101 Champagnes and Other Sparkling Wines to Try Before You Die by Davy Zyw
We love champagne (who doesn't?!) and with the festive season upon us, the bubbles are flowing freely.  Everyone has their favourites (my go to is always Veuve Clicquot Brut Yellow Label, a rich, fruity and toasty Champagne, which makes the list (p.134), but it's always nice to branch out from what you know to try something new and unexpected.  Compiled by Davy Zyw, one of the UK's experts in sparkling wine, you can rest assured that this man knows his fizz.

The book is broken down into useful sections such as origins, glassware, pairing with food, fun facts (such as up until a couple of years ago London drank more champagne than the entire United States) and of course the list of the Davy's 101 top picks, which includes 51 champagnes and 50 sparkling wines.  This book is a great reference guide for when you're hosting your next dinner party or selecting a special bottle of fizz to give as a gift.
101 Champagnes and Other Sparkling Wines to Try Before You Die by Davy Zyw is published by Birlinn Limited. Available at Amazon.co.uk for £12.29 (hardcover).

Written by food blogger and acclaimed photographer Nik Sharma, this cookbook is inspired by his time growing up in Bombay, India, as well as his time spent living in America. 

Throughout the book the moody photos with their predominantly black backgrounds, highlight the beauty of each dish and draw you in.

Nik's inventive recipes often take a simple dish and elevate it by adding his own unique twist. For example, Sweet Potato Fries drizzled with Basil Yogurt Sauce or Chicken Soup with Omani Limes.  Packed with 100 recipes and 270 photographs, it is certain to be treasured by those who love injecting surprising flavours into traditional dishes.

Season: Big Flavours, Beautiful Food by Nik Sharma is published by Chronicle Books LLC. Available from Amazon.co.uk for £25.00 (hardcover).

This cookbook by mother and daughter American expats Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith shares their story of their life in Burgundy where they founded The Cook's Atelier, a French cooking school.

Featuring 100 market-inspired recipes and classic French cooking techniques, this cookbook is a must for any Francophile.

This weighty book (coming in at an impressive 400 pages) is beautifully written and immediately transports you to France with the vivid description of their school, "Inside sounds of old-time French jazz floats through the air and an aroma of baking madeleines wafts down from the kitchen above. Clanks of pots and pans and the rythmic chop-chopping of knives on wooden cutting boards blend with the whir of grinding coffee beans and the hiss of the vintage Italian espresso machine."

The book is broken into easy-to-follow sections including: tools of the trade, cook's larder, and of course, lots of fabulous recipes (100 to be exact)! Throughout the book the stunning images (300 cracking photos)  help to set the scene. We loved how they shared their family tales (and photos of their gorgeous clan) detailing their day-to-day foodie activities. They also share insights about French culture and Burgundy, so the reader comes away with a better understanding of the region. 

While French cuisine can often be thought of as complex or too fussy for the average home cook to attempt, the recipes within the book are approachable and family friendly.  We're sold.

The Cook's Atelier: Recipes, Techniques, and Stories from Our French Cooking School by Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith Franchini is published by Abrams. Available from Amazon.co.uk for £21.56 (hardcover).
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Recently named 'Winner' at the Gourmand World Cookbook Awards, this cookbook is inspired by Jakarta's street food scene.

Written by food writer Petty Elliott, who was inspired by her time spent living in Jakarta, The recipes feature authentic Indonesian recipes with a modern twist, all of which are relatively easy to prepare.

From Roasted Chicken, Jakarta Style to Fish Fillet with Turmeric and Chilli Sauce to West Sumatera Dried Beef Curry, the wealth of recipes will get your mouth watering, while introducing your taste buds to a taste of Jakarta without having to to make the trip.

​Petty Elliott will be bringing Jakarta's street food culture to the UK in 2019 as part of the spotlight on Indonesia at The London Book Fair.

Jakarta Bites: Exploring Vibrant Street Food from the Heart of Indonesia by Petty Elliott is available from Amazon.co.uk for £20.22 (hardcover). 

​Ashley Miln

Cooking with Love is a unique cookbook, which combines advice on meditation and yoga alongside healthy recipes.
If you’re not into clean living and spirituality, then you’ll find the book a bit ‘hippy dippy’, but if you’re hoping to achieve a more balanced life and diet, then this might be the book for you.

