Chocolate

“The lemon is delightfully versatile. We take it for granted as we peruse the greengrocer’s shelf, and without thinking about it, we buy one or two along with a bunch of parsley—sometimes before even deciding what we might be cooking for dinner. Sometimes lemon juice is incorporated into a dish during the early stages of preparation and sometimes it is added after cooking. Even the zest is often an integral part of a recipe and should never be tossed away.”

We have a trio of books hot off the press and newly added to ckbk to freshen up your outdoor mealtimes. Barbecue chef Tony Ramirez draws influence from his Cajun and Filipino heritage, which is reflected in his book Backyard BBQ with Fire and Spice. Chinese-Malay BBQ chef and restaurateur Winnie Yee has released her debut cookbook, Chinese-American Barbecue. Finally, food writer, recipe developer and BBQ expert Brad Prose has combined two of his food obsessions to create Epic BBQ Sandwiches.

Easter—this year celebrated across the long weekend of April 3 to 6—is the Christian festival commemorating Christ rising from the tomb. A festival that has come to be symbolic of the beginning of Spring, with all its new life and green shoots—hence the abundance of eggs, lambs, bunny rabbits and chicks, including all those chocolate ones.

January 25 is Burns Night, the annual celebration of the life and poetry of Scotland’s beloved son, Robert Burns. It is a chance to revel in all things Scottish, and usually marked by a lavish and hearty supper. If you need a bit of inspiration for fitting dishes to grace your Burns Night table, we’ve got all the recipes you need in our collection of Burns Night Recipes.

The holidays are round the corner, the sun shines and the outdoor grill has been dusted off. It’s time to get outdoors, for a barbecue or a picnic. For some great ideas for summer cooking look no further.

We asked chocolate expert Cat Black for some sweet recommendations with a Valentine theme. Whether your partner is spicy, fruity, or even a little bit nutty, ckbk offers endless ways to demonstrate your love for them with chocolate.

Whether you are an experienced chef, cookery student, or home cook, ckbk's essential texts from the world of professional culinary training will help you to refine your skills with detailed step-by-step photography and instructions. If you are serious about patisserie and chocolate, we have two newly-added tomes that offer fully comprehensive coverage of these subjects.

t’s that time of year to make a racket about strawberries with Wimbledon gracing our screens this week - our Wimbledon collection absolutely smashes it. As well as the ubiquitous berry, we’ll be serving up the likes of dainty Cucumber Sandwiches, Homemade Ginger Beer and jugs of fruity Summer Cup, a gin-based herbal long drink created in the 1820s by James Pimms at his oyster bar in London.

As Easter approaches, food writer and Registered Nutritionist Joy Skipper reflects on her passion for chocolate and shares findings from her recent travels around southern India, visiting cacao plantations and chocolate makers.

Watch the replay of the first in our series of ckbk Livestream and Q&As. Amy Guittard, who is part of the fifth generation of the family-owned Guittard Chocolate Company , joins pastry chef and cookbook author Emily Luchetti, to offer tips and techniques for cooking with chocolate and answers to questions from ckbk users.