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By 4th Estate Books
’Tis an impossible task to list favourite books. Like restaurants and dishes, music and film, mood and appetite dictates the mores and wants of the day. That said, as there are ever a pile or two of books within reach, these five beauties easily fit the bill of favourite fare enjoyed mightily. There are so many more, and I only wish I could list them all.
The Garden Diary of Doctor Darwin
Susan Campbell
Hardback
£30.00
£28.50
This is the tale of the garden that Charles Darwin played in as a child and first learned to climb trees and observe the lives of plants and animals alike in his parents’ garden near Shrewsbury. It is a remarkable work written by Susan Campbell, a great authority on walled gardens as well as cookbooks, having authored a few of those too throughout her extraordinary life. ’Tis very beautifully illustrated. Given the times we live in, this is a prescribed read.
The Last Bite
Anna Higham
Hardback
£22.00
£20.90
By one of the country’s great pastry cooks, Anna has written a book that embraces the cook with the wherewithal to make the loveliest puddings. Pastries, ices, biscuits, creams and all sorts through the seasons are elegantly made with great style and clear instruction. The cover is a knockout too.
Small Fires
Rebecca May Johnson
Hardback
£14.99
£14.24
For the cover alone, a blast of pink and red, as vivid as the writing within. This excellent writer has long since championed good cooking. This stimulating book boldly examines the very being of cooking. There is queried the very why of cooking, unravelling the sheer pleasure and utter necessity of cooking with many observations along the way. Imaginative, inquiring, curious and a very good read.
Butter: A Celebration
Olivia Potts
Hardback
£30.00
£28.50
A writer who beguiles always. Olivia’s first book brought tears to eyes. In this wonderful book, an homage to that seemingly simplest of ingredients as vital on toast as it is in cooking, butter is given a rightful place in the kitchen. Alongside recipes are hows and whys aplenty with much joy.
Rambutan
Cynthia Shanmugalingam
Hardback
£26.00
£24.70
A book as bright and lovely as you could wish. I was first introduced to this lovely cook when Cynthia put together the most beguiling film about her home, her family and her cooking to enlighten all about her intent to write a book and open a restaurant called Rambutan. The film was a joy, as is the book. Along her journey to fulfil her dreams, Cynthia cooked a dinner for a merry band at Quo Vadis, and the memories are as vibrant as the dishes served. The food within this book is as lovingly worded as it is prepared, utterly delicious.