You didn’t think I’d have a holiday gift guide and not include some books, did you? I ended up with so many great book gift ideas that I decided to pop them into their own post. You can check out the ‘non-book’ gift guide here.
Most of these books were released in 2016 (a seriously good year for cookbooks – I’ll be doing a ‘Best of’ list later in December) but there are a few that have been around for a bit – I most likely included them because they were part of a series or set.
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It seems like everyone was releasing a cookbook focused on the food that they liked to cook “when they were at home” or “for their family”. The ones that stood out for me this year were Appetites by Anthony Bourdain (his first cookbook in 10 years!), Everydaycook by Alton Brown and Cooking for Jeffrey by Ina Garten. (I own all of these and they are all lots of fun to cook from.)
For those who love to bake, I definitely think that Dorie’s Cookies by Dorie Greenspan will be on their wishlist.
If you’re looking to gift some Canadian content, check out Homegrown by Mairlyn Smith, which focuses on recipes featuring Canadian-grown ingredients. For the home cook, a incredibly useful set of cookbooks is the Rock Recipes series by Barry C. Parsons – Rock Recipes, Rock Recipes 2 and Rock Recipes Christmas. And for those on your list who love to eat out and cook at home, I highly recommend any of the City Cooks cookbooks by Figure 1 Publishing. These cookbooks feature chef profiles and recipes from the top restaurants in the title city. So far, the books in the collection include Toronto Cooks, Ottawa Cooks, Montreal Cooks, Edmonton Cooks, Calgary Cooks and Winnipeg Cooks.
Sushi lovers might appreciate getting a copy of Mastering the Art of Japanese Home Cooking by Masaharu Morimoto or Sushi: Jiro Gastronomy, a guide on how to eat sushi by master chef Jiro Ono, (the subject of the award-winning documentary Jiro Dreams of Sushi).
A great little reference book that just came out late November is the Cooks Book, a small, pocket-sized reference book with a a cover that is waterproof, tear-, chemical- and stain-resistant. Perfect for the experienced chef and new beginner alike.
For the younger food-lovers in your life, I would recommend the All Four Stars trilogy by Tara Dairman – All Four Stars, The Stars of Summer and Stars So Sweet. It features an adorable little food-critic, Gladys Gatsby and is perfect for the young foodie in your life (or young-at-heart foodie, as the case may be).
For the food lover in your life that also has a TV obsession, consider gifting them a cookbook inspired by their favourite shows. Some of my favourites include The Bob’s Burgers Burger Book by Loren Bouchard, A Feast of Ice and Fire: The Official Game of Thrones Companion Cookbook by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and Sariann Lehrer and Outlander Kitchen: The Official Outlander Companion Cookbook by Theresa Carle-Sanders.
And lastly, one of my favourite book ‘series’ to come out in recent years is by Matt Goulding. It’s still fairly new – there are only two books currently out – Rice, Noodle, Fish (Japan) and Grape, Olive, Pig (Spain) – but they are stunning guides to food and travel. I can’t wait for more books to be added to this culinary travel book series – I plan on owning them all!
Do you have any food books or cookbooks on your wishlist this year? Mine seems to grow longer every week, but leave me some more suggestions in the comments!
