286 replies to this topic

[oesophagus]

Gourmet Traveller has an excerpt from Turquoise and a round-up of the year's best books in their new Christmas issue.

They've also just re-launched their website, and it has quite a lot of recipe content:

http://www.gourmettraveller.com.au

[Shinboners]

"The Press Club - Modern Greek Cookery" by George Columbaris is out for $45. I haven't been to the Press Club, but from looking at the cookbook, I think I'll be heading there. From the book, it looks like Greek cooking meets haute French.

"Cooking At Home" by Karen Martini is now available for $55. I think it's a collection of recipes from her newspaper column.

[Shinboners]

Quite a few more new cookbooks in the shops, but these two caught my eye:

"Eat Ate" by Guy Mirabella. It's $49.95, covers Italian food (no recipes that you wouldn't have in other Italian coobkooks), but it is a very attractive book. Buy it for the pretty pictures.

There's also "Tree To Table - Cooking With Australian Olive Oil" by Patrice Newell. It'll set you back $59.95. The first part covers the Australian olive oil industry (history, how the oil is made etc) and the second has recipes from many Australian chefs.

[doctortim]

I browsed it in a book shop the other day and I'm quite keen to take a closer look at the Press Club cookbook. I've never tasted his food myself, but I've heard nothing but good things about George Calombaris' cooking.

[Pat Churchill]

Recently received Decadence, a book of desserts by Philip Johnson (e'cco). One I will definitely be using.

[nickrey]

I've noticed a number of references on this thread to Greg Doyle's Pier cookbook but no review as yet.

It is a very well produced volume with lovely photos reflecting the delicate and complex food created by Doyle as well as the picturesque location of the restaurant.

The food photos show a level of presentation that will provide a standard to strive for and not just for the recipes contained in the book.

Doyle's food takes the very best produce, mainly seafood, and adds a set of flavour and texture combinations that bring out the best in ingredients. With food influences ranging from Ferran Adria (soy mirin pearls made with calcic, citras, and algin), his time in a two-star Michelin restaurant in the mid 1990s, as well as the Asia-Pacific fusion that Australia has embraced, Asian flavours mix with modern European to give unique tastes that cannot be approached from one culinary tradition alone.

Most of the recipes are accessible for a moderately experienced home cook, although a few involve a series of processes that almost require a warning "don't try this at home." One dish I made involved creating a fish stock, a veloute sauce, hand made pasta to make crab ravioli, and an extremely delicate vegetable nage. The product was exceptional but be prepared to put in a lot of effort on some of the dishes: personally, I think the return was well worth the effort.

At $85 for the hardback, it is not a cheap book but if you want a top level seafood cookbook that shows top level cuisine at its finest you would be hard pressed to find better.

The pictures alone make it a coffee table book for you and your visitors to admire. If you choose prepare the recipes and use Doyle's presentation, be prepared to accept accolades from your friends.

With a steadily expanding collection of cookbooks starting from when I was fifteen years old, I'm a bit fussy about what I buy now. Even skimming through the book, I knew that this was one I had to have and my use of it since has supported this decision.

Edited by nickrey, 13 May 2008 - 05:40 PM.

[Ce'nedra]

Okay so this doesn't exactly go under 'books', but has anyone watched Kylie Kwong's new My China tv series (based on her cookbook)?
How is it? Too bad I don't have cable tv anymore argh! :(

[nickrey]

Okay so this doesn't exactly go under 'books', but has anyone watched Kylie Kwong's new My China tv series (based on her cookbook)?
How is it? Too bad I don't have cable tv anymore argh! :(

I've seen some of them.

It seems to be more a "Kylie discovers her ethnic roots" and cooking travelogue that a full blown cooking show like her previous efforts.

It's interesting in a travel channel/journey of personal discovery sense.

[Adam Balic]

"The Press Club - Modern Greek Cookery" by George Columbaris is out for $45.  I haven't been to the Press Club, but from looking at the cookbook, I think I'll be heading there.  From the book, it looks like Greek cooking meets haute French.

Love the restaurant and the food. The book is good, the interesting dishes that I have eaten at The Press Club, but the book has quite a few errors and omissions.

[johung]

On the New Zealand front, things have been a little quiet so far this year, and most of the touted books are from Australia or the UK. Julie Le Clerc has released a combined title @ home, with love that binds the cafe @ home and feast @ home together under one single title.

