Planning a Holiday? Books for your future adventures

When you are on an overseas trip, is it easy to order food other than McDonalds? Would you like to know what to say in response to friendly local’s greeting? Here are some resources on language, culture and food, perfect to read while you plan your next flight to escape the winter and wind.

  • Mango Languages is the free resources for learning key phrases to survive your next trip at many popular travel destinations such as Indonesia, France, Japan, and more.

Lonely Planet Fijian phrasebook & dictionary
“Dazzling sands, perfect palm trees and waters so blue they glow – Fiji’s beaches look airbrushed. While most Fiji locals can speak English, it’s not their mother tongue. Never be stuck for words with our extensive two-way dictionary; order the right meal with our menu decoder; refreshed look and improved navigation. Get more from your trip with easy-to-find phrases for every travel situation. Use our carefully selected words and phrases to get around with ease.” (Adapted from Amazon.com)

Japanese
“Rough Guide Japanese Phrasebook: a convenient, contemporary travel companion from Rough Guides’ trusted language experts. Compact, clear, and packed with key words and phrases to help conversation, this pocket-sized Japanese phrasebook is a trusty travel companion, and all you need to make yourself understood when you’re visiting Japan. With its emphasis on conversational usage, and pop language – this is the only phrase book you’ll need when exploring Japan.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

South Pacific phrasebook / Te ‘Atamira
“Your passport to the most relevant South Pacific phrases and vocabulary for all your travel needs. Chat over dinner with a local family in Fiji, understand the hula in Hawaii, and join a traditional umukai feast in Rarotonga. With language tools in your back pocket, you can truly get to the heart of wherever you go. Languages: Fijian, Hawaiian, Kanak languages, Maori, Niuean, Rapanui, Rarotongan Maori, Samoan, Tahitian, Tongan, Fijian Hindi, Pacific French and Spanish”. (Adapted from Amazon.com)

Flavours of South Australia : favourite restaurants, wineries and producers with their signature recipes
“You’ve never seen South Australia like this before. From farm gates to cellar doors and hidden bars to extraordinary restaurants, prepare to immerse yourself in the best of South Australia’s culinary scene. Within these pages you can journey from the remarkable restaurants in Adelaide to the world-renowned wineries and producers of the Barossa.” (Catalogue)

Tokyo : a pocket guide to the city’s best cultural hangouts, shops, bars and eateries / Wide, Steve
“Tokyo is a city of contemporary metropolis where there are bright lights and neon, bars under railway bridges, Michelin ramen and sushi, tech, toys, coffee and vintage shopping. The crazy, the cute, the chic and the traditional are all flourishing in this city. All you need to know to shop, eat, drink and explore. Also nearby places like Nikko, Hakone, Mount Takao, and the cute ‘Eno-den’ train from Kamakura to Enoshima and Fujisawa.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Korean BBQ & Japanese grills / Cramby, Jonas
“In Korean BBQ & Japanese Grills Jonas Cramby explores recipes of Korean and Japanese barbecue and culture. He shares his favourite recipes such as yakitori, yakiniku and izakaya-style classics and Korean BBQ. He also outlines how to perfectly ferment kimchi, how to grill indoors without choking and how to chill a refreshing lager without it turning to ice.  Simple salt and fire with the right practice and the right technique can turn into something sublime ” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Thai in 7 : delicious Thai recipes in 7 ingredients or fewer / Holmes, Sebby
“Thai recipes often has too many ingredients, so it becomes a cuisine we treat ourselves at a restaurant rather than cook at home. Author shows how to make deliciously fragrant and fiery Thai dishes with ingredients from supermarkets. From Drunken Noodles with Tiger Prawns and Sweet Basil to Yellow Curry with Mushrooms and Crispy Tofu with Soy & Sesame Glaze. Also pickles and desserts to make your taste buds tingle.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

 

 

Good food fast: Latest cookbooks

The month of March can sometimes feel like a busy one. Autumn is here, the universities have started back, and the evenings are slowly getting darker. This selection of new cookbooks share the same theme; quick, easy and delicious. There’s a new recipe to try for everyone in our collection!

