Victoria Heywood came across many weird, supposedly edible, things in 17 years travelling the world as a journalist, but none so strange as some of the dishes she encountered back home in Australia when researching Possum Pie, Beetroot Beer and Lamingtons. But you won't find any possum pie or beetroot beer in her latest offering, Good Cook Bad Cook. What you will find is 80 essential recipes for home cooking. From bread to burgers and pesto to … [Read more...]

The Australian Women's Weekly Cooking for Kids with Allergies offers delicious recipes for children with food allergies that the whole family will love. Food allergies in children are becoming increasingly common and finding suitable food for them can be a nightmare for parents. This new cookbook from The Australian Women’s Weekly is here to help parents. However, these recipes are not ‘special’ food, they can be eaten with pleasure by … [Read more...]

The Australian Women's Weekly Decorating Cakes is full of gorgeous and lavishly decorated cakes for weddings, christenings, birthdays, anniversaries and for any other occasion that calls for a celebration. It begins with easy recipes for cake decorating novices, then follows on with cakes for more experienced decorators, that with a bit of practice, anyone can do. The final chapter of the book introduces piping and modelling paste for use by … [Read more...]

[rating: 4] Being the consummate sweet tooth, it didn't take much to convince me to dive into Kate Bracks' new book - The Sweet Life - a collection of divine temptations from Australia's 2011 MasterChef winner. Mother to three young children, Kate lives in Orange, New South Wales, where she is working towards running her own B&B - an establishment that will no doubt feature exquisite food, and (I am hoping) some of the tempting recipes … [Read more...]

Supercharged Food: Eat your way to good health by Lee Holmes is a new cookbook aimed at reversing the damage of modern day convenience and aiding you in optimizing your diet. Whether you suffer from an auto immune disease, food allergy or just feel run down Supercharged Food is here to help. This book is more than just a collection of delicious recipes it is the testament of its author who herself suffers from a non specific auto immune … [Read more...]

[rating: 5] Oh yes, it's an art all right. Like sushi chefs, French pâtissières spend many years studying and perfecting their craft. Ginette Mathiot (1907 - 1998) taught three generations of French families how to cook. The author of over 30 cookbooks, running the gamut of French cuisine, this legendary food writer has brought together a definitive collection of classic French receipes in such bestselling tomes as Je sais cuisiner (I know how … [Read more...]

[rating: 4.5] Prepare to be tempted by the latest in the 4 ingredients series, 4 Ingredients Christmas by Kim McCosker.  Packed with delights for the holidays and treats for family and friends all year round. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the series, 4 ingredients recipe books are designed to be accessible no matter how handy you are in the kitchen or how much time you have in your schedule.  Each recipe can be made with 4 … [Read more...]

[rating: 5] I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older and can truly appreciate those little underrated treasures in life, but there’s not much more satisfying than plucking home-grown produce from your very own garden. Even better – serving it up to appreciative friends and family with flavours that hark back to a 1970s childhood (or earlier) when tomatoes tasted like warm sunshine and raspberries couldn’t be eaten without … [Read more...]

[rating: 4] The wonderful thing about modern day cookbooks is their reliance on more than fabulous recipes. It's their reliance on travel, on culture, on a way of living . . . a reliance on heart, emotion, experience, as well as flavour texture and culinary fulfillment. Sicilian Seafood Cooking is one such book. Food writer and first-time author Marisa Raniolo Wilkins was born in Trieste before moving to Australia with her Sicilian … [Read more...]

[rating: 4] Summer is busting out all over and this icy book is just the sweet ticket to an oasis of cool (even if only for the tongue). Best be careful where you shelve this brand new tome of freezer-bound pleasure, lest the kids see and you're forced to spend the next fortnight whipping up batch after endless batch of frozen delight. Then again - when you see the recipes in store, you may not need much convincing. Blow the diet, you're far … [Read more...]

[rating: 3] Having a long-time obsession with fondant, sprinkles, cupcake liners and ganache, it was with much anticipation that I carefully inked in the Lifestyle Food Channel-arrival of the television version of Planet Cake, taking 3D to a whole new level. Propped up on the couch with my similarly-obsessed 11-year-old daughter, we pressed our hands together in pink glee at the glamorous, be-sugared creations pouring forth from the … [Read more...]

[rating: 4] Since the advent of Junior Masterchef, cookbooks for children have never been hotter – and indeed, they’ve been popping off the hotplate and onto the bookstore serving shelves like those notoriously quick hot cakes, of late. This latest tome by Sabrina Parrini, cookbook author and Kitchen Wiz presenter, follows on from her first book – Little Kitchen – and takes readers on a culinary journey around the world. Promising … [Read more...]