Martin Bosley has released his first cookbook Martin Bosley Cooks (Published by Random House New Zealand, 15 August 2008) and should be being put on the bookshop shelves as we are speaking. Bosley is the chef-owner of the Martin Bosley’s restaurant in Wellington and it was awarded the 2007 Restaurant of the Year [in New Zealand] by the Cuisine magazine. This book records his recipes geared towards home cooks that were previously published in the Listener magazine. My very superficial impression is that it is probably not breaking a lot of new grounds if you are already relying on the likes of Stephanie Alexander, Karen Martini, and Shannon Bennetts for cooking inspiration. The recipes are probably indistinguishable from the Australian counterparts apart from NZ ingredients, and overlap a lot with Julie Le Clerc on the cherry-picking-global-cooking style. Still, if you are a fan of Bosley it is worthwhile to get a copy.

Edited by johung, 23 August 2008 - 11:57 PM.

[johung]

Speaking of new cookbooks, does anyone know if there will be new specialist chefs/restaurant cookbooks released in the immediate future, in either New Zealand or Australia?

Edited by johung, 24 August 2008 - 12:00 AM.

[nickrey]

Matt Moran's eponymous book was just released in June. He adapts his recipes from Aria and before for the home cook.

It is a good one.

Edited by nickrey, 24 August 2008 - 05:15 AM.

[johung]

One newish cookbook in NZ but not introduced here until now is A Cook's Bible by Lesley Christensen-Yule and Hamish McRae (Penguin, Auckland, 2007). It is a fundamental overview of how to cook from a first decade of the 21st century NZ viewpoint. Christensen-Yule and McRae are with the Auckland University of Technology's School of Hospitality and Tourism and both co-authored The New Zealand Chef for training professional chefs.

This book is a more serious introduction to cooking than Alison Holst and certainly Allyson Gofton. It starts by discussing how to choose fresh food items and proceeds to covering all fundamental cooking and preparation techniques. Some techniques, such as lardons or preparing making pate, are probably unlikely to ever be used in most NZ homes but they are included as some serious cooks may use them, but others, such as how to chop garlic and how to steam, will likely be of immense help to young people (in both age and heart) who have never had opportunity to learn them properly.

Recipes range from traditional favourites such as roast beef to 21st century Pacific-Rim such as stir-fried paua (abalone) with celery and fresh herbs. Asian noodles are treated as "normal" i.e. non-ethnic ingredients as pasta. My impression is the dishes tend to lean on what restaurant or gourmet will try, and certainly it will find more resonance in urban restaurants and wineyard restaurants than West Coast country style cooking.

If your concept of NZ cuisine remains at colonial goose, pavlova, fish and chips, and lamb and mint sauce levels you will find this book too "Jafaish" (the derogatory term the rest of NZ uses on Auckland) and Pacific-Rim rather than native NZ. Otherwise, I believe 90% of people will enjoy what it showcases: mainstream NZ cuisine in 2007.

Edit: From amazon.co.uk this title will be released globally on 4 Nov this year http://www.amazon.co...21182596&sr=1-1 .

Edited by johung, 11 September 2008 - 10:24 PM.

[Shinboners]

[quote name='helenas' date='Feb 3 2005, 04:03 PM']

And I'm going to see if I can track down a copy of the Est Est Est cookbook too.[/quote]

Good luck - sa far i can't claim success in this quest

[/quote]


[quote name='Tim White' date='Feb 4 2005, 05:57 PM']Good luck - we have  along wait list and haven't seen one for months.  The book was remaindered about 2 years ago and since then has become a chef's must have book.  We've tried all sorts of avenues without success - the $90 bit seems a bit rich though - our price would be around $50-$60 if new

[/quote]

Three and a half years later, a copy of the Est Est Est comes up for sale on eBay. There's about 8 hours to go in the auction, but the highest bid is now $90! The way it's going, it'll go for over $150.

I've seen second hand copies of the book on sale on Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk, and all are available for well over $300.

Daniel Chan aka "Shinboners"

• Go to the top of the page.

[Shinboners]

The Est Est Est cookbook sold for $185.

[nickrey]

The Est Est Est cookbook sold for $185.

Second hand seems a bad choice.

You can get it new from Angus and Robertson.

They have it for $54.95 Australian plus postage.

http://search.angusr...Search&booksby=

Might be worth buying a few and putting them on Amazon for what appears to be an obscene profit.

Of course I may get an email back from my order saying it's unavailable.

Edited by nickrey, 25 September 2008 - 08:09 PM.

[Shinboners]

Thanks for that tip nickrey! I've placed an order, so we'll see what happens.

Anyway, I saw the new Christine Manfield cookbook. It's called "Fire" and it covers her travels around the world. The book is about 600 pages long, it comes in a big red box, and flicking through it, it looks to be as good (stuff that, BETTER) than her many other books.