Is this a cookbook? : adventures in the kitchen / Blumenthal, Heston
“Well, it’s full of Heston’s typically brilliant, delicious and inventive recipes. Every recipe is simple, straightforward and totally do-able. This is Heston at his most accessible. But there’s so much more. Each of the 70 recipes is accompanied by Heston’s thoughts, stories, insights and hacks, turning each cooking session into a journey that will excite and inspire and reveal a whole world of culinary possibilities and fresh perspectives. It’s the next best thing to having Heston as your sous-chef. So why not get in the kitchen and have an adventure?” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Good food fast : delicious recipes that won’t waste your time / Jonzen, Emily
“Discover over 80 simple recipes that can be thrown together in a flash, from speedy mid-week meals to relaxed weekend feasts for friends. Most can be on the table in 30 minutes tops.”–Back cover.” (Catalogue)

 

Real life recipes : fantastic fuss-free food / Kerridge, Tom
“The ultimate cookbook for simple everyday recipes that fit your needs and won’t break the bank.” (Catalogue)

 

 

 

The edgy veg : easy eats : quick, tasty, vegan / Hutchings, Candice
“In her follow-up to the bestselling The Edgy Veg: 138 Carnivore-Approved Vegan Recipes, Candice Hutchings, returns with Edgy Veg Easy Eats, a collection of brand new recipes that don’t sacrifice creativity or bold flavour for ease or time. In these delicious pages, you will find vegan food built differently.   Flip open to any page, and each recipe will take you no longer than 45 minutes to make, while never compromising your need for great taste. No more backbreaking, long-haul, wallet-robbing treks to the fancy health food store for you. In no time at all you will be serving up dinner with an attitude and a cheeky side.”– Provided by publisher.” (Adapted by Catalogue)

Pimp your air fryer / Grigg, Jake
“Pimp Your Air Fryer goes against what you think a cookbook is. Written by Jake Grigg, aka the Air Fryer Guy, it is a recipe book that is not only fun and light-hearted, but one that promotes creativity and challenges the fundamentals of cooking. The Air Fryer Guy is a TikTok and Instagram sensation. His videos went viral after he started making wacky recipes in his air fryer.  So, if you have just bought an air fryer and you are still learning the tricks of the trade, or if you are an air fryer OG and looking for some next-level hacks and creativity, this is the book for you!”–Publisher’s description.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Fool proof veggie one-pot : 60 vibrant and easy-going vegetarian dishes / Rosenthal, Alan
“Celebrate the essence and simplicity of one-pot cooking with everything from creamy pastas and risottos to fragrant curries and stir-fries, with 60 delicious and modern vegetarian recipes that are full of flavour”– Provided by publisher.” (Catalogue)

 

Go-to dinners : make ahead, freeze ahead, prep ahead, easy, assembled / Garten, Ina
“Cooking during the pandemic inspired Garten to rethink the way she approached dinner. Here she shares strategies for making delicious, satisfying, and uncomplicated dinners. Many of the recipes are freeze-ahead, make-ahead, prep-ahead, or simply assembled from leftovers from another dinner. She even shows you how to assemble amazing boards using store-bought ingredients! — adapted from front flap” (Catalogue)

Recipes for Local Food Week 25 Feb to 6 March

Local Food Week is an annual event that celebrates Wellington’s local food and food producers. Eating from resources that are around to keep you healthy and strong: kiwifruit and wild berries, pies and cakes, backyard treasures and fresh produce markets, kitchen and local restaurants, and much more.

The organic guide to edible gardens / Stackhouse, Jennifer
“Growing fruit and vegetables in your own backyard, and feeding your family with food freshly harvested can be extremely rewarding, and even better to grow naturally without chemicals. This fully illustrated guide to growing authentic produce at home from purchasing your first seedlings, understanding the growth cycle, sourcing biological fertilisers, controlling pests and diseases and ultimately sustaining healthy, organic edible plants.”  (Adapted from Amazon.co.uk)

