South Africa has some of the best food and wine in the
world, with incredibly fresh produce, local farms, local wine, and
amazing chefs and cooks. Did we
say, ‘Some of?’ Ok, we mean best.
This year, we’ve come up with a list of the best food and
wine cooking related books.
Ranging from fancy, to sporty, to
something that will make you laugh, to the best food photography you’ll ever
see. This list has something for everyone, whether you are a food fanatic or just love to eat.
Drizzle and Dip
By Samantha Linsell
Cape Town food stylist shares her simple recipes in
her very first book. She’s totally
approachable, her recipes are easy to follow and her pictures are
scrumptiously visual. Great for the
beginner and the home-cook.
Impressive but
approachable: Huevos rancheros.
Justin Bonello’s Ultimate
Braai Master: Lekker braai recipes from across South Africa
Rustic in every way, The Ultimate Braai Master’s cookbook is
exactly like the show, down to earth. Get
involved with the tips about how to braai like a master and advice about travelling
8000km’s on the road in South Africa.
Cooking and camping: Greek-style braaied lamb.
Bitten
By Sarah Graham
Untrained as a chef, self taught, Sarah Graham makes home
style cooking easy for the busy mom and dad.
From breakfast to braais, her recipes are upbeat and comforting. With explanations of “how to” and easy
one-pot meals Sarah Graham makes the food in your life easy and fun.
Simple and easy:
Peanut seasame chicken.
Scrumptious
By Jane-Anne Hobbs
This is a beautiful book written by a Cape Town based cook, writer and blogger. The recipes are triple tested and are great family food. They concentrate on flavour and take a little longer, but are simply worth it!
Family feast: Cape gooseberry meringue pie.
Feast at Home
by Frank Dangereux
Feast at Home is a big book of knowledge and beautiful recipes. It reflects his passion for flavour and texture and is the perfect gift for any foodie who loves to cook. Dangereux is
passionate about teaching the whole world to fall in love with food so we can fall
in love with each other; seems like a good plan.
Play with your food:
How to clean mussels and then how to cook them.
Simple and Delicious: Recipes from the heart
By Alida Ryder
Alida is a girl who loves food and isn’t afraid to show
it. Alida knows that time is of the essence when chasing
around her two young twins. She makes
home cooking a flash and doesn’t compromise on taste or tradition.
Traditional, fun South
African: Bollywood lamb chops.
Taking it Easy:
Recipes from 20 of SA’s Top Chefs
By Andy Fenner
This is the ultimate present for the South African foodie, someone
who wants a little taste of all the top name chefs like Margo Janse, Bertus
Basson, Pete Goffe-Wood, (the list goes on) into one recipe bible. The ingredients are down to earth and there
are some great photos for your food porn pleasure.
Let’s get serious: Goat’s cheese with dark chocolate and
balsamic syrup…!
Make Give Sell:
Everything you could possibly make for any market, ever
By Callie Maritz and
Mari-Louis Guy
This book is for the crafty creative type, someone who’s
always bringing over sweets and jars of this and that with delicious
fresh ingredients. Meringues, chocolate
squares, homemade bread, all packaged beautifully to sell or give.
Make & sell: Strawberry pop-tart.
Springbok Kitchen:
Celebrating the love of food, family and rugby
Um, did you know that Francois Pienaar could make a mean
frozen berry dish with warm white chocolate sauce? Or that Peter de Villiers can coach a man to
make a hardcore steak and kidney pudding? Oh yes, these men can not only
take a man down on the field, but know their way around a kitchen to. And they are really adorable in their aprons.
Home cooked: John Smit’s butternut soup.
Luscious Vegetarian
By Sonia Cabano and
Jade De Waal
De Waal, a jazz student with a passion for food and Cabano
returning to South Africa after 12 years of overseas experience, came together
to share their family recipes. All
vegetarian, the photographs are scrumptuous and gorgeous so that you’ll never miss
the meat.
Vegetarian brunch: Breakfast
antipasti platter.
Cellarmasters in the Kitchen
By Wendy Toerien
“As artisans, the
members of the Cape Winemakers Guild dedicate themselves to moulding the finest
products the ancient soils and fair climes of South Africa’s Cape winelands are
capable of growing”. Cellarmasters
features winemakers and their recipes. Want to know how to use that red or while to braise your beef or what
wine goes with what meal? This book is
where it’s at.
Wine and cooking: Chicken
and wine pasta sauce.
The Agony Chef:
Recipes and advice for life’s pickles and predicaments
By Kate Sidley
Food, laughter, advice and easy recipes; isn’t that all you
really need in life? The Agony chef is the
ultimate prezzie for the chef in your life with a good sense of humour.
A whole chapter on:
Recipes for disaster.
Masterchef South Africa: The Cookbook
This book is full of gorgeous pictures of not only the
contestants on the show but all the fancy food they learned to make along the
way. This collection is for the amateur
chef with well thought out recipes that could just make the difference to get
you to the next level.
Learn how to plate:
Brioche crusted springbok spinach and ricotta pillows, wild mushrooms, peppadew
salsa, with a rooibos béarnaise (phew!).
If you’d like any further recommendations, have suggestions, or comments, feel free to post them below and share.
Follow @Food24 on twitter for more daily updates on all things food.