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Best Sellers for July 2006
Heat
Bill Buford
If you have now finished My Life in France and are looking for
another food book to read then pick up this latest arrival. It couldn't be more
different, but no less passionate, or well written. A highly readable book from
this engaging former New Yorker writer.
When Mario Batali invites amateur home cook Buford to work at Babbo,
well, you can imagine what ensues when you have a dysfunctional group of people
in a cramped area with sharp objects, hot equipment, who really
don't like each other, yes, welcome to the Babbo kitchen! Buford combines humour,
kitchen soap opera drama, the common goal of perfection on every plate and a
highly volatile Batali to keep the rollicking pace. When Buford heads off to
Italy however, the pace lags somewhat as he sets to work with the Dante quoting
butcher. In spite of this his layman's curiosity as to the origins
of Italian food, ingredients & techniques both at Babbo and in Italy keeps
the reader engaged. And you will never again order pasta after 10 pm in a restaurant!
Hardcover, 319 pp. $32.95
 2. Best of Heartsmart
Bonnie Stern
At
last all those best loved recipes from the Heartsmart series are back with 100
fab new recipes bringing a more global and contemporary feel to this well received
edition from Toronto doyen of all things culinary, Bonnie Stern. One of the best
brunch sections with healthier options for all your breakfast favourites. Softcover,
480 pp. $34.95.
3.Cheapeats Toronto
2006 edition
This latest edition of the best selling guide sends the reader to neighbourhood
hidden gems that are also gratefully, inexpensive. Breakfast, lunch and dinner
- no stone is left unturned in the quest for good cheap eats. You will delight
in finding new places to spend your hard earned dollar; indexes are organized
by neighbourhoods as well as cuisines. Also included celebrity favourites, Olivia
Chow's fav? Bright Pearl Restaurant on Spadina. Rick Mercer? The Detroit Eatery
on the Danforth. Softcover, $11.95.
4. Molecular Gastronomy
Herve This
5. Apples for Jam
Tessa Kiros
Like Nigella Lawson, Nigel Slater and a handful of others, Tess
Kiros (Twelve,$34.95 and Falling Cloudberries,
$45.00) is more than a recipe writer. Aided by Lisa
Greenberg’s art direction, Kiros conjures up the atmosphere which lifts
her homey foods –fish pie, tomato lasagne, hamburger patties—from
the humble to the exceptional. We have one criticism—the silvery print
is hard to read. Colour photos. Hardcover, 417pp, $45.00.
6. Rhubarb: More than Just Pies
Sandi Vitt and Michael Hickman
Except for asparagus, nothing else says "Spring!" so much as rhubarb.
This little book has just about every way to use rhubarb: beverages, condiments,
preserves and desserts, desserts, desserts. Softcover, 144 pp, $14.95.
7. Heaven on Earth Project
Michael Stadtlander
A celebration of food and its connection to the earth, Michael Stadtlander's
first book chronicles his summer 2005 Heaven on Earth project, following the
chef and his apprentices from planting to consuming the fruits of their labours.
Colour photos. Hardcover, 97 pp, $90.00.
8. Nasty Bits
Anthony Bourdain
Bourdain is back with his candid and over the top passion for food. A writer/chef
who is never afraid to take on the establishment and the activists, individually
or at the same time, in the quest for taste. Hardcover, 288 pp. $29.95.
9. The Silver Spoon
The trick for the team translating this classic Italian book(originally published
in 1950, now in its eighth edition) for English-speaking cooks was to balance
the English tendency to over-explain with the opposite impulse amongst Italians.
While shifting this balance and substituting ingredients where certain products
were unavailable outside of Italy, the team which included Tom Norrington-Davies
has managed to maintain The Silver Spoon’s distinctly
Italian character. Along with its 2000 recipes, this edition also features menus
from some of the most-renowned Italian chefs from the past 50 years. Mario Batalia,
Lidia Bastianich, Ruth Rogers and Rose Gray, and Aldo Zilli are among the group
of farflung chefs. Colour photos.
Hardcover, 1263 pp, $59.95.
10. Jamie's Italy
Jamie Oliver
One of the great delights of this business has been watching the maturation
of Jamie Oliver. In this culinary tour of Italy he celebrates the food which
played
a major part in his early career with Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers at the River
Café, with Gennaro Contaldo, with Antonio Carlucci. There are some less
familiar versions of well-known dishes including some particularly seductive
risottos, one with artichoke, another with cauliflower. Not just content to
pass along recipes, Oliver also creates a sense of the place and of the personalities
which have shaped them and perhaps himself. Wonderful photograph of landscapes,
food, and people. Hardcover, 319 pp, $49.95.
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