A treasury of New Zealand baking
“One hundred recipes for cakes, slices, loaves, scones, tarts, muffins and friandes from a star-studded list of New Zealand food writers. The recipes include everything from glamour special-occasion cakes to every day fill-the-tins reliables. Every recipe was tested and baked especially for this project by well-known international baker and author Dean Brettschneider, and photographed by Aaron Maclean, and edited by New Zealand food ambassador extraordinaire, Lauraine Jacobs.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Eating clean, living paleo : New Zealand paleo cookbook / Devcich, Rachael
“New Zealand’s favourite cafes open their recipe books to share popular dishes from their menus. You will spot some familiar places from the 50 cafes up and down the country, and be shown how to recreate their signature breakfasts, brunches, lunches and baked treats. The perfect road trip companion book to flick through over a flat white; a celebration of our thriving cafe culture and the places, people and food that make it special”. (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Forager’s cocktails : botanical mixology with fresh ingredients / Zavatto, Amy
“From fresh produce markets to speakeasies, delectable drinks made from foraged and grown ingredients are trendy to hit mixology. Full of mouth-watering colour photos, this handy guide offers 40 inspiring recipes, tips for foraging and preserving seasonal berries, herbs, flowers, and more. It’s a luscious toolkit for crafting tasty and unique cocktails from backyards and woodlands. Raise your glass to making the most of nature’s bounty!” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

My family table : simple wholefood recipes from ‘Petite Kitchen’ / Ozich, Eleanor
“Eleanor’s unique approach to food styling and photography showcases the simplicity of her food in a natural, down-to-earth style that is fresh and inspiring. Eleanor presents over 100 wonderfully simple, nourishing and wholesome recipes. She takes some classic family favourites and adds her own wholesome, creative twist, and using plenty of herbs and aromatic flavours for scrumptious taste combinations.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

The complete New Zealand seafood cookbook
“From smoked fish pie and whitebait fritters to fish burgers, gumbo and paella, all of your favourite seafood dishes are here in this cookbook. This book also has tips on catching, handling, purchasing and storing fish; preparing fish at home, including scaling, gutting, filleting, boning and skinning, as well as cleaning and preparing shellfish; cooking seafood, including pan-frying, barbecuing, steaming, poaching and baking; and how to choose the ideal seafood option for a meal. ” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Tahua-roa, korare = Food for your visitors, Māori green vegetables : their history and tips on their use / Roskruge, Nick
“Nick Roskruge, Massey University horticulture and Maori resource development lecturer, introduces over 30 korare, or Maori green vegetables sourced from freshwater or coastal areas, the forest or bush, as crops, or as weeds. eg: kokihi, puha, porporo, kopakopa, rerewai and many others. This illustrated book aims to increase knowledge of korare by histories and practical everyday recipes, whakapapa and nutritional values.” (Adapted from the Catalogue)

New Zealand café cookbook : recipes you love from your favourite cafés
“New Zealand’s favourite cafes open their recipe books to share best-loved quintessential kiwi dishes from their menus. As you discover recipes from 50 cafes, you’ll spot some familiar places, and their signature breakfasts, brunches, lunches and baked treats. The perfect road trip companion book to flick through over a flat white; a celebration of our thriving cafe culture, places, and people. (Adapted from the Catalogue)

Food, Glorious Food

Is there anything quite as comforting to read about than food? Be it the biography of a chef or food critic, a history of a particular food, or just a really good cook book, books about food have been a favourite for generations. Here are some books in our collection that you might like to sink your teeth into:

Scoff : a history of food and class in Britain / Vogler, Pen
“Avocado or beans on toast? Gin or claret? Nut roast or game pie? Milk in first or milk in last? And do you have tea, dinner or supper in the evening? In this fascinating social history of food in Britain, Pen Vogler examines the origins of our eating habits and reveals how they are loaded with centuries of class prejudice. Bringing together evidence from cookbooks, literature, artworks and social records from 1066 to the present, Vogler traces the changing fortunes of the food we encounter today, and unpicks the aspirations and prejudices of the people who have shaped our cuisine for better or worse.” (adapted from catalogue)

A cook’s tour : in search of the perfect meal / Bourdain, Anthony
“Inspired by the question, ‘What would be the perfect meal?’, Anthony sets out on a quest for his culinary holy grail. Our adventurous chef starts out in Japan, where he eats traditional Fugu, a poisonous blowfish which can be prepared only by specially licensed chefs. He then travels to Cambodia, up the mine-studded road to Pailin into autonomous Khmer Rouge territory and to Phnom Penh’s Gun Club, where local fare is served up alongside a menu of available firearms. In Saigon, he’s treated to a sustaining meal of live Cobra heart before moving on to savor a snack with the Viet Cong in the Mecong Delta. A Cook’s Tour recounts, in Bourdain’s inimitable style, the adventures and misadventures of America’s favorite chef.” (adapted from catalogue)