The book provides details on the various types of Doshas, which is your constitution type based on Ayurveda, that recognises that we all have individual needs when it comes to what makes us function at our optimal level. The three doshas include the Vata Dosha, Pitta Dosha and Kapha Dosha. 

I learned that I am a Vata Dosha, which means that I’m naturally creative and enthusiastic with high energy levels and variable digestion, which means that I should be eating regularly with easy-to-digest food. Surprisingly, it said that journalism is one of the careers that would suit someone with a Vata constitution, so maybe they’re on to something! 
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The book contains lots of information on different types of vegetables, herbs and pulses and it also has a variety of recipes for vegetarian soups and salads.

Given that I love a hearty soup, my favourite recipe was the Real Welsh Leek and Potato Soup, which I reckon would be great on a rainy day.

Cooking with Love by Keith Squires is published by Dru Publications and is available at Dru Yoga.com (£19.99 for a paperback).
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A.A. Miln ​​​

Recipes include a selection of cleverly named dishes including Cheesus Loves You (their original recipe); The Don Macaroni (a delicious dish including streaky bacon, Monterey Jack and mature cheddar); Professor Green (a moreish dish which includes bacon, eggs and guacamole); and Lil' Kimchi (a unique dish featuring Kimchi, gochugaru paste, Havarti cheese and chillis).

We guarantee that with so many totally unique flavour combinations to choose from, you'll banish boring macaroni for good! 

Anna Mae's Mac N Cheese Lover is available from Amazon.co.uk (£12.08 hardcover).

A.A. Miln

Italy holds a special place in my heart, so I'm always looking for ways to bring a touch of Italy to my kitchen.

Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavours & Forgotten Recipes from an Ancient City by Katie Parla and Kristina Gill is an elegant cookbook that not only looks great, but is packed with scrumptious Italian recipes.

The book opens with a quick lesson in Roman history, to transport you back to ancient times, which is fitting as the recipes within the book are a combination of  traditional dishes as well as contemporary innovations, each of which tells a story of the local flavours where they originated.

Getting started - It's all about the prep

Like any good cook knows, preparation is key, so the book outlines exactly what you need in terms of kitchen equipment and ingredients, so you can easily prepare all of the dishes within the book. 

​Staple ingredients 

It comes as no surprise that pasta is a staple ingredient found in any Italian's cupboard. They recommend that you buy the highest quality pasta you can afford and also keep sea salt, Pecorino Romano and Peperoncino to hand. Some of the other recommended staples were a bit on the more obscure side (fennel pollen or guanciale anyone?), but they provided recommended alternatives should one not be able to source them.

​The contents

I love that that the book has been done in 'the spirit of Roman cooking, which doesn't get bogged down with precise ingredient amounts or proportions, except when baking', as this closely mirrors my own style of cooking, which is a bit 'throw it all in and hope for the best' - with flair, of course!

Sections within the book 

Snacks, starters and street food
Here you'll find tasty little morsels that are perfect for aperitvo (the Italian ritual of pre-dinner drinks and snacks).

Classics and variations
From Carbonara to gnocci, here you'll find tried and true recipes that have withstood the test of time. 

​Cucina Ebraica
This section features an assortment of recipes inspired by the Roman Jews, who comprise a small percentage of the population (13,000 in a city of 4 million inhabitants). This standout cuisine focuses on 'intense flavours cultivated from paltry resources'. 

Quinto Quarto
Inspired by the butchers that used to cut animals into prestigious cuts for nobles, beaurucrats and soldiers and leeft the remaining off cuts (offal) for the lower-class Romans, here you'll find dishes such as Spaghetti with Chicken Innards to Sweetbreads (the thymus glands of veal and lambs) with Marsala Wine. 

Verdure
Rome is abundant with fresh produce and here you'll find a selection of gorgeous dishes where vegetables are the star ingredient.

Bread and Pizza
Italy isn't carb shy. Here you'll find a selection of baking recipes that aren't too complicated for baking novices. 

Sweets and Drinks
From sorbetto to gelatto, you'll find everything you need to finish your meal with a touch of sweetness. Our favourite dessert was the sheep's milk ricotta cheesecake, which was divine!