[rating: 4.5] Hello. My name is Tania and I'm a sugarholic. So are you (more than likely). In fact, sugar-addiction is so rife, we're in danger of crystallising. Sure, we're cottoning onto the fact that even our most savoury foods - those that tingle the tongue with that salty edge - are also packed with sugar, but do we really realise just how very much? In fact, you'd probably be hard-pressed to find any partly processed foods without a … [Read more...]

The Country Women’s Association of Australia has been in existence for more than 60 years and the cooking skills of its members are legendary. CWA Classics combines the very best recipes from five previously published books into one easily accessible volume. Each and every recipe in CWA Classics reflects the way in which pioneer women used simple ingredients to make good, honest, wholesome meals and to ensure the household had a year-round … [Read more...]

Okay - you wanna bake? Well, welcome to baking heaven. From the pale pink and black Fauchon-esque, superbly-styled cover, dotty endpapers and delectable paper - to the recipes themselves - this is a book so sweet, it's already dusted with icing sugar and melting in my mouth. Author Alison Thompson has been a passionate cook since childhood, writing her first cookbook when she was just 11 years old. With 15 years experience as a professional … [Read more...]

[rating:4] If the adult version of MasterChef really roasted your potatoes, then it's likely (unless you're the type who doesn't like working with animals or small children) that Junior MasterChef also inspired you - or perhaps the kids - more than ever before. I loved the series and, other than making me feel completely incompetent in a culinary sense, I must admit I was totally gobsmacked by the gastronomic talent of these tots. By tots, I … [Read more...]

[rating:4.5] Once upon a time, it was de rigeur for celebrities to release a hit single. Or a perfume. Nowadays, it seems, it's books. But not just the ubiqitous 'auto'-biography (the inverted commas are due to the fact that they are usually actually penned by someone else)... the celeb book production line is extending well beyond the sordid tales of life-past and instead delving into a whole other world … [Read more...]

[rating:4] French food, home style. The message that chef Manu Feildel wants us to take from his latest cook book is that making beautiful French cuisine doesn’t have to be a near impossible feat. And the good news is, he’s right. Yes, he’s the expert, and he should be right. But sometimes a cook book promises so much and just doesn’t deliver. We’ve all been there: trying a dish for the first time, certain it will be delicious and … [Read more...]

[rating:4.5] If the luscious cover complete with handsome man adorning Table by the River doesn't immediately draw you in, the culinary story behind this internationally acclaimed chef will soon have you scrabbling to add his gorgeous book to your collection - for it's not just an impressive array of recipes Dietmar Sawyere shares in this beautifully presented book. Filled with musings on a lifetime of incredible culinary roles from Chef … [Read more...]

[rating:4.5] I've always been a Dorling Kindersley fan. The intense research, the clear, concise, comprehensive offering of information, the focus on visual splendour... they just stand alone. DK books are always a feast for anyone intent on learning, growing, expanding and conquering... and there's probably nowhere more popular for the desire to divide and conquer than the kitchen. Part of the joy of cooking is understanding the ingredients … [Read more...]

[rating:4.5] When I first took India The Cookbook and lifted it up, the first thing that struck me was the weight. Many fat, tome-like cookbooks (and there are many of late) are like poured concrete, making cooking from them a bit of a task and reading them on the couch the equivalent of a six-year-old on your lap. India is light. Very light. Curiously light. On inner-inspection, I soon noticed this is because of the paper used inside - a … [Read more...]

[rating:4] Tobie Puttock is well-known for his passion for Italian cuisine but this time, he has really outdone himself. This is not just a cookbook, it is an Italian experience, one that is personal to Puttock. The result of a six-week trip to immerse himself in the Italian way of life, beginning in Venice and heading south, Cook Like an Italian is as much a memento of his time in Italy as it is a cookbook. And that in itself sums up … [Read more...]

[rating:4] I first had the pleasure of reviewing young Sam Stern's Eat Vegetarian (see AWO's review here) back in June and I must admit, I was instantly hooked. Publishing his first book at the age of 14 (okay, with a little help from his mum), this young food-lover has released an astonishing five books - and he's still a teen! Cooking up a Storm, his inaugural book, was released in 2005, quickly followed by Real Food, Real Fast in 2006. In … [Read more...]

[rating:3] A big fan of Jane Kennedy’s first cookbook, Fabulous Food Minus the Boombah, I was thrilled to see her second book hit the shelves. And I spent a week devoted to this new book, to check if it’s as good as the first. What I loved about her first book was the simple, yet flavoursome and gorgeously presented, recipes that make eating at home even simpler than picking up takeaway. I loved that she had taken recipes such as Beef … [Read more...]