Attention Christmas shoppers. Cookbooks make for one of the best gifts out there and an easy one stop shop if you hit Mosaic Books on Bernard. Whether it is given as a hostess gift, or for your mom, friend, child, dog sitter—there is a cookbook for almost everyone on your Christmas list.
Here are some ideas:
For the Locavore: Okanagan Slow Road, Bernadette McDonald
Bernadette McDonald takes you on an intimate odyssey through the diverse cultures, landscape and tastes found in the interior of British Columbia. Illustrated with beautiful paintings from Naramata local, Forest Green Man Lavender Farmer/Artist, Karolina Born-Tschumperlin—this book will be enjoyed by food and wine lovers and all guests and fans of our beautiful valley.
For the Mushroom lover & Foraging Fanatic: The Deerholme Foraging Book, Bill Jones
Nothing beats Vancouver Islander Bill Jones’ knowledge on delicious fungi and where to find them and in his latest cookbook he shares his knowledge on foraging for other delights as well in his magical forest. The recipes are delicious and varied and I have happily recreated many of them myself. Bill was foraging before foraging was cool. Both his new The Deerholme Foraging Book and former The Deerholme Mushroom book are sure-fire hits. www.deerholme.com
For the Locavore/Vancouver Island Lover: Food Artisans of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands, Don Genova
Well loved food writer and CBC radio host Don Genova has compiled a lovely guide to the best food producers of Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands.
“If anyone is eminently qualified to write a guidebook on Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands’ food artisans, it is without a doubt Don Genova . . . [it] is an indispensible resource for anyone who wants to taste the very best Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands has to offer.” —EAT Magazine
For Lovers of Tofino & SOBO: The Sobo Cookbook: Recipes From The Tofino Restaurant At The End Of The Canadian Road, Lisa Ahier
I love this restaurant, I love Tofino, I love Lisa – this is a beautiful book. Sobo (Sophisticated Bohemian) was a pioneer in the now food truck craze—their (purple) food truck was operating in high gear way back in 2003 creating an instant new religion of fish tacos for the West Coast surf culture. There are great stories of Tofino’s tribe of cool people and delicious sea-focused recipes.
For Soup Lovers & Best Charity book: The Soup Sisters and Broth Brothers Cookbook, Sharon Hapton
The now second book drawn from “soup sisters” soup recipes from across the country, founder Sharon Hapton’s cookbook supports her incredible national charity organization that makes soup for women’s shelters and youth shelters. As Kelowna’s co-coordinator of our two thriving chapters, I cannot say enough about this non-profit organization—the soup making events are a fun and beautiful way to support those in need of nurturing in your community. Soup is love—and giving a cookbook is also a way to give back as the proceeds go directly back into the soup pot. www.soupsisters.org
For Home Entertainers: Whitewater Cooks With Passion, Shelley Adams
The Whitewater cookbook series have achieved an almost cult status with cookbook lovers. Now out with her fourth book, Whitewater Cooks With Passion, creator Shelley Adams again focuses on fresh, healthy and easy recipes that are super flavourful and make you look like a star in front of your guests. From vegetarian and vegan dishes with international flavours throughout, these books are always a win with a great variety of recipes to choose from. whitewatercooks.com
For the Intermediate Foodie or Chef Friend: Relæ: A Book of Ideas, Chef Christian Puglisi
Michelin-starred Copenhagen restaurant Relae serves “deeply imaginative, plant-centric” food by Christian Puglisi. This book does not contain actual recipes but “idea-essays” that discuss the inspirations and techniques behind each dish. It is beautifully set and makes for great flavour inspirations as well as the chef’s intimate thoughts and vision inn creating, foraging and sourcing local flavour combinations—I loved it.
For the Budding Chef or the Child in all of us: Julia, Child, Kyo Maclear
“Julia, Child is not only a book about the joy of cooking, but the wonder of childhood, and, like the best cooking, is meant to be savored…. I guarantee it’ll leave you hungry.” – The National Post
An adorable children’s tale about cooking and enjoying life—with lots of butter, of course—based on the spirit of my hero, the effervescent Julia Child.
For the Thai Food Lover: Pok Pok-Food and Stories from the Streets, Homes, and Roadside Restaurants of Thailand, Andy Ricker
For the Thai or Asian cooking enthusiast in your life, his fabulous cookbook includes great stories, cultural essays and insights on the people and food culture of Thailand. Ricker, owner of the Pok Pok restaurants (flagship resto in Portland), has created a master cooking course to creating authentic Thai cooking adapted for our home kitchens.
For the Obsessed Bread Baker: The Bread Bible, Rose Levy Beranbaum
Hallelujah. Bread bakers will rejoice in the 150 foolproof, precision recipes that Beranbaum has shared in her new cookbook. A perfect gift for home and professional bakers alike- fire up those ovens.
For the Pizza Aficionado: The Pizza Bible, Chef Tony Gemignani
This is it—what could be better for your pizza pie loving pals? This comprehensive guide to making pizza covers nine different regional styles-including standards like Neapolitan, Roman, and Chicago, as well as renowned pizza sub-specialties like St. Louis and Californian. Who better to write this book than 11-time world Pizza Champion Tony Gemignani?
For lovers of Paris (moi): My Paris Kitchen, David Lebovitz
I don’t have this book—yet—but I want it (hint). I am a huge fan of former Chez Panisse restaurant Chef David Lebovitz, who now gloriously shares cooking tales through books and blogs from his mouthwatering life in Paris. “Here we have consistently mindful, mostly slow, deeply French recipes inspired by daily interaction with the market vendors, butchers and bakers of the city”. Oui, oui.
On further Paris theme, there is another little book that I have fallen in love with, Cooking for Me and Sometimes You A Parisienne Romance with Recipes, written by Vancouver’s beloved Barbara-Jo McIntosh, proprietor of Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks. This is a little hard-covered book containing a sweet, heartfelt tribute to the city of love, through both a lover’s eyes as well as a food lover who has finally had the opportunity to take a flat and cook in Paris.
