Some great places for your festive food shopping
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 | Rathdowne Cellars - North Carlton - fiercely independent
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 | | Bill's Farm - at the Queen Vic Market |
Great place for cheese, deli meats, specialty products etc
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 | | Oceanmade - Collingwood |
Checkout the retail list available.
Visit Our Sponsor |
 | | Enoteca Sileno |
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 | | Dolcetti |
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We're the Official Bookseller for the Melbourne Wine & Food Festival 2012
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 | Melbourne Wine & Food Festival 2012 - 20th Anniversary
Book Now for the Masterclass Weekend. Don't Miss Out! |
Visit Our Sponsor |
 | | Scullerymade |
For all your culinary equipment needs
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 | Casa Luna Cooking School
Ubud Bali |
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 | | Irrewarra Sourdough |
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Greetings!
It's not long until Christmas - we know first, because our children are counting the days (and hours)! And second, because there is virtually no room in the shop. Our new modular 'furniture' consists of boxes of new books from Luke Nguyen, Adriano Zumbo, Neil Perry, Heston Blumenthal, Daniel Humm, Pierre Herme & many others; all artfully stacked and covered with piles of more books. There are so many books this year that we have had to take out all the vintage and antiquarian stock recently bought & waiting to be cleaned, catalogued & processed and put them back into storage - which means we'll have a 'mini-christmas' in January as we re-open those boxes and rediscover what gems we have hidden away. We have one more special celebratory lunch & launch for the year, next Sunday 4th December with one of Australia's best chefs (and currently the San Pellegrino Rising Star - the San Pellegrino Top 100 for 2011); Mark Best from Marque Restaurant in Sydney - details are below. And the week after that we will be having a small celebration to launch Bob Hart & Dean Cambray's new Barbecue book...we'll include details in our penultimate newsletter at the start of December - think pulled pork or smoked salmon Much to our chagrin, we've been reminded that we forgot to tell people the result of our National Bookshop Day cookbook raffle! Our apologies! Maxine from Apollo Bay was the lucky winner with a bootload of cookbooks. Maxine is one of our earliest customers (and a pretty good cook) so it was great to be able to give the prize such a great home. Thanks to your support we were able to raise $1500 which will be split between the Indigenous Literacy Foundation (which supports reading initiatives for indigenous communities- and delivers real books to young readers) and Stephanie Alexander's Kitchen Garden Foundation (which fosters the establishment of kitchen gardens in primary schools). Next year we plan to do it again and tickets will go on sale after World Bookshop Day in March leading up to National Bookshop Day in August 2012. Keep an eye on the website as we'll post all the details there. We've included a few more of the great new releases in this newsletter as well as a few gems for dining we've found recently...and don't forget to check out the coupon at the end of this newsletter: perfect for finding new food & wine experiences here in Melbourne |
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Author Event: Sunday 4 December - Mark Best of Marque - Degustation Lunch @ MoVida Aqui
 | | Marque by Mark Best |
Earlier this year Mark Best was nominated as the San Pellegrino 'Rising Star'. Long recognised as a great chef in Australia, Mark and his head chef Pasi are now getting the attention they deserve. Marque is a 50 seat fine dining experience in Sydney and is now ranked in the top 100 restaurants in the world - only one of 4 in Australia. Mark Best will be opening a new restaurant in Melbourne later next year to be called 'Pei' in the Paris end of Collins St. This will be the first opportunity for Melburnians to sample Mark's menu. What makes Mark's achievements even more significant is that he is, in the best tradition, not formally qualified. Fifteen years ago he was an electrician working in the mining industry - now he is one of the world's best and most innovative chefs. Mark Best cooks at MoVida Aqui Sunday 4th December: 12.30pm for a 1pm start Chef-extraordinaire Mark Best will be cooking up a degustation storm at MoVida Aqui to celebrate the release of his contemporary recipe book: Marque: a culinary adventure. The book is a highly-illustrated reflection of Best's restaurant Marque, featuring 80 recipes which have earned the restaurant countless accolades.
$120 per head - Please call MoVida (03) 9663 3038 - option 1 for bookings
As for the book, this is a sumptous rich and redolent look at 80 of his signature dishes. Coffee table in format, the book is filled with beautiful and strong photographs of Marque's unique plating.
If you were inspired by Quay, Pier or Rockpool, then this is a must have look at a cutting edge chef at the top of his game
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Books: Sicilian Seafood Cooking
by Marisa Raniolo Wilkins
 | | Sicilian Seafood Cooking by Marisa Raniolo Wilkins $49.95 |
Sicilian Seafood Cooking is an intriguing and unique collection of 120 unusual traditional recipes for seafood and its accompaniements; including a great variety of first and second course dishes, food for feasts, special sauces, delicious vegetables and no less than nine caponata recipes (including one for Christmas!).
