Cookbooks Worth Waiting For 2026 Part 2

Somehow we are fast heading towards the end of the year, I’m not sure where the time has gone but this passage of time does mean there are more cookbooks to look forward to.

Below are my top picks from the upcoming cookbook releases for the second half of this year. I’m hoping they will be worth the wait!

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Native Ingredients Everyday by Nornie Bero (June 30) - This is Nornie’s second book, and it looks like it will be a great addition to our cookbook collections. Native Ingredients Everyday focuses on everyday home cooking with native ingredients. This sounds like the perfect follow up to Nornie’s first book Mabu Mabu, and already I can see the design and colour scheme follow the same bright and inviting feel that Mabu Mabu had. I’m really looking forward to seeing more of this book when it is released later this month.

Sweet Heart by Natalie Paull (September 1) - Another baking book from Natalie Paull? Yes Please! There’s something so comforting and reassuring about the way Natalie writes recipes, like a gentle encouraging guide, even when the recipe is a bit more complex, she’s got you, and you can do this. I love the title of this one, the cover and design look amazing too, I can’t wait to see more. The concept of the book looks like its based on cravings, and what you feel like baking or eating, then the chapters will help you narrow this down. I really like the idea of baking based on cravings, mostly that’s how I bake. I feel like eating X, so I bake it. I’m sure this one will be worth the wait and satisfy all the baked good related cravings.

Pasta Grannies: Eat Everything by Vicky Bennison (September 1) - I’ve really enjoyed the previous two Pasta Grannies books by Vicky Bennison, so I am keen to see what this third instalment will bring. By the looks of it a greater variety of recipes will fill the pages of this one, not just pasta. The recipes are all ‘Nonna approved’, which we would expect nothing less from Pasta Grannies!

Ukraïne: Recipes and Stories from Kyiv to the Black Sea by Anna Voloshyna (October 20) - This book covers a wide variety of Ukrainian recipes, with Anna travelling to parts of Ukraine despite the ongoing war, to collect recipes, hear the stories of Ukrainian people and learn how to make various dishes and recipes. I tested a few of the recipes for Anna, so I’ve already had a little sneak peek of what to expect (lekvar, homemade sauerkraut and other ferments will feature in the book), however there will still be lots more to discover once it’s released. I’m interested to see how this book will differ from others I have already that focus on Ukraine, or Eastern Europe generally. I’m hoping the fact that Anna was able to travel to Ukraine during the making of this book will provide a more personalised human centric touch that we haven’t seen in Ukrainian focused books for a few years now due to the war and travel to Ukraine being difficult and often very unsafe.

Cookbooks Worth Waiting for in 2022 Part Two - A Recap

These were the new release cookbooks I was most looking forward to in the second half of 2022, you can read the original list here. Now that I have (almost) all of them, and had some time to read through them, it’s time for a recap of the list.

Just a note - The links to the books are for reference only and are not sponsored, I’ve just included where I bought them from or where I wish I had bought them from! Though its always best to search around for the best price as it can vary depending on when you are buying as well. Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024.

Did any of these books get a place on your bookshelf last year? What did you think of them? Let me know in the comments below. 

1. Pasta Grannies Comfort Cooking by Vicky Bennison - If you loved the first Pasta Grannies book, or just love pasta this is the book for you. This time Pasta Grannies ventures into some rice based dishes, pizzas and desserts too, so there is slightly more variety in the recipes compared with the first book. The stories of the grannies are just as heat warming as the first book, and the photography is just as excellent too. I realised when reading this book, that is one of the few I have looked through of late that isn’t focused on the author themselves. Vicky Bennison is showcasing the food of others, preserving recipes and writing down the history of peoples everyday lives. There is something genuinely comforting about that, and by the success of Vicky’s first book (she won a James Beard Award for it!), and the popularity of the related Pasta Grannies You Tube channel, many others must feel the same.

2. Home Is Where The Eggs Are by Molly Yeh - the Australian release of this book has been very delayed, and I still don’t have my preordered copy :( I will add my thoughts here once it arrives!

Update (May 2023) - I have now had Molly’s book for a little while, and it is pure joy which is what I have come to expect from her. I love the colour scheme, and the fact that this book feels typically ‘Molly’ but has just evolved to suit her different phase of life (in comparison to her first book which was pre kids for her and her husband). The focus on family food and things that can be made more quickly is noticeable, but not in a way that excludes people who don’t relate to that part of Molly’s life. The illustrations scattered about the book are delightful, and I really like the food photography as well. Molly’s style of cookbook is very different to the usual American style cookbook, that always feel very different to their European, British and Australian counterparts. I’ve noticed many US based cookbooks utilise a really different style of food photography that looks like artificial light and flash is used and everything can be quite intensely bright and over exposed. Molly’s aesthetic is the total opposite to this. It is calm, yet vibrant, and the images have noticeable shadow creating depth and clearly utilising natural light that really makes the food sing.

