Essential Food Books

These are some favourites and are divided, roughly, into books with recipes and those that are primarily text. All are essential to the creation of a truly rounded library on all things culinary. There will be additions from time to time, particularly before the Christmas shopping season.

Some are a really good read, gastro-candy of the first order. Others are invaluable resources. Finally there are my personal treasures, books which I will leave in my will. They are the ones that I never ever lend...but I do buy copies for my best friends.

Have a great read!

Those with important cultural significance to Canada are marked

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These are works of literature…some of my absolute favourites … many have been on my shelves for years. New reviews will be added on a regular basis.

The Physiology of Taste, Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, trans. Anne Dayton, London: Penguin, 1970. Maturing in 19th century France Brillat-Savarin joined the ranks of serious writers and social commentators that helped to create the foundation of French ‘cuisine’ as we now know it.

The Art of Eating M.F.K Fisher, New York: Vintage, 1976. This is a must-read. Mary Frances had the courage not only to write sensuously about food but to also tell tales on herself. For me this is would be a desert-island book.

The Latke Who Couldn’t Stop Screaming ~ A Christmas Story  by Lemony Snicket. Pure holiday silliness! (McSweeneys Books)   

The Cook's Book by Jill Norman - this is a real picture book with step by step instructions from some of the world's most influential chefs including Ferran Adria, Charlie Trotter and David Thompson, the leading expert on Thai cookery. (Dorling Kindersley, 2005)

On Food and Cooking (Revised Edition) Harold McGee has written the best How and Why food book anywhere. McGee, who is all over the world consulting and working with restaurateurs like Adria (see above) and Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck in London, England actually UNDERSTANDS molecular gastronomy. (Scribner 2004)

The Wilder Shores of Gastronomy, 20 Years of the Best Food Writing ed. Alan Davidson, Ten Speed Press, Berkeley / Toronto, 2003.
There are few who have contributed more to the global understanding of foodways than the late Alan Davidson. I love this book – it’s esoteric and full of great writings.

ICEWINE – Extreme Winemaking by Donald Ziraldo and Karl Kaiser (Key Porter 2007) Karl Kaiser has finally written his ideas on Ice wine production.  Following the introductory text on from Cooperage to Cold Hardiness, Kaiser really gets into it.  This is Ice Wine making 101 and beyond.  And it has history…with Kaiser’s harvests from 1983 – 2006.  As important as this book is today, it will take on still more importance in the coming years as Niagara’s wine making community grows and achieves more recognition.  And one must remember that it was Karl Kaiser’s 1989 Vidal ice wine that won Canada’s FIRST international medal at Vinexpo in 1991.   He’s a viticultural genius and we are blessed to have him here in Canada

Consider the Oyster: A Shucker's Field Guide, Patrick McMurray, champion oyste shucker and Toronto restaurateur (Starfish is a great oyster bar), has written an invaluable guide to these delicous shellfish.(McClelland & Stewart, 2007)

Our Sustainable Table, ed. Robert Clark. Berkeley: North Point Press, 1990.
The writings of Berry and Moore-Lappé are only two of the gems within this book. Others are from Alice Waters (Chez Panisse) and Edward Behr (newsletter called The Art of Eating), both great American food professionals.

The Oxford Companion to FOOD, Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 1999.
This massive volume by the late Alan Davidson is a book that will never leave my library. As a reference book for world food, there is none better.

A Taste of History: Québec’s Gastronomy, Marc Lafrance & Yvon Desloges, Les Editions de la Chenelière, Quebec 1989
A bi-lingual look at the culinary history of old Québec. For students of the culinary tradition, it is a must. Well-researched and easy to read.

Chow: from China to Canada: Memories of Food + Family, Janice Wong has written a gentle book with images and recipes that are reminiscent of a family album. (Whitecap, 2005)

The Pudding That Took A Thousand Cooks (In North America the title is A History of Cooks and Cooking) , Michael Symons, Victoria (Australia) Viking, 1998.

