The food scene in Canberra continues to grow, flourish and impress with new restaurants and ventures popping up all the time. People are pushing the boundaries and continuing to excel in the food world.
In the past month some impressive cookbooks have hit the shelves and have come from the heart and soul of some of Canberra’s best food writers, publishers, producers, chefs and passionate foodies.
If you’re looking for a last minute Christmas gift or a new cookbook to add to your collection then you need to get your hands on these.
The Capital Cookbook 3 is a book of recipes and stories from more than 40 of Canberra’s best restaurants, cafes, bars and street food. The cookbook is created by Quicksand Food who are passionate about food and make books, share recipes, take photos and tell stories about chefs and producers from small and unique regions of Australia. The Capital Cookbook 3 features local producers, market holders, and food personalities and sheds a light on Canberra’s bustling food culture. It’s a gorgeous publication filled with recipes from leading Canberra establishments including Grazing, Courgette, The Chairman & Yip, Lanterne Rooms, Ottoman Cuisine, Sage Dining Rooms, Miss Van’s, The Cupping Room, Local Press Cafe, Lilotang and HEAPS more.
The 240-page coffee-table style cookbook is a gorgeous publication and a tribute to the people and places that make up the region’s vibrant culinary landscape. I purchased a copy for myself and a few extra for Christmas presents a few weeks ago and can’t wait to cook some of the recipes.
Get the recipe for amazing green pea pancake with corn salsa, smoked salmon and poached eggs from Local Press Café.
The Cupping Room Cookbook
It’s not often than an incredible café shares their recipes with you, especially one that is owned by a World Barista Champion. But that’s exactly what one of Canberra’s hottest spots for brunch has done. The Cupping Room team have collaborated with local independent publisher Seed Press to create their first cookbook. The Cupping Room Cookbook brings some of their favourite (and your favourite) recipes from their menus over the past three years together in one incredible publication.
Buy The Cupping Room Cookbook.
The Barber from Budapest & other stories
The Barber from Budapest & other stories is a memoir of survival, hope and love by Canberra-based, award-winning food writer, Liz Posmyk who’s known for her blog, Good Things, a leading cooking school, and a long-running newspaper column.
The book follows the life of András (her father), born in Hungary before the cataclysmic changes of World War II tore at the fabric and heart of his world.
While The Barber from Budapest & other stories isn’t a standard cookbook, it does feature some yummy recipes. Liz’s life-long passion for food, and in particular her love of sharing her migrant family’s Hungarian food, shines through with the book’s third part dedicated to a handful of treasured family recipes. A truly wonderful Hungarian feast awaits the reader. It features a range of Hungarian recipes including semolina dumplings, braised red cabbage with apple and cocoa snails.
The Barber from Budapest and other stories is Liz Posmyk’s first book and a percentage of royalties from the sales will be donated to The International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Buy The Barber from Budapest & other stories.
Amelia Bidgood
Amelia is the Founder and Editor of Eat Canberra and the Founder and Managing Director of Eat Canberra Food Tours. She's a qualified journalist, presenter, freelance writer and also runs a boutique communications agency working with small business owners on all things social media, content creation and marketing. She's taught cheesemaking classes, judged hospitality and tourism awards, completed the WSET Level 1 Award In Wines, loves to cook and has travelled to 23 countries. She's also passionate about mental health and has recently started studying to become a Counsellor.