In Simply Swiss: 64 Essential Recipes from the Heart of Europe, she sets out to bring us the cornerstone dishes of the Swiss culinary canon. As Pilot puts it, ‘This book is full of Switzerland’s best–and best-known–recipes. From buttery braided Zopf to creamy Birchermüesli, this book contains all the Swiss culinary classics, as well as plenty of regional dishes (Capuns! Cholermüs! Cuchaule! Chäshörnli!) from all corners of the country.’

Swiss Cookies: A Home-baked Cultural Journey, is a collection of recipes old and new—from Zurich’s Tirggel first mentioned in 1461, to Pilot’s mother-in-law’s Brösmelimonster—that document the chef’s lifetime of cookie baking.

It’s the first of May, which in Europe has long been celebrated as the beginning of summer, of warmth and long days, and as symbolising rebirth and renewal. Time to dance around a Maypole, don a flower crown, or try out a traditional May Day recipe or two. Try Berwick May Day Tarts, filled with almonds, currants and candied peel, or these Tippaleipä, a doughnut-like Finnish treat that would be eaten at the May Day fair.

Basil is an annual plant, an aromatic herb native to warmer climes, that made it over from its original home in India, South East Asia and North Africa, to England in the 16th Century and parts of North America in the 17th. There are several varieties of basil, with prevalence and use depending on different cuisines—such as the use of ‘Thai basil’ in Thailand and Southeast Asia.