Looking for Flavour, Barbara Santich, South Australia: Wakefield Press, 1996.
Michael Symons and Barbara Santich are the co-founders of the Symposium on Australian Gastronomy and two of the world’s most respected culinary academics. They are both very readable and are noted for being thorough researchers.

A Shared Table: Ideas for Australian Cuisine, Michael Symons
Canberra: Australian Government Publishing Service, 1993

Eating My Words, Eve Johnson, Whitecap: Vancouver 2003.
Eve’s work really must be read. It’s gentle, intelligent and infinitely good-natured.

NOTE: For hard to find and out of print books, try www.abebooks.com. This site links with all sorts of used book stores around the world. Actually, it’s a bit dangerous because one can get lost in it for hours.

Essential Cookbooks

Simply in Season by Mary Beth Lind and Cathleen Hockman-Wert (Herald Press, Waterloo, Ontario 2005).  This is a terrific book for those who wish to cook locally and live in a more northerly climate where winter is our reality. It has the same feel as the More With Less Cookbook that I love (see below).  But it’s divided into seasonal dishes…which is really important.  Most other cookbooks tend to assume you can get corn year round.  In this one, it’s a summer crop.  Winter is very well handled with recipes that speak to the season.

The More with Less Cookbook (Mennonite Central Committee, Doris Janzen Longacre, Herald Press, 1976 / 2000. This was /is ethical cooking based on the international experiences of aid workers around the globe - from Mexico to Africa - a sign of the times.lots of granola..and if that didn't suit, you could make grape nuts. I learned to understand skim milk powder.

Cooking with Foods that Fight Cancer by Richard Belliveau and Denis Gingras (McClelland & Stewart 2007) and its 2005 predecessor  Foods that Fight Cancer (McClelland & Stewart). The summary of foods of that earlier book is excellent …tomatoes, berries, all the brassicas…kale and so forth.  Then you can simply cook them as you’d like.

A Year at Les Fougères We wonder about the meaning of ‘terroir’  Get this book after you’ve read the Santich volume and it becomes crystalline.  The restaurant Les Fougères (translation: fiddleheads) is located just outside of Chelsea, Quebec in the rolling oftimes snowy Gatineaus.  I don’t know another eating establishment in Canada that has a Mission Statement emblazoned on their website www.fougeres.com.  Owners Charles Part and Jennifer Warren-Part have created a holistic place that the recipes in the book reflect that dedication and a seasonal celebration of the most local foods from Rabbit (Hare) ragout with Seville Orange Marmalade and Rosemary Gnocchi  to Maple-sugar-cured Gravlax.

New World Provence ~ Modern French Cooking for Friends and Family Alessandra and Jean-Francis Quaglia met in Provence and settled in Vancouver where they've opened two top flight restaurants. They call this French cooking but it's really Canadian...but cooked with all the flavours and freshness of the south of France. The ingredients reflect the British Columbian bounty...from rockfish and halibut to prawns and Dungeness crab. It's a fabulous book! (Arsenal Pulp Press, 2007).

Where People Feast: An Indigenous People’s Cookbook by Dolly and Annie Watts (Arsenal Pulp Press 2007). For years they ran the Liliget Feast House in Vancouver and cooked their First Nations foods.  The recipes generously share their ingredients ….Seaweed Salmon Roe Soup like one I ate in Bella Bella years ago and the dish that made Dolly famous, Just Like Grandma’s Bannock. 

