Books;
Five Recommended Cookery Books Africa News January 27, 2013 Sunday
By
the way of database Lexis Nexus, consulted at 10-3-2013.
Africa News
January 27, 2013 Sunday
With several festivities
running back to back in the last couple of months, I thought I would close my
special edition of five favourite books with some of my favourite
cookery books. We have had Christmas, New Year
and just recently the marking of the holy Prophet of Mohammed's birthday, Eid
el Maulud. We all know that in this season of challenges, one of the things
that binds us together and makes us so similar is our celebration with food,
our community cooking and our sharing. At least
when I was growing up we got food from our neighbours whatever the celebration
and we sent food too. It did not matter where we were from or what our
religious inclinations were. I believe we still maintain this tradition in most
parts of the country. Food involves community; it's about family and
friendships and keeps our memories alive.
I love cooking. I
enjoy it and can cook up a storm from any part of the world. From Chinese to
Arabic, to English, to Indian. I cook many Nigerian dishes as well. It is a
gift in my family. For every meal from Jollof rice to ogbono and ob'egwa to
Ochokwu, I have given my own personal twist. But for me everything is a
learning curve, no matter how much you know, so I am a sucker for cookery books. Here are some of my favourites. African Pot by Shimite
Katung. This is a well written recipe book following
on the very popular television programme by the same name presented by Shimite.
As a television producer myself, I found Shimite's programme very exciting. I
followed her through most parts of Nigeria and selected parts of Africa. Her
charm and willingness to try different meals without any bias endeared me to
her and the programme. Then bam, she wrote a book to
share her recipes. A really handy book in the kitchen for everyone
but also a delightful book to give as a gift to a
foreign visitor.
Jamie Oliver's popular 15
minute meals is one of the most popular cookbooks in the market. One of
Britain's biggest celebrity cooks overreaches himself in this book which has overtaken J.K Rowling's The casual vacancy, at
the top of the UK Christmas book sales. Nutritious and quick
recipes all creatively delivered is a book all cooking aficionados must have and for those who can't cook
and wont cook. It's quite easy to follow. And because Jamie has been in the
forefront of introducing healthy foods to UK school children, it's a healthy
cookery book choice.
Diabetic cookbook. You don't
have to be ill or even diabetic to get one of these. We spend too much eating
fried foods and oily stuff when we should be eating more vegetables and more
fruits. The diabetic cookbook helps you with a healthy lifestyle and teaches
you how to eat what is right in moderation.
Any Indian cook book will do. I buy any one that catches my fancy. I have
loads of Indian cook books, it's hard to choose my
favourite Tip. If you can afford it, pick up any Indian cookbook today.Cooking Indian is an exciting escapade. Their spices are
unbelievable. Esoteric and delightful. Use in moderation if you are a first
time cook of Indian recipes.
African American Poet Laureate
and award winning writer Maya Angelou's Halleluyah, the welcome table, is an
exciting cookery book with a story for each
recipe. It is essentially a collection of some of the finest African
American cooking, each one presented with its
unique story. The collection includes Oprah Winfrey's favourite meal whenever
she visits Maya. This book is a collector's item.
Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen
Confidential, while not a cookery book, is a book about
the travels and the cooking of a crazy
celebrity book. I laughed and cried and
laughed again when I read thisbook. It is so totally hilarious
and includes the story of Anthony getting a commission to bake for a wedding,
even though he had no training or skills in cake baking.
Isabel Allende's Aphrodite is
making its third appearance in this column. It is an interesting mix of
stories, anecdotes on the correlation between food and love, research on food
and contains a generous dose of hilarity. It also contains a set of recipes in
the back of the book. Recipes by Isabel's mother. It is a delicious book.
My motivation and opinion
about this article
I have
chosen this article because the writer of it has a clear view of what a good
cookbook should be about. I know of course this is a subjective view. Everybody
has another opinion about what a good cook book should be about. But this
person named a couple of things I think these are important for a lot of
people. A good cook book should have a nice appearance. Also people have a busy
life so there is little time left for cooking. The cookbook of Jamie Oliver is
good selling because there are nice recipes in it that can be made in 15
minutes. A cook book should also be suitable for all kind of persons, so even
for people that are not rather good in cooking. All things have to be explained
in a clear way. Another development is that the importance of healthy food is
increasing. All these things have influence if a cook book is a good cookbook.
When it does not fit these features the chance of selling well is little. These
features will also influence the success of “Puurst”, but at a different way. “Puurst”
and the Librije are aimed at a different target group than the most other cook
books. It is especially aimed at a rich target group with a big love for high
end cuisine. This people want not a dinner that is easy to make and tastes
good, but a culinary achievement. So some of the features I named above are
important for Librije but not all of them, like the 15 minutes recipes of Jamie
Oliver. My opinion is that it is good that there are all kind of cook books.
Everybody thinks different of what is important and it is all right. As a
producer of a cook book you only have to make a decision on what you would aim
at. Or simple, easy to make and nice dishes or expensive, difficult to make and
a high culinary experience. It is almost not possible to match both of them.
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