A lively authorative book, it celebrates the great diversity of Sicilian food. Marisa Raniolo Wilkins (a blogger on sicilian food; All Things Sicilian) takes readers on a culinary journey around Sicily using seasonal produce and traditional cooking methods and techniques and layers it with fascinating insights into the origins of recipes. She provides in-depth information on the seafood species used in Sicilian cooking and their sustainability along with practical suggestsions for suitable alternatives.
Perfect for Summer menus, this is a beautifully photographed & produced book. Over 380 pages filled with photographs of Sicily, Sicilian food and the fascinating dishes make this very good value.
...to buy... |
Books: A Cook's Year in a Welsh Farmhouse
by Elisabeth Luard
 | | A Cook's Year in a Welsh Farmhouse $49.95 |
Elisabeth Luard is one of our favourite authors. Not content with writing award winning cookbooks such as European Peasant Cookery or The Latin American Kitchen, she is also a novelist, and a regular columnist in UK national papers and magazines including Country Living.
Married for forty years to the late Nicholas Luard, novelist and founding father of the satire movement of the 1960s, she brought up their family of four children in Spain and France. She now happily entertains her grandchildren in a remote farmhouse in remoe Wales; hence her latest book.
A Cook's Year is a lovely collection of simple seasonal recipes driven by her garden. Although the food is simple, her influences are quite varied; inspired by her travels which makes for a delightful selection: fennel braised with cider & honey; almond aioli with summer vegetables; rose geranium & strawberry icecream; broad beans with ham & marjoram; green tart with almond cream - are all on the list of things to cook at home.
If you like simple ingredient driven seasonal cooking this is a lovely personal collection of recipes that will be read and used...
...to buy... |
Books: MoVida Cocina
by Frank Camorra & Richard Cornish
 | | MoVida Cocina by Frank Camorra $49.95 |
What can we say! We loved MoVida! We loved MoVida Rustica and now we love MoVida Cocina!
Funky strong design, great Spanish influenced food that is fun to eat and wine & beer friendly; stories to read and tastes to savour; this is another great book to have.
We've tried a lot of the dishes in MoVida Cocina; there are many great ones but we would probably buy it just for the Fried Calamari Bocadillos.
Although we will almost certainly be cooking the slow-cooked egg with breoad beans, jamon iberico & truffle; the hotplate mussels with garlic & fino sherry; char-grilled pig's cheek with rhubarb breadcrumbs; Chorizo-filled fried potato bombs with spicy sauce; manchego custard & black truffle in an eggshell; smoked eel croquettes with horseradish and just a few more.
This is a collection of recipes perfect for sharing with friends and family, some fancy, some easy but all delicious. We will be cooking from this all summer long
...to buy... |
Books: Stephane Reynaud's Barbecue
by Stephane Reynaud
 | | Stephane Reynaud's Barbecue $49.95 |
Yet another fun & useful book from France's master of meat.
You may remember Stephane as the author of Pork & Sons or Terrine or Rotis.
Here Stephane has put together 150 recipes for the barbecue. Purists might say he uses a grill rather than a charcoal grill, but they would be missing the point. This book is full of fun, stylish interesting recipes for barbecue, drawn predominantly from the cooking of rural France and the Mediterranean.
Illustrated with his usual whimsical and funny cartoons, Stephane has written a fun & useful book suited to budding barbecuers and experienced tong wielders alike. Strong striking overhead photos give clear instructions. If your barbecue needs some new inspiration...look no further
...to buy... |
Dining: Easy Tiger
a review
 | | Easy Tiger 96 Smith St Collingwood |
Smith Street Collingwood in days gone by was perhaps a place to be cautious about visiting after dark, but over the past few years things have certainly changed.
One of the more recent additions is Easy Tiger. This is a stylish, polished destination that offers South East Asian orientated contemporary dining perfect for sharing.
We recently had the chance to dine at Easy Tiger with friends. The menu is tight, interesting and like good Thai cuisine shows a delicate balance of hot, sour, salty & sweet flavours and aromatics. If we had been earlier we would have been sorely tempted by the banquet options (one of which is vegetarian).
We enjoyed :
- ma hor (prawn, pork & chicken mince cooked in palm sugar, served on watermelon)
- salt and pepper silken tofu with a spiced eggplant salad
- duck and watermelon salad with peanuts, mint, coriander & green chilli nahm jim
- stir fried calamari with garlic shoots, squid ink noodles, black vinegar, fried garlic
- slow cooked pork shoulder curry with ginger, peanuts & pumpkin
and a glass or two of good German riesling The portions were just right for sharing and the bill was quite reasonable. The wine list is equally tight & interesting and is focused on single vineyards At the time we thought - this is possibly the best Thai influenced cuisine we have had since eating at David Thomson's. We'll be back very soon... www.easytiger.co 96 Smith St Collingwood (03) 9417 2373 |
Eleven Madison Park
by Daniel Humm & Will Guidora
 | | Eleven Madison Park $65 |
We first started hearing about the Restaurant Eleven Madison Park about two years ago and so we were quite excited to see that a book was coming.