The thing has a RRP of $100, but you can get it for $80 at Readings and $70 at Borders.

I'll be getting a copy soon.

[johung]

David Veart has just released a history of New Zealand cooking called First, Catch Your Weka: A Story of New Zealand Cooking (University of Auckland Press, Auckland, 15 September 2008). It is a semi-scholarly look at history of NZ's cuisine from the field of anthropology. The primary source of the study is cookbooks published in NZ over the ages as being reflective of NZ cuisine's changes.

Despite the drab sounding and being published by an obviously academic printing press, it is quite light-hearted and contains a few recipes of cookbooks of years ago, as well as a run through of current NZ cookbooks. Of particular interests to readers from across the Tasman is the fact culinary personnels, practices, ideas, and publications have always flowed freely between the two sides of the Tasman right from the beginning, despite NZ at times being more conservative and more loyal to the British cuisine after Australia has abandoned them altogether.

IMHO this is the most up to date book available on the subject of NZ cuisine. Many other articles are either tourist fluffs, or are written as if time stood still at 1979. It is quite interesting to know that the modern day NZ cuisine is basically a lot of Mediterranean takes, modified Asian dishes, modified British old favourites, and traditional baking recipes, in fact not too unsimilar to Australian food these days.

Edited by johung, 11 October 2008 - 04:43 PM.

[johung]

The New Zealand Woman's Weekly has published the latest New Zealand Woman's Weekly Cookbook edited by Julie Le Clerc (Auckland, Penguin Books, 29 September 2008). Basically it is a compandium of recipes published since Le Clerc became the editor of the food section in 2006.

Organized into seasons and incorporating a few foreign ingredients, it is Pacific Rim cooking and very decent. Haven't bought it yet, but I find them to be very contemporary in feel.

[johung]

Peter Gawron has released Saffron: Food from the Central Otago Heartland (Auckland, Godwit, 3 October 2008). Originally from South Australia and subsequently trained in Sydney, Gawron and his wife now run the renowned Saffron restaurant in Arrowtown (within the Queenstown-Arrowtown tourist region).

It is touted as the first regional cookbook published in New Zealand. The food is extremely seasonal due to the very different climates between summer (searing hot) to winter (bitterly cold). Many recipes are prepared with local ingredients Gawron harvests by hand in season (including crab apples and stone fruit borne of trees dating back to the 19th century gold mining days, snow berries, different wild mushroom, wild raspberries and gooseberries, game birds from Bendigo Station, alpine honey from Halfway Bay Station and others).

In a sense it is very similar to Steven Snow's Byron: Cooking and Eating (Sydney, Murdoch Books, 29 August 2008) which also showcases seasonal ingredients in preparation of Pacific Rim dishes.

Edited by johung, 11 October 2008 - 05:16 PM.

[Shinboners]

Neil Perry's new cookbook is out. IT's called "Balance and Harmony", it covers Asian cooking, and the RRP is $120. Readings has it on special at $100. I didn't get to look inside it as it's in a box and shrink wrapped.

[johung]

Neil Perry's new cookbook is out.  IT's called "Balance and Harmony", it covers Asian cooking, and the RRP is $120.  Readings has it on special at $100.  I didn't get to look inside it as it's in a box and shrink wrapped.

I saw this at Borders and it is a whopping NZ$165. Searched through amazon.co.uk and Perry's own official website and it seems what we have just seen is a "limited edition" of the first print. The "normal" edition is hardcover and is selling at GBP30.00 RRP in Britain - identical to his previous work Good Food.

[Shinboners]

I ordered my copy of the new Neil Perry book from Amazon.co.uk, and they were charging GBP15.00. I've now seen the book itself, and it looks to be a fabulous book. But it'd be interesting to know what the RRP would be for an edition without the presentation box. The cheapest local Australian price I've seen it is $85 at Target.

btw, Books for Cooks has the Alinea book in stock, and at $65.00, it's a bargain at that price.

Edited by Shinboners, 18 October 2008 - 08:01 PM.

[Ce'nedra]

Was browsing the 'Beautiful Cookbook' series on Amazon as I quite enjoy the two that I have and was surprised to find 'Australia the Beautiful Cookbook'!
It's written by Elise Pascoe and Cherry Ripe.
http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/0002553724

Has anyone had a good flick through (or better yet, own it)?
I'm interested in knowing what kind of recipes there are and how the authors define Australian cuisine.