3. Home Food by Olia Hercules - When I first got this book, I wasn’t super impressed with it. Looking back I think it was more because I had preordered it from Booktopia, then once the book was released it took them ages to actually ship it to me. It was annoying, and I think it created more frustration than excitement around getting a new book. Now it’s been a few months since then, and I can see it really was the general frustration impairing my view of Home Food. At first I struggled to find recipes I wanted to make, now I’m not sure how all the recipes I’d like to try didn’t stand out to me back then. Many recipes are influenced by Olia’s Ukrainian heritage, and others from her time living in Cyprus, Italy and the UK. This book encapsulates what comfort food means to Olia, and she explains it so well in the longer form writing in the book. The photography by Olia’s husband Joe Woodhouse is also excellent and combined with her writing makes a wonderful book to pursue through (once you’re over the initial frustrating shipping delays of course!). In terms of cover design for once I think the US cover is nicer than the UK/Australian one, but really, that doesn’t detract from all the goodness that is inside.

4. Persiana Everyday by Sabrina Ghayour- As I expected these recipes look like they are flavourful and will bring a bit of Persian cooking to your kitchen. In the introduction Sabrina, says her style of cooking has changed more recently as she is now married with two step sons. She says she now gets the need for quick tasty meals and this book is a product of that. I think this is a good book for those looking for a different take on the meals you might want to make midweek, as the recipes don’t look overly fussy and you might try a few new flavours along the way. The photography is also nice in this book, with an image per recipe, plus I just really enjoy the vibrant cover design and the embossed pistachios on the cover.

5. The Joy of Better Cooking by Alice Zaslavsky - This cookbook really is joyful, and as I’ve said before it is just trademark Alice. This book positions itself to help you in the kitchen, but it also has things for those more experienced too. It seems to be able to cater for everyone, I think because Alice really walks the reader through each recipe is very generous with her cooking knowledge and explanations, but the recipes themselves aren’t those super basic things that more experienced cooks may wonder why they bothered with the book at all. The recipes are interesting, and might even challenge the generally favoured flavour and technique profiles of more experienced cooks. For some more info about the book and Alice’s cooking style more generally, you can check out the her segments on ABC News Breakfast (on iView or have a look at Alice’s Instagram as she shares them there as well). 

Recent Cookbooks Worth Chatting About - October 2022

I’ve added a few new cookbooks to my shelves recently and I thought I would share my initial thoughts about them with you.

There are so many new cookbook releases at the moment, it’s hard to keep up! And I think it’s always nice to hear what others thought of cookbooks and recipes. I know it helps me decide whether I actually want to purchase them or give them a go. 

If you like me, love cookbooks I recommend following a few accounts on Instagram (in addition to mine!) - @shipshapeeatworthy, @coffeecanelescookbooks & @lambsearsandhoney - which in addition to my thoughts below (and more cookbook chat here on the blog), should provide lots of cookbook reviews and recommendations to help inspire your cookbook collection or live vicariously through someone else’s!

1. From Scratch by Fiona Weir Walmsley - I like the sheer breadth of recipes in this book. If you want to make something from scratch (e.g. red wine vinegar, harissa or ghee) you’ll probably find it in here. I am really liking the look of the baking chapter, it’s not filled with the same old recipes, yet somehow covers the classics as well. I’m not loving the writing in this book so much, however and as long as the recipes have been well tested and work, I think this book will probably be worth it for the recipes alone.

2. Off to The Market by Alice Oehr - This is actually a children’s book not a cookbook. It’s a sweet story about shopping at the markets and of course the illustrations by Alice are excellent. I think it would make a great gift for any young child in your life.

3. Pasta Grannies Comfort Cooking by Vicky Bennison - This second instalment of the Pasta Grannies books is as heart warming as the first. The photography also stands out in this book, as while the recipes are the focus the human element of this project is also captured in a lovely way too. This book still has pasta recipes but also a few other bit and pieces like rice dishes and pizza recipes. I’ve already earmarked The Butterfly Pasta with Peas and Sausage from Romagna (page 116) to make ASAP.

4. The Joy of Better Cooking by Alice Zaslavsly - Released just last week, this book is just trademark joyful Alice. With its focus on creating more confidence in the kitchen, I wasn’t sure this book would hold recipes that I would actually want to make, I was worried they might be a little basic or simple. I am happy to say I was really wrong to worry about that, as there is not a boring or basic recipe in sight! There are lots of detailed explanations about substituting ingredients and things like that, which I think would be helpful for any level of cook. Definitely a book for everyone!

5. Around The Table by Julia Busittil Nishimura - When I heard Insta buddy Amy (@amy_minichiello_) say this book was Julia’s best yet a few weeks ago I knew this book was actually worth checking out. I had held off purchasing this one as I haven’t loved Julia’s second book and wasn’t enthralled with her first either. After ordering a copy on online, I started with the Spaghetti alla puttanesca (page 130), which with a combination of anchovies, garlic, olives and capers would never be short on flavour. I will have to try a few more recipes to really gauge how much I like this book, but it’s been a good start!

Have you added any cookbooks to your collection recently? Let me know in the comments below.

Links to books on Booktopia removed 15/07/2024.