The book is truly special (as is the restaurant apparently!). The restaurant garnered 4 New York Stars in 2009, made the San Pellegrino top 50 in 2011 and 3 Michelin stars in 2012. We have no doubt that the book will also garner a number of awards.
There is no doubt - this is a chef's book. The food is achievable for a keen cook and the 125 recipes have been adapted for a home cook, but the level of precision and care are breathtaking.
The plated dishes instantly draw comparison with the elegance and freshness of Andoni Aduriz of Mugaritz, and Michel Bras of Bras; both Michelin 3 star restaurants in Spain & France respectively. The book also invites comparison with Thomas Keller's The French Laundry and Grant Achatz's Alinea in the elegant design, clear instruction and strong narrative In Eleven Madison Park the food is exciting, contemporary, fresh, seasonal & innovative.
At $65 this is a bargain
...buy... |
Drinking: The Everleigh
a review (of sorts)
 | | The Everleigh |
One of the latest additions to Gertrude St is The Everleigh. Like all good things, hard to find, round a corner, up a stair and not much of a sign to go by. But if you have your ear to the ground, its the cocktail bar everyone is talking about.
Related to Milk & Honey in New York and London, this is a truly grown up cocktail bar. If you like your martini's serious - this is a must vist. Hand-chipped ice; a collection of beautiful elegant glassware, a range of unusual carefully chosen artisanly produced spirits: all combine to make a very special place.
Most will love the leather chairs & booths, the long bar and the cool wood panelling - we loved the decor because of the wall of classic, vintage and antique cocktail books filling a wall long glass cabinet
www.theeverleigh.com 150-156 Gertrude St, Level 1 Fitzroy (03) 9416 2229 |
The Cook: a novel
by Wayne Macauley
 | | The Cook by Wayne Macauley |
The Cook is the new book from Melbourne author Wayne Macauley. Described by some as the breakout novel of 2011, this is a sharp, satiric & funny, observational story about an apprentice chef and his obsession. "Power through service, says Head Chef. It's one of the first lessons taught at Cook School, where troubled youths learn to be master chefs by offering up a part of themselves on every plate. It's a motto Zac takes to heart as he throws himself into the world and work of haute cusine. He wants to be the greatest chef the world has seen. And to open his own restaurant. He thinks he's on his way when he becomes House Cook for a wealthy family. He loves serving his new Misteress and Master and their two daughters, even though they don't always appreciate him. As things start to fall apart Zac's obsession only grows stronger. He will have to take control."Sharply skewering the cult of the chef and the current obsession with food, cooking, fine dining & culinary careers, this is a roller coaster of a read; an ethralling & original novel about obsession, desire, revenge & the perfect jus. Perfect for summer reading, reading groups or a jaded chef, this is a recommended read and is available as either an eBook or the trade paperback |
Books: PS: Desserts
by Philippa Sibley
 | | PS Desserts by Philippa Sibley $49.95 |
PS Desserts is the long awaited book from Melbourne's Queen of pastry chefs - Philippa Sibley. Originally known as the Pastry Chef & partner in Melbourne's cutting edge restaurants Est Est Est and Ondine, Philippa has worked in most if not all of the best kitchens in Melbourne and Australia. A number of her dessert creations have become signature desserts for some of our most awarded restaurants - Snickers Bar Dessert anyone? Published, designed & written locally (the author lives nearby, the designer around the corner and the book was published in Richmond) this is a strong contender for pastry book of the year. About 60% of the book is focused on classic dishes, technique and the basics The rest of the book is about her signature dishes. We hihgly recommend this for apprentice pastry chefs, anyone wanting to perfect the classic and basic recipes (perfect meringue or panna cotta anyone?) and anyone wanting a great dessert book. Strong helpful & clear photos, often step by step Reminiscent of such classics as The Roux Brothers on Patisserie, we expect to be selling this for years to come. ...buy... |
eBooksforCooks: new titles
some holiday reading
 | | eBooksforCooks |
Our eBook collection is growing online and there are now a number of books from local publishers available. Remember you don't need a special device to read our eBooks - they can be seen in any modern browser! Our Fiction books include titles from Frank Moorehouse, Marion Halligan and Sarah-Kate Lynch. Murdoch have a good range of eBooks including chapter sized books from MoVida , Luke Nguyen and Adriano Zumbo You can have the James Halliday Wine Companion 2012 or Max Allen's award winning The Futuremakers on your phone, ipad or PC. And if you are looking for good restaurant or bar in Melbourne check out Eating & Drinking Melbourne, from the publishers of the Foodies Guide to Melbourne ...buy... |
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Which brings us to a close for this Newsletter.
We'll have one more newsletter out before Christmas. In between we'll continue to mention the occasional item on twitter, facebook and even foursquare
If you haven't already noticed, our website is now finally live and catalogues everything we have in stock. You can safely purchase, order, pre-order upcoming titles and request out of print searches online. We will be shipping in Australia for Christmas right up to the 20th December.
Regards,
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Tim & Amanda
Books for Cooks
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