Hungry : a memoir of wanting more / Dent, Grace
“From an early age, Grace Dent was hungry. As a little girl growing up in Currock, Carlisle, she yearned to be something bigger, to go somewhere better. Hungry traces Grace’s story from growing up eating beige food to becoming one of the much-loved voices on the British food scene. It’s also everyone’s story – from treats with your nan, to cheese and pineapple hedgehogs, to the exquisite joy of cheaply-made apple crumble with custard. Warm, funny and joyous, Hungry is also about love and loss, the central role that food plays in all our lives, and how a Cadbury’s Fruit ‘n’ Nut in a hospital vending machine can brighten the toughest situation.” (adapted from catalogue)

In the devil’s garden : a sinful history of forbidden food / Allen, Stewart Lee
“Among the foods thought to encourage Lust, the love apple (now known as the tomato), has become the world’s most popular vegetable. But until the nineteenth century the love apple was considered Satanic by many because of its similarity to the mandrake, a plant believed to be possessed by demonic spirits. Filled with Incredible history and the author’s travels to many exotic locales, In the Devil’s Garden also features recipes like the Matzoh-ball stews outlawed by the Spanish Inquisition and the forbidden “chocolate champagnes” of the Aztecs. This is truly a delectable book that will be consumed by food lovers, culinary historians, amateur anthropologists, and armchair travellers alike.” (adapted from catalogue)

Toast / Slater, Nigel
“TOAST is top food writer Nigel Slater’s eat-and-tell autobiography. Detailing all the food, recipes and cooking that have marked his passage from greedy schoolboy to great food writer, this is also a catalogue of how the British have eaten over the last three decades.” (Catalogue)

 

 

Ultimate food journeys : the world’s best dishes & where to eat them
“[A] book for food-lovers with an interest in travel–and ardent travelers with a passion for food. … [also] has helpful sightseeing itineraries, hotel recommendations, and hundreds of restaurant choices.” (Catalogue)

 

Plenty : a memoir of food & family / Howard, Hannah
“A moving reflection on motherhood, friendship, and women making their mark on the world of food from the author of Feast” (Catalogue)

 

 

 

Chocolate wars : from Cadbury to Kraft : 200 years of sweet success and bitter rivalry / Cadbury, Deborah
“Beginning with an account of John Cadbury, who founded the first Cadbury’s coffee and chocolate shop in Birmingham in 1824, ‘Chocolate Wars’ goes on to chart the astonishing transformation of the company’s fortunes under his grandson George. But while the Cadbury dynasty is the fulcrum of the narrative, this is also the story of their Quaker rivals, the Frys and Rowntrees, and their European competitors, the Nestles, Suchards and Lindts. These rivalries drove the formation of the huge chocolate conglomorates that still straddle the corporate world today, and have first call on our collective sweet tooth.” (adapted from catalogue)

Bread & butter : history, culture, recipes / Snapes, Richard
“A celebration of bread and butter’s divine partnership, covering history, culture and recipes.” (Catalogue)

 

 

 

Special bonus read:

Food isn’t medicine : challenge nutribollocks & escape the diet trap / Wolrich, Joshua
“The first NHS doctor to take a public stand against diet culture and empower you to do the same. Losing weight is not your life’s purpose. Do carbs make you fat? Could the keto diet cure mental health disorders? Are eggs as bad for you as smoking? No, no and absolutely not. It’s all what Dr Joshua Wolrich defines as ‘nutribollocks’ and he is on a mission to set the record straight. As an NHS doctor with personal experience of how damaging diets can be, he believes every one of us deserves to have a happy, healthy relationship with food and with our bodies. His message is clear- we need to fight weight stigma, call out the lies of diet culture and give ourselves permission to eat all foods. Food Isn’t Medicine wades through nutritional science (both good and bad) to demystify the common diet myths that many of us believe without questioning. If you have ever wondered whether you should stop eating sugar, try fasting, juicing or ‘alkaline water’, or struggled through diet after diet (none of which seem to work), this book will be a powerful wake-up call. Drawing on the latest research and delivered with a dose of humour, it not only liberates us from the destructive belief that weight defines health but also explains how to spot the misinformation we are bombarded with every day. Dr Joshua Wolrich will empower you to escape the diet trap and call out the bad health advice for what it really is: complete nutribollocks.” (Catalogue)