Felicity O’Driscoll of Cook the Books picks her favourite of the latest crop of cookbooks. Visit the shop at 78 Kelmarna Ave, Ponsonby, Auckland or go to cookthebooks.co.nz

NOW & THEN
TESSA KIROS, MURDOCH BOOKS, $65

Tessa’s first book Falling Cloudberries is one of my all-time favourites. This has the same eclectic styling which extends beyond the imagery into the recipes and the way the book is ordered. It is a book of recipes collected through her life in food and arranged by the stages of life and travel: Mexico Flowers; Thailand Stories; Things I Love Everyday… It’s how many of us cook, according to what we’re influenced by at a moment in time.

ENJOY
KELLY GIBNEY, BEATNIK, $59.95

Without a doubt this was my favourite book of 2023 to actually cook from. There’s nothing overly complicated about the recipes; they’re nostalgic comfort with a modern twist. The spring vegetable soup and the barbecued vegetable salad served over a labne-esque chive-flecked yoghurt have both been made more than once. And the fancy ‘Kiwi’ onion dip – enough said! While Enjoy celebrates the everyday, it turns those regular meals we cook for those closest to us into something very special.

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FLAVOUR
SABRINA GHAYOUR, OCTOPUS, $49.99

Every time I see a new book by Sabrina I think we probably don’t need it. But then I really do. While her background is Persian, this draws from a wider Middle Eastern palate and instead of defining recipes by ethnicity, they are defined by flavour. The lamb cutlets with ras el hanout and orange are barbecue heaven; the bhaji buns – a vege burger patty that pays homage to the onion bhaji – are a joy at a summer picnic. There’s something about her food that just gets to me.

INVITATION TO A BANQUET
FUCHSIA DUNLOP, PENGUIN BOOKS, $65

Chinese food has the unique distinction of being both one of the best-loved yet least-understood global cuisines. Through a banquet of 30 iconic and carefully selected dishes, Fuchsia Dunlop sets out to dispel the mystery of Chinese food, explore its culture, history and philosophy, and share what is truly one of the most sophisticated gastronomies in the world.