Features & Stories

Newsletter: 🐔Get creative with chicken + competition winners announced! 📸

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Ruffling feathers: New takes on the humble chicken

We’ve just added two cracking chicken books to the ckbk shelves. First up, The Good Chicken Cookbook by Marcus Bean – a guide to cooking chicken sustainably, from beak to tail.

With tips on prep, using the whole bird, and even chicken care, it's perfect for anyone wanting to give their Sunday roast a conscience.

Chicken might be a budget-friendly bird, but that doesn't mean it has to come cheap. Bean’s recipes – like Thai-style Chicken Broth, Chicken Falafel with Cucumber Raita, and a genius Crispy Chicken and Potato Crust show that good chicken starts with good choices.

Also on the perch: Paul Gayler’s Chicken and Other Birds, serving up over 100 dishes that go beyond the usual suspects – think duck, pigeon, guinea fowl, and more.

We’ve got our eye on the book’s cover recipe, Chicken with Olives, Preserved Lemon and Dates, and the Olive Oil Poached Chicken with Tapenade - a summer plate worth crowing about.

Take a peck at our chicken bookshelf for more creative ways with chicken beyond the roast.

Pictured above: Chicken & slow-roasted tomato burgers with pesto mayonnaise from The Good Chicken Cookbook by Marcus Bean

Mastering food photography with your phone

ckbk kicks off a new series on the seven foundations of great food photography and video with insights from food and lifestyle photographer Rupa Nagamootoo. Known for empowering foodies, chefs, bakers, restaurateurs and food entrepreneurs to create scroll-stopping content using just their phones – no fancy camera required – Nagamootoo shares her belief that you make the photo, not your phone. In other words: you’re in control, not your tech.

In this first instalment, discover how to master your phone’s brightness, lock focus and exposure, and make the most of portrait mode. Plus, Nagamootoo reveals one often-overlooked tip that can dramatically improve the quality of your photos.

Visit Part 1 of Food Photography with Rupa

Picture perfect: food photo contest winners announced

Thanks to all the budding food photographers who entered our competition! We loved seeing your shots of any ckbk recipes that don’t have a photo. The 'no photo photo' prize goes to Fay Murphy for her Masala Winter Squash from Mark Bittman’s The Best Recipes in the World – congrats, Fay! You’ve won a one-year ckbk gift subscription and a hardback of Magrets & Mushrooms, ckbk’s first original cookbook.

And a special shoutout to Sharon Adelar, winner of the Vincent Price prize for her delicious triptych of Potatoes With Sour Cream, Moroccan Tagine and Irish Stew. Enjoy your Cooking Price-Wise Blu-ray!

MARCELLA movie out soon

MARCELLA hits cinemas and streaming platforms on Friday 9 May. A scientist-turned-cook, Marcella Hazan transformed how Americans experience Italian food. Her story is told through family, friends, and culinary icons like Jacques Pépin, Lidia Bastianich, her son Giuliano Hazan, and her husband and writing partner, Victor Hazan. Marcella Cucina is one of our top 1000 books on ckbk, plus we have four of Giuliano Hazan’s cookbooks on our digital shelves.

Ingredient focus: asparagus

Asparagus, the tender green shoot of a curious lily family plant, is spring’s edible emblem.

With a short but eagerly awaited season, it’s best enjoyed simply - try Valentina Harris's Asparagi alla Veneta (Asparagus in the Venetian Style) or vibrant Asparagus Risotto.

You can also branch out with Stéphane Reynaud’s Asparagus with Nori, or Signe Johansen's unbeatable Asparagus, Parmesan and Pancetta.

Whether wild and slender or thick and cultivated, asparagus has been prized since Roman times – and with our 20 Ways with Asparagus collection, it’s easy to see why.

6 of the best shrimp recipes

Dive into ckbk's shoal of shrimp recipes – flavor-packed dishes that prove that this little crustacean punches well above its weight. Take a look at our collection of Shrimp recipes to hook you in or try one of this delicious half dozen.

Shrimp Cooked in Oyster Sauce

from Mortar and Pestle: Classic Indonesian Recipes for the Modern Kitchen by Patricia Tanumihardja

Shrimp on Toast with Capers, Dill, and Chervil

from Getaway: Food & Drink to Transport You by Renee Erickson

Venetian-Style GratinĂŠed Shrimp

from Italian Comfort Food by

Coriander ginger shrimp with sweet thai chili sauce

from Asian Tapas: Small Bites, Big Flavors by Christophe Megel and Anton Kilayko
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New Orleans–style BBQ Shrimp and Grits

from Let's Do Brunch by Brigit Binns

Shrimp & Feta Pizza with Roasted Red Pepper Pesto

from Williams Sonoma Pizza by Williams Sonoma