Winners of the JBF Cookbook Awards

April 27, 2018 by
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  Jane and Jenny are at the James Beard Foundation awards ceremony in New York City, and live-tweeted the winners of the JBF Cookbook Awards. The first announcement was in the American category, where The Sioux Chef's Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman and Beth Dooley edged out Homegrown and The Lost Kitchen.  It's no surprise that the comprehensive Modernist Bread: The Art… read more

A concise guide to amari

April 26, 2018 by
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  When you stumble across a cocktail recipe on the internet that features an unfamiliar ingredient, it can be next to impossible to determine whether or not you will like it. Since it can be cost-prohibitive to purchase an entire bottle of an unusual spirit or aperitif just to try it, many times these recipes get passed over as not… read more

Are pancakes set to be the next big food trend?

April 25, 2018 by
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  Pancakes are easy to love, because they offer an excuse to eat cake as the main part of a meal. Although they never really went out of style, pancakes are currently enjoying a moment in the spotlight, says Eater's Meghan McCarron, who spies an increase in pancakes on restaurant menus across the US.  Instagram and other social media seem to… read more

A dessert desert on many menus

April 24, 2018 by
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As someone with a voracious sweet tooth, I am often disappointed with the offerings on restaurant dessert menus - if one is even offered. Faced with increasing financial pressures, many restaurants are removing desserts altogether. As a former pastry chef, Alex Stupak (chef/owner of Empellón Midtown restaurant in New York and author of Tacos: Recipes and Provocations) bemoans the current state of… read more

Around the world in 13 cookbook stores

April 23, 2018 by
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  "There's something magical about a cookbook shop..." So begins a recent post on indexed website Food52, and we could not agree more. We also concur with the sentiment that there are too few of these stores in existence, which makes the ones who succeed that much more special. The Food52 article explores thirteen of the best cookbook stores around… read more

Own a piece of Martha Stewart’s history

April 22, 2018 by
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Martha Stewart fans now have another reason to get excited. Not only is she coming to Chopped, but now fans can own a piece of her history. Stewart is auctioning off props from her television shows for charity, specifically the Martha Stewart Center For Living (MSCL) at Mount Sinai Hospital. MSCL promotes access to health care resources for older adults… read more

Chefs and food writers make a big impact

April 21, 2018 by
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Food writers and chefs have always had an impact on the culinary scene, shaping tastes and imparting wisdom about food and cooking. For decades that influence remained in a relatively small sphere with only a handful of people gaining broader recognition. Thanks to the rise of food television, followed by the explosion of social media and blogs on the internet,… read more

Mary Berry’s arrest story

April 20, 2018 by
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Mary Berry's fans are legion. She is one of the main reasons The Great British Bake Off became such a phenomenal success, and her new program is likely to be an instant hit as well. There is one thing her admirers may not know about the 83-year-old, however - she was once arrested at an airport. It happened about 25… read more

How Britain’s smelliest cheese got its name

April 19, 2018 by
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Have you ever come across a food and wondered where it got its unusual name? "There has to be a fantastic story behind that product," you may mutter to yourself. If so, check out Gastro Obscura's article on Britain's smelliest cheese, called Stinking Bishop.  There are no bishops involved in the story, although it does involve pears, monks, and a… read more

One butter to rule them all?

April 18, 2018 by
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  If you have read a baking book published in the US in the past ten years, chances are you have come across the word Kerrygold. The Irish butter has become the most popular European-style butter in the United States, and many bloggers and cookbook authors swear by it. Eater explains how a butter from Ireland grew to be the… read more

Rediscovering Russian cuisine

April 17, 2018 by
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  When you say the words 'Russian food', most people immediately think of borscht, beef Stroganoff, or possibly golubtsi. Many dishes everyone believes are classic Russian foods are not, in fact, Russian, according to Maksim Syrnikov. He has spent over twenty years researching pre-Soviet Russian foods, writing several (Russian language) cookbooks in the process. Syrnikov is a man on a… read more

Spring’s best non-cookbook food books

April 16, 2018 by
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  There is only so much time one can spend reading and cooking from cookbooks (in theory, anyway), but what can one do to remain occupied in the interim? Read other food-related books, of course! You can use Eater's guide to the 10 best new non-cookbook food books to make your library requests or fill up your Amazon cart.  One… read more

Besh Group and Alon Shaya settle their dispute

April 15, 2018 by
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Several months ago, when the news of sexual misconduct allegations about John Besh came to light, another problem for Besh's restaurant group was also brewing. Chef Alon Shaya, who led the Besh Restaurant Group (now known as BRG Hospitality) establishment bearing his name, said that he was forced out because he spoke up about the allegations. The dispute between the… read more

