Seven Food Books for Summer 2022

If you're looking for some top reading material this summer, here's a selection of the best new food books, from Francis Mallmann's fire-cooking with vegetables, to the memoirs of a Parisian waiter, there's something for every appetite.

Core

Clare Smyth

British chef Clare Smyth's debut cookbook and ode to her three-Michelin-starred London restaurant Core includes 60 key recipes served at Core, as well 70 other useful recipes for basics, including stocks, sauces and breads. Her mentor Gordon Ramsay has written the foreword, while photographer Nathan Snoddon has captured Smyth's Core in images.

Available here.

Mezcla: Recipes to Excite

Ixta Belfage

Ixta Belfrage shares 100 creative, colourful, bold and delicious recipes for all occasions in Mezcla – meaning mix, blend or fusion in Spanish – inspired by Italy, Brazil, Mexico and beyond. Easy recipes include 'giant cheese on toast with honey' and 'urfa butter and chicken with pineapple and 'nduja', with more time-absorbing recipes like 'chiles rellenos with salsa roja risotto and prawn lasagne with habanero oil' to enjoy on a weekend.

Available here.

Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many

Jeremy Lee

Quo Vadis restaurateur Jeremy Lee offers a masterclass in simple things done well in his new cookbook. From classics like chicken with asparagus, potatoes and wild garlic aioli, to essentials like anchovy dressing, and impromptu puddings like peaches in wine with bay leaves or plum compote with ricotta and hazelnuts, this is luxury food, for one or more.

Available here.

Green Fire: Extraordinary Ways to Grill Fruits and Vegetables, from the Master of Live-fire Cooking

Francis Mallmann

World-renowned chef and all-round fire cooking expert Francis Mallmann teaches vegetable grill mastery in his new book, with more than 80 vegetarian dishes, along with a selection of impressive seasonings, sauces and finishings with Argentine influences. Think spring artichoke and fava salad, salt-baked beets with lemon confit, and cabbage steaks with a mustard fennel crust. Desserts and cocktails are included, too.

Why not start with Mallmann's recipe for grilled polenta slices with charred spinach and chiles?

Available here.
 

The Weekend Cook: Good Food for Real Life 

Angela Hartnett

London-based Angela Hartnett invites readers into her vibrant East End home in London – a far departure from her Murano restaurant in Mayfair – with 100 recipes, as well as time-saving tips and cheats. If you want to take the stress out of hosting, The Weekend Cook is a great place to start.

Available here.

A Waiter in Paris: Adventures in the Dark Heart of the City

Edward Chisholm

Lose yourself in Edward Chisholm's harrowing memoir of his time as a Parisian waiter, working in the underbelly of one of the most iconic cities in the world. See how he survives on snatched sleep, coffee, bread and cigarettes, and very little money in a demanding world that seems far removed from the posh dining rooms he works in.

Available here.

My America – Recipes From A Young Black Chef: A Cookbook

Kwame Onwuachi and Joshua David Stein

In a follow-up to his celebrated memoir, Notes from a Young Black Chef, James Beard Award-Winning chef and author Kwame Onwuachi’s My America offers up more culturally researched gems with Louisiana-Bronx flavours by way of Nigeria and the Caribbean. 

Available here.