Overall, this is a great book for any Italian food enthusiast who is keen to learn how to prepare delicious, traditional Italian recipes.

​A.A. Miln

Tasting Rome: Fresh Flavours & Forgotten Recipes from an Ancient City is published by Clarkson Potter / Publishers, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Random House, LLC, New York.

Available from Amazon.co.uk for £19.99  (hardcover).

'It goes without saying that the beef is the most important thing. We use a mixture of chuck, skirt, brisket and rib fat in the restaurants for their unbeatable combination of texture and flavour.' - BYRON

Byron: The Cookbook by Tom Byng and Fred Smith is published by Quadrille and is available from Amazon.co.uk for £20.00 (hardcover).

With the English bank holiday in full swing this weekend, there's nothing better than a burger to sink your teeth into - come rain or shine. And let's be honest, it's most likely going to be rain rather than sun if history is anything to go by, but don't let that stop you from firing up the BBQ!

To help provide you with a bit of burger-spiration, legendary burger restaurant BYRON's new cookbook BYRON: The Cookbook is bursting with burger recipes to get you in the mood for mouth-wateringly delicious burgers. Having sold more than 19 million hamburgers since its launch, BYRON knows a thing or two about burgers, so you can ensure that they know what it takes to take a burger from ordinary to extraordinary.

The cookbook has 110 recipes with step-by-step guides on how to create homemade hamburgers and other classic dishes.

My favourite recipes included the Chili Queen, which features green chilis and chipotle mayo, and the Juicy Lucy, which features cheese inside the meat, an invention claimed by my home state of Minnesota.

And of course all great burgers demand delicious sides such as macaroni and cheese, onion rings and courgette fries, all of which feature in the cookbook.

So, make yours a burger this weekend and enjoy your burger creations in all of their meaty wonder.

A.A. Miln

Bone Deep Broth is an enlightening introduction to the virtues of bone broth and a collection of healing recipes with this nutritious broth at their core.

The concept of bone broth is far from a new trend. It has in fact been a mainstay of traditional cultures worldwide for centuries and is an ‘ancient superfood’.

The bones (these can be beef, pork, duck, chicken or fish) are simmered for up to 24 hours with a dash of vinegar, which optimises the extraction of minerals from the bones.

It’s believed that cooking with animal bones fortifies and soothes the body from the inside out, helping to regulate hormones, relieve anxiety, support nursing mothers, ease allergies and treat a myriad of digestive disorders.

The recipes are exceptionally versatile. The cookbook features a wealth of dishes including: Five-Hour Bolognese, Vietnamese Pho, Mexican Mole, Chicken Congee with Sweet Potato Shiitake and Ginger, Quinoa and Artichoke Salad with Lemon Capers Parsley and Thyme, Spicy Prawn Stew, Poached Eggs in Tomato and Bone Broth Sauce, Lamb Tagine with Apricot Green Olive and Preserved Lemon, Black Garlic and Roasted Bone Marrow Soup, Chia Seed pudding, Bloody Mary and a Warming Tea!

While the recipes are delicious, it does take time and a bit of patience to create what is essentially the foundation of these dishes, so get your bone broth in the slow cooker for ease!

​My freezer’s currently harbouring a little tub of surplus broth, so I’m confident the next risotto I make will be marvellous.

Luci Lyne
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Relish South East: Original recipes from the region's finest chefs and restaurants by Angela Hartnett is a glorious cookbook filled with a collection of superb recipes from the nation's top chefs. 

The South East is renowned for its cuisine and for the abundant produce that can be found here, such as garlic and wild mushrooms, which are used in some of the stunning dishes featured within the cookbook.

Given that the dishes are prepared by top chefs, the majority of the recipes may prove a bit challenging for culinary amateurs, however, if you manage to pull them off, you'll no doubt seriously impress your dinner guests!

Imagery within the cookbook includes photos of the chefs who have created the dishes as well as the restaurants they work in and of course, the sophisticated dishes themselves.

Stand out recipes featured within the cookbook include Best End Lamb with Confit Tomato; Diver Caught Scallops with Cauliflower Puree, Apple, Coriander and Cumin Veloute and Lychee Macaroon, amongst others (see pics to the right).

This book has definitely inspired me to start upping my culinary game!

A.A. Miln