Edible flowers add a pop of color and flavor

April 14, 2018 by
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  From where I'm sitting in the northern US, spring seems like only a distant possibility even though it is mid-April. We're being socked with a blizzard, and the cold and snow makes one dream about the first pops of color that signal the start of the growing season. Many of the first plants to bloom happen to be edible,… read more

Martha Stewart to be part of ‘Chopped’ next season

April 13, 2018 by
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After managing dozens of successful ventures including publishing, design, writing and several television programs, Martha Stewart could retire to her Maine estate and live a quiet retirement. But that is not the domestic doyenne's style, so it should come as no surprise that she has found another project. Discovery Network recently announced that Stewart would become a judge on the… read more

Ottolenghi keeps it simple in his new cookbook

April 12, 2018 by
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  Show of hands: how many of you have preordered Yotam Ottolenghi's upcoming cookbook Simple? Oh my, that's a lot of hands (mine included)! Four of Ottolenghi's books command the #1, 2, 6, and 8 spots in the EYB Library by number of bookshelves. It's no wonder, as his approachable recipes burst with flavor, color, and texture.  His latest effort,… read more

Nigella Lawson says never call yourself “just” a home cook

April 11, 2018 by
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As Nigella Lawson embarks on her US tour in support of the new cookbook At My Table, fans across the country are making plans to visit the domestic goddess at their local bookstore. For those who are not fortunate enough to live near one of the tour spots, we have a small consolation prize: a wonderful letter she penned for… read more

The winner of Food52’s ‘The Piglet’

April 10, 2018 by
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2018's The Piglet cookbook competition may have been the best one yet. Sixteen amazing cookbooks (you can find the complete list here) went head-to-head in a bracketed contest, with the winners advancing to the next round. There were some tough calls along the way, and the usual criticism about the way the judges approached each book.  The Piglet is different than… read more

These classic books are being overlooked by new cooks

April 9, 2018 by
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For many of us, learning to cook meant spending time with classic cookbooks like Mastering the Art of French Cooking, Joy of Cooking, The Fannie Farmer Cookbook, and others published between in the last 60+ years. All of these books share one trait: they are not lavishly illustrated. A few line drawings appear here and there to demonstrate a technique,… read more

A new and improved Instant Pot is coming soon

April 8, 2018 by
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  The Instant Pot juggernaut shows no signs of stopping, despite a recent recall over one of its models. Cooks everywhere have come to depend on the machine's versatility and speedy cooking. If you like the current models of Instant Pot, such as the one shown above, just wait until you see what is coming next. Taste of Home gives… read more

Is this the world’s most expensive cookbook?

April 7, 2018 by
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 It is not unusual for old and rare cookbooks to fetch handsome prices. Even some new cookbooks, like the multi-volume set of Modernist Cuisine, cost several hundred dollars. However, a recently released tome about pizza may be setting a record for the most expensive new cookbook. The extremely limited edition Pizza from Scratch (available through the NYC bookstore Kitchen Arts & Letters)… read more

Living in a bookstore

April 6, 2018 by
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Richard Kostelanetz (also known simply as "Kosti") is a writer, artist, critic, and editor of the avant-garde. He has degrees from Brown University, Columbia University, and he attended King's College, London. He served as visiting professor or guest artist at a variety of institutions and lectured widely. But those attributes are not the most interesting aspect of the 77-year-old New… read more

The cookbook from France’s ‘Jam Fairy’ is still in print

April 5, 2018 by
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Have you ever read a story about a chef, restaurant, or tiny shop, enamored by descriptions of dazzling foods, and gleefully discover at the end of the article that you can buy a cookbook by the chef or artisan? Knowing this crowd, I'd bet the answer to that question is 'of course!' Nevertheless, it's always exciting when it happens, and… read more

Julia Turshen creates database for underrepresented voices in food

April 4, 2018 by
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Last fall, Julia Turshen released her latest cookbook called Feed the Resistance, which aimed to foster community and provide sustenance for the mind and soul in this era of activism. Proceeds from the book will be donated to the ACLU. Based on the response to that cookbook, and drawing on projects like Women Who Draw and Creatives of Color, Turshen… read more

A conundrum for food critics (and cookbook lovers)

April 3, 2018 by
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  In response to the numerous chefs and restaurateurs who stand accused of sexual abuse and harassment, food critics have been reassessing their role in perpetuating the problem. Critics are struggling to balance the damage an omission can have on the lives of a restaurant's staff versus the damage wrought by praising the dining room of someone who has mistreated… read more
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