From fantastic field guides for foragers, to what to do with them when you get back to the kitchen, mushroom magic is to be found in this four books. If you don't like mushrooms, perhaps you will be converted. If you do, here is all you need for your fungi feast.
In Mexico, Cinco de Mayo ('Fifth of May') commemorates the victory of Mexico's army over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862. Cinco de Mayo has become a date for marking Mexican culture and heritage, particularly in the US. Food is never far from celebration in Mexico, and these recipes, including traditional dishes such as tamales, mole, and enchiladas (and a Margarita or two) will get the party started...
Curated collections from ckbk's editors
Seattle native Renee Erickson is a James Beard award winning chef, author and co-owner of several restaurants and coffee shops in Seattle, Washington. Getaway, her book paying homage to the food of some of her favorite places in the US and across Europe, follows her PNBA award-winning debut A Boat, a Whale, and a Walrus.
Ken Hom OBE is a chef, cookery writer and authority on Chinese cuisine. In a career spanning four decades, he has written dozens of cookbooks, selling millions of copies, and presented several hugely popular cookery series for the BBC. He has also sold over 8 million Ken Hom woks worldwide!
Based in Cambridgeshire in the UK, Jenny knows farming from the inside: she’s married to a farmer. In her books ‘For the Love of the Land’ and ‘For the Love of the Sea,’ Jefferies gives voice to Britain’s food producers, highlighting the role they play in looking after the country’s land and seas. In her 3rd book 'Islands in a Common Sea' she brings together stories from 25 food producers all across the globe.
Highly influential and eminent chef Michel Guérard was awarded the title of Meuiller Ouvrier de France in 1958 at just 25 years old. He went on to become one of the founding fathers of "nouvelle cuisine" and in 1977 his pioneering restaurant in Eugenie-les-Bains was awarded 3 Michelin stars. He continues his role in changing perceptions around healthy cuisine through his books and at his culinary school The Institute Michel Guérard.
Cookbook author Jeanne Strang moved from the UK to South-West France in the 1960s. She spend the next 50 plus years documenting the food of the region with detail and love. Her book Goosefat & Garlic, published in 1991 is a seminal work on the region. When she died in 2023 she left the completed manuscript for its sequel, Magret & Mushrooms, now published on ckbk.
Gujerati physican, artist and cook, Sheil Shukla is based in Chicagoland Illinois. His work explores the applications of plant-based nutrition to clinical medicine. His book Plant-Based India: Nourishing Recipes Rooted in Tradition was a 2023 James Beard Book Award nominee.
As well as introducing Fantastic Fungi, the cookbook spinoff from the award-winning documentary, this week’s newsletter features three more titles newly added to ckbk — one made up of travelers tales, one focused on the food of Northern Spain, and the last a book of quick vegan recipes carrying the endorsement of Jamie Oliver, no less.
To celebrate the debut of Fantastic Fungi: The Community Cookbook on ckbk, we chatted with chefs about their top ‘shrooms and unearthed some of our own favorite mushroom recipes.
In 1984 a young Chinese-American appeared in his first BBC television programme, a new series on Chinese cookery which, in his own words, “opened up a whole new world to the British Public.” That young man was, of course, the great Ken Hom. He thrilled viewers by cooking exciting dishes in real time and introduced British viewers to the wok – in fact his second ever programme focused on how to choose and use your wok.
Kumud Ghandi is a food scientist, nutritionist, spice maestro, author and broadcaster, whose passion for garlic in all its sweet and pungent glory has inspired her to write The Garlic Story. Plus, rediscovering the joy of good old-fashioned baking.
For me, garlic is divine, and at the centre of what I call the holy trinity of ingredients that is garlic, ginger and chillies. Few ingredients can produce flavour in so many distinct ways when cooked correctly. Nothing is more beautiful than delicately roasted garlic, simply popped into the oven whole with all the cloves still on the bulb
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