[Shinboners]

Was browsing the 'Beautiful Cookbook' series on Amazon as I quite enjoy the two that I have and was surprised to find 'Australia the Beautiful Cookbook'!
It's written by Elise Pascoe and Cherry Ripe.
http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/0002553724

Has anyone had a good flick through (or better yet, own it)?
I'm interested in knowing what kind of recipes there are and how the authors define Australian cuisine.

You shouldn't have too much trouble tracking down a copy at a second hand book shop or in an op shop.

I'm not sure who Elise Pascoe is, but Cherry Ripe was an influential Australian food critic.

[Ce'nedra]

Was browsing the 'Beautiful Cookbook' series on Amazon as I quite enjoy the two that I have and was surprised to find 'Australia the Beautiful Cookbook'!
It's written by Elise Pascoe and Cherry Ripe.
http://www.amazon.co...e/dp/0002553724

Has anyone had a good flick through (or better yet, own it)?
I'm interested in knowing what kind of recipes there are and how the authors define Australian cuisine.

You shouldn't have too much trouble tracking down a copy at a second hand book shop or in an op shop.

I'm not sure who Elise Pascoe is, but Cherry Ripe was an influential Australian food critic.

That does indeed sound promising then.
Yeah I'll go track it down at one of thost dusty bookstores if I don't end up buying it on Amazon!

[Shinboners]

That does indeed sound promising then.
Yeah I'll go track it down at one of thost dusty bookstores if I don't end up buying it on Amazon!

In the meantime, you should check out Neil Perry's "Balance and Harmony". I just got my amazon.co.uk delivery of it today.

They key differences between the Australian and UK versions is that the Australian one has a red cover and comes in a presentation box. The UK version does not have a presentation box, but the box design is the cover. Oh, and the UK version works out to be about $35 cheaper than the cheapest Australian price ($85 at Target) and $75 cheaper than the Australian RRP ($125).

[Ce'nedra]

That does indeed sound promising then.
Yeah I'll go track it down at one of thost dusty bookstores if I don't end up buying it on Amazon!

In the meantime, you should check out Neil Perry's "Balance and Harmony". I just got my amazon.co.uk delivery of it today.

They key differences between the Australian and UK versions is that the Australian one has a red cover and comes in a presentation box. The UK version does not have a presentation box, but the box design is the cover. Oh, and the UK version works out to be about $35 cheaper than the cheapest Australian price ($85 at Target) and $75 cheaper than the Australian RRP ($125).

What kind of recipes/theme is the book based on?

Aha! Aussies get it better this time around

[Shinboners]

What kind of recipes/theme is the book based on?

Aha! Aussies get it better this time around 

I'm not really convinced that the Australian buyers do get it better. What it boils down to is that you're paying $35 to $75 extra for a box. A very nice box mind you, but it's still just a box. It might have been a lot better if Australian buyers got an option on buying a limited edition with a box or a standard hardcover without a box. That would have made it cheaper, and I probably would have bought the book locally.

As for the book, it's general Asian cooking, but with an emphasis on Cantonese food.

There are three main sections, chapters within each section, and recipes that are relevant to each chapter.

The book is divided as follows:

Finding Balance And Harmony In The Kitchen
-Cooking Equipment
-Asian Ingredients

Basic Techniques And Recipes
-Sauces, Dressings, And Pickles
-Stocks And Soups
-Salads
-Braising And Boiling
-Steaming
-Stir Frying
-Deep Frying
-Tea Smoking
-Curry And Spice Pastes
-The Shared Table

Advanced Recipes And Banquet Menus
-Tofu And Eggs
-Pork
-Beef And Lamb
-Poultry
-Seafood
-Vegetables
-Noodles And Rice
-Fruit And Sweet Things

There's already a few recipes that I'm keen to try like the tea and spice smoked duck (page 148), the grilled beef with spicy dip (page 222), and the double boiled pigeons with shiitake mushrooms (page 269).

Mind you, I reckon that a few of the Chinese cooking fundamentalists will get upset at some of Perry's adaptations of Chinese food. But hey, they can worry themselves sick over authenticity, whilst the rest of us can just cook up something tasty.

Edited by Shinboners, 13 November 2008 - 09:42 PM.

[Ce'nedra]

Hmm is the book fairly similar to Kylie Kwong's books (of 'Modern Chinese' sort)?
The tea and spice smoked duck sounds especially good -you definately got me interested there!
I'll probably go have a flip through at the bookstores first, have a rough idea of his recipes and think on it. It certainly sounds intriguing though. Thanks for the heads up!

Psst...about 'authenticity'...there are times when I can be a bit anal about that sort of thing too but quite honestly, I'm 99% of the time all for the theory: "if it tastes good, nothing else matters!"