King of the Q's Blue Plate BBQ. Ted Reader has done it again. This is one of the best BBQ books I've seen in ages. It's worth buying the book for the chapter on marinades, pastes and rubs. (Harper Collins 2007)

Menus from an Orchard Table: Celebrating the Food and Wine of the Okanagan. Heidi Noble settled in the Okanagan and opened a beautiful B&B she named Joie. There she taught and wrote while caring for guests. Menus, recipes and gorgeous images. (Whitecap 2007)

Dish Entertains by Trish Magwood (Harper Collins, Canada 2007).  A lovely volume with lots of approachable but delicious sounding recipes.    This IS an cookbook to use for entertaining ….and it’d be something I’d give as a gift for someone who loves to eat but is hesitant to cook for friends.    No fail roast chicken….Seared duck breast with sour cherries and port…YUM

The Best of Gourmet: Sixty Five Years ~ Sixty Five Favorite Recipes. As a teenager in a very rural town, Gourmet magazine opened up the world for me. This book is a well-tested compendium of recipes over the years. It's a culinary history of food in North America. (Conde Nast/Random House 2007)

Quick and Easy Recipes from The New York Times Mark Bittman, who's known to many as The Minimalist on Times On Line, is one of a rare breed of truly casual cooks. He has no pretensions and he LOVES to create simple food with lots of flavour. Not a glamorous book, it is one that I give as gift just because of the recipes. They rock! (Broadway Books 2007)

The Complete Book of Small Batch Preserving, Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard, (Firefly, 2007) If we are to be true to the Eat Local dictum, we’re going to have to start re-learning the art of preserving.  With books like this one, super-cooks Ellie Topp and Margaret Howard have tackled the subject for their second “revised and expanded” edition. Topp and Howard have been around the Canadian food scene for many years, teaching, demonstrating and writing about how to prolong the harvest by using the freshest ingredients at the peak of ripeness – all year long!   They are experts and the 300 recipes that they’ve pulled together for this book demonstrate it, from the most traditional Icicle Pickles and Mustard Pickle to ethnic favourites like Sri Lankan Brinjal Pickle Relish and Thai Chili Sauce to seasonal treats such as Brandied Apricot Preserve and Festive Cranstrawberry Jam.  This is a book that should be wide open on every kitchen counter.

A Century of Canadian Home Cooking, Carol Ferguson and Marg Fraser, Prentice-Hall, 1992 This book is the finest retrospective on the evolution of Canadian food ever written. Period.

L'EQUILIBRE en Cuisine (Communiplex 2006) This is a superb book, self-published by Quebec City's super star chef, Jean Soulard. Written for his French fans, it is a glorious, full colour publication with recipes that he has developed over his many years of being both a gourmande and an athelete. Look for it in fine bookstores in Quebec City. The publishing imprint is Communiplex.

Arab Cooking on a Saskatchewan Homestead: recipes and recollections. Habeeb Salloum tells an unusual story of Canadian settlement all woven around food and gardening and, of course, the kitchen table. (Canadian Plains Research Centre, Regina, Saskatchewan 2005)

Food That Really Schmecks, Edna Staebler, McGraw Hill/ Ryerson, 1968 When I received this book as a Christmas present from my mom who'd heard Edna speak at her University Women's Club in Mount Forest, Ontario, I thought I'd come upon a kindred spirit. In fact, I had. This is one of the finest examples of regional cookery writing that has ever been done in Canada. Edna was a story teller who love to eat and cook and shared both with her friends.

Out of Old Nova Scotia Kitchens. Marie Nightingale, Nimbus, Halifax . First published in 1970, this ultimately regional cookbook took readers into the kitchens of cooks from across the province. It is a true Canadian classic!

Kate Aitken’s Canadian Cookbook, Kate Aitken, Introduction by Elizabeth Driver, Whitecap Books, 2004.
This classic book by the beloved writer/broadcaster is one of our national classics. Thank God Whitecap was wise enough to reprint it for this generation of cooks.

DiscCookery by Jurgen Gothe is as quirky as a recipe collection can get. Issued in sync with the 20th anniversary of his CBC Radio 2 show, Disc Drive, Gothe has paired recipes with wine and, naturally, with music. "Baked Cholesterol must be drunk with Bollinger Champagne while listening to Booker T." (Whitecap 2005).

