From the latest cookbook releases to binge-worthy series and podcasts, here's all the foodie entertainment you need this month
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For the home baker
BALLYMALOE DESSERTS, Iconic Recipes and Stories from Ireland
Straight from family-run Ballymaloe House in the East Cork countryside comes acclaimed Irish pastry chef JR Ryall’s delightful baking book with 130 tested and perfected recipes for avid bakers. You’ll find home-baked cakes, cookies, pastries, puddings and showstopping recipes such as a retro ice cream bombe, almond meringue gâteau and a classic strawberry shortcake made modern. Inspiring and accessible, Ryall’s recipes are adaptable, highlighting Ballymaloe’s commitment to seasonality and celebration of fresh, local ingredients.
For the busy cook
BLISS ON TOAST: 75 Simple Recipes
With 60 years of cooking experience under her apron, if anyone can elevate a simple piece of bread, it’s The Great British Bake Off judge, Prue Leith. Bliss on Toast shows busy home cooks how to upgrade sourdoughs, focaccias, baguettes, flatbreads and more, turning them into full-on meals. From the healthy to the hearty, the salty to the sweet, Leith’s recipes are versatile and perfect for any time of the day – think tomatoes, shallots and oregano on black olive toast, bananas and ice cream on panettone, and much more.
For the creative cook
MEZCLA: Recipes to Excite
In her first solo cookbook, Ottolenghi protégé and co-author of Ottolenghi Flavour, Ixta Belfrage shares her love of bold ingredient combinations through 100 recipes inspired by Italy, Brazil, Mexico and beyond. Divided into quick and longer recipes (for when you have time to slow down), highlights include giant cheese on toast with honey and urfa butter, shrimp lasagna with habanero oil, and sticky coconut rice cake with turmeric tomatoes. Creative, colourful and impactful, you’ll find something delicious to whip up no matter what the occasion may be.
Watch
CHEF’S TABLE: BBQ
Looking for some barbecue-season inspo? An oldie but a goodie, Chef’s Table: BBQ delves into the juicy, smoky world of barbecue, visiting acclaimed chefs and pitmasters in the US, Australia and Mexico. Across the four episodes, viewers can immerse themselves in the stories of American comedian-meets-pitmaster Tootsie Tomanetz, Sydney-based chef Lennox Hastie, award-winning chef Rodney Scott and Rosalia Chay Chuc, who specialises in traditional Mayan cuisine.
All episodes of Chef’s Table: BBQ are available on Netflix.
Listen
THE SPORKFUL with Dan Pashman
This food-centric podcast isn’t for foodies, it’s for eaters. Hosted by Dan Pashman, The Sporkful uses humour and humanity to approach food from many angles such as science, history, race, culture and economics. And, let’s not forget, lengthy debates, too, covering pivotal topics such as whether you should put ice in your milk or not, and the best way to layer peanut butter and jelly in a sandwich. Fun fact: Pashman created the pasta shape cascatelli, which is a hybrid of the bucatini and mafalda pastas.
Find The Sporkful podcast wherever you find your podcasts, like Stitcher, Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
