Favourite chef Yotam Ottolenghi is popping in for a virtual event with Bookshop.org on 10th November, talking about his favourite books that explore the joy of food.
Yotam’s list includes recipe books, biographies, novels, and social histories to inform, inspire and capture the imagination, all of which are available on the book-buying platform that allows customers to support independent bookshops. Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl and Cook, Eat, Repeat by Nigella Lawson all feature, alongside Empire Falls by Richard Russo and Heartburn by Nora Ephron.
The list has been shared on Bookshop.org ahead of his online event which will take place on Wednesday 10th November at 7pm. Yotam and Noor Murad will be taking the audience through the ingredients and elements behind Ottolenghi's new book, Test Kitchen: Shelf Love, sharing the secrets of the Ottolenghi Test Kitchen and discussing how it is possible to cook with less stress and less fuss, but with all the 'wow' of an Ottolenghi meal.
Part of a two-book series, Shelf Love was inspired by the OTK team’s own experience in lockdown, “when we’ve all been standing in front of our kitchen shelves, cupboards and fridges, wondering what to cook with what we’ve got; how to put a can of chickpeas or a bag of frozen peas to good use, instead of taking an extra trip to the shops”.
Access to the event is free when you buy (or have already bought) a copy of Shelf Love from a participating independent bookshop or via Bookshop.org. The link to the event will be emailed to you on the day, 10 November.
Yotam Ottolenghi's full list of recommended reads includes...
· Empire Falls by Richard Russo
· Heartburn by Nora Ephron
· How to Cook a Wolf by Mr F K Fisher
· The Flavour Equation by Nick Sharma
· The Flavour Thesaurus by Nikki Segnit
· Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain
· One: Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones
· Cooked by Michael Pollan
· Consider the Fork by Bee Wilson
· First Bite by Bee Wilson
· Cook, Eat, Repeat by Nigella Lawson
· Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison
· Falastin by Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley
· The Food of Sichuan by Fuchsia Dunlop
· The Whole Fish by Josh Niland
· How to Eat A Peach by Diana Henry
· Five Quarters: Recipes and Notes from a Kitchen in Rome by Rachel Roddy
· Hartwood: Bright, Wild Flavours from the Edge of the Yucatan by Eric Werner and Mya Henry
· Vegetable Book by Jane Grigson
· Scoff: A History of Food and Class in Britain by Pen Vogler
· Lunch at 10 Pomegranate Street by Felicita Sala
· Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl
· Max and Moritz by Wilhelm Busch
· One More Croissant for the Road by Felicity Cloake
· Like Water for Chocolate by Laura Esquivel
· Delicious! By Ruth Reichel
· The Cook’s Companion by Stephanie Alexander
Yotam Ottolenghi, author of Shelf Love, said: “There is a world of books about food out there - the bookshelves at my test kitchen are a testament to that. In this selection of some of my favourites, you'll find recipe books, biographies, novels, and social histories to inform, inspire and capture the imagination. Each book tells wonderful stories that explore the essential, universal joy that can be found in food.”
Yotam joins a growing number of authors to share a curated reading list on Bookshop.org, such as: Elena Ferrante, Malorie Blackman, Nikesh Shukla, Emma Gannon, Marian Keyes and many more. Author reading lists on Bookshop.org have proven to have a tangible impact on sales figures for the books they feature, shining a light on many lesser known works beyond bestseller lists.