Anna and Michael Olson cook at home: recipes for every day and every occasion Michael and Anna Olson, AND Anna’s Another Cup of Sugar   Anna and Micheal are the dynamic duo of Canadian cookbook writing. Michael, a strident proponent of Canadian regional cuisine, was the founding chef at On the Twenty, Niagara's first restaurant featuring local ingredients. Anna was the pastry chef at that same fabulous eatery. (Both books are by Whitecap)

Nellie Lyle Pattinson’s Canadian Cook Book Ed. Helen Wattie and Elinor Donaldson, McGraw-Hill / Ryerson, 1969 (first printed in 1919)
Few have heard of Nellie Lyle Pattinson or her Canadian Cook Book – this is my second copy…the first just fell apart. I made dozens of gingerbread houses with the recipe in this old book…figured out the dimensions – and sold them to buy presents for my kids.
It’s been updated since 1919….how’s that for staying power?
Anne Desjardins Cooks at L'eau a la Bouche, The Seasonal Cuisine of Quebec, Anne Desjardins, Douglas and McIntyre, 2003. Culturally significant works appear from time to time. Anne Desjardins' drop dead gorgeous work from L'eau a la Bouche, may be the most important book that has ever been written in Canada on new Canadian regional / seasonal cuisine.

Home Baking, The Artful Mix of Flour and Tradition around the World, Jeffrey Alford and Naomi Duguid, Random House, 2003. Another magnificent glossy compendium of baking from their repertoire of travels. These are internationally acclaimed writers. They don't get any better..and they are Canadian!

The Complete Canadian Living Cookbook, 350 inspired recipes from Elizabeth Baird and the kitchen Canadians trust most, Random House, 2001. "350 inspired recipes from Elizabeth Baird and the kitchen Canadians trust most," How's that for a great sales pitch on a cover.?? This book really DOES reflect our country.from Lavash bread and oatcakes to cedar planked salmon.

A Taste of Quebec, Julian Armstong, McMillan Publishing, 1990 To understand the foods of Quebec, one must look to the very strong traditions of the regions. Aside from the excellent recipes, this books significance is largely due to the fact that Armstrong took a risk and wrote it in English. It has recently been re-printed.

La cuisine traditionelle en Acadie, Marielle Cormier Boudreau et Melvin Gallant, éditions d'acadie, 1975 Recently released in English, this book is essential for anyone who wishes to understand Acadian food.

Any works by Micheline Montgrain-Dontingy, Editions La Bonne Recette. From her earliest French books like La Cuisine Traditionelle de Charlevoix to her more recent Traditional Quebec Cooking and Eastern Townships Traditional Cooking, Mongrain-Dontigny has become one of the leading authorities on the food traditions of her home province.

More from Ace Bakery: Recipes For and With Bread, Linda Haynes, Whitecap, 2006. The recipes are really excellent...not only for bread but for dozens of accompaniments.

Out To Brunch - Donna Dooher and Claire Stubbs, The Cookworks, 2002. Donna Dooher and Claire Stubbs wrote The Out To Brunch Cookbook which won Gold in the Cuisine Canada book award. In a word - YUM-these recipes from Mildred Pierce Restaurant is a testament to the fact that self-publishing CAN work..and it's infinitely better than getting them written on a paper napkin.

Nellie Lyle Pattinson's Canadian Cook Book Ed. Helen Wattie and Elinor Donaldson, McGraw-Hill / Ryerson, 1969 (first printed in 1919) Few have heard of Nellie Lyle Pattinson or her Canadian Cook Book - this is my second copy.the first just fell apart. I made dozens of gingerbread houses with the recipe in this old book.figured out the dimensions - and sold them to buy presents for my kids. It's been updated since 1919..how's that for staying power.

 

Margo Oliver's Most Treasured Recipes, Margo Oliver, 1977 Margo broke new ground with her columns in Weekend Magazine. In our rush for "New" we often forget some of these superb authors like Oliver and Benoit and Aitken.

 

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