe (actual ribbon-cutting from me) and talk all things Seasoning. It always feels such a treat and privilege to be able to share with people the story of why I wrote the book, what it means to me, and get them as excited about it as I am. The relationship between authors and independent bookshops is so important, and when we get the chance to support each other it makes all the difference.
June’s remaining Seasoning book tour events are:
Thursday 27th June, 7pm - at Holtwhites Bakery & Deli, London: My very favourite bakery happens to be at the end of my road. So I am thrilled to have the shortest possible distance to travel to this ‘Midsummer Seasoning Menu’. A 3-course dinner from Seasoning plus cocktail. (just a few tickets left, I think)
Friday 28th June, 7pm - Seasoning x Sitopia Farm Midsummer Soirée: I am so looking forward to this event with a tour of the beautiful urban farm, guided by the Sitopia Farm team who will share highlights of their organic farming practices and the journey from soil to plate; a talk from me about seasonal eating and cooking, plus drinks and canapés from Seasoning.
More here too for the rest of summer.
KITCHEN BOOKSHELF ODDS & ENDS
Odd scraps of news etc that don’t really fit elsewhere
Comments are still coming in and welcome about Greekish (May’s cookbook club pick). Feel free to add yours there too if you have been cooking from it.
It’s the Guild of Food Writers Awards this coming week. We’ve discussed before about how much notice (or not) you all as cookbook lovers take of awards season, but if you are interested in the shortlists and results head here.
It ends
The British Library 2024 Food Season finished this week. Our last event saw me in-conversation with farmer / cook / social media star Julius Roberts. (Here we are at the BL in our somewhat over-coordinated outfits.) The session was intimate, inspiring, moving, and really quite emotional. By which I mean that Julius was quite emotional when speaking about his animals. His book, The Farm Table, is a triumph and - like him - is a gentle but definite nudge towards the possibilities a more positive food system.
Angela x