10 Brilliant Cookbooks That Changed The Way We Ate In 2023

These are the cookbooks that went straight to our kitchen benches in 2023, from local cooks to some household names.

Mother Tongue: A Cookbook

By Akiko Kurematsu (self published, $60)

Culture writer and journalist Akiko Kurematsu’s first book Mother Tongue features recipes passed down through generations of women in her life, photographed by Harry Were and shot in interior designer Katie Lockhart’s kitchen. Mother Tongue canvasses generations of Japanese family and home cooking, with 50 simple recipes that don’t require loads of ingredients or lengthy cooking times. The recipes are meat-free (but there is some seafood), with dishes like agedashi tofu, miso soup, okonomiyaki, simple soba and a Japanese breakfast, which is a combination of several recipes from the book. The book was inspired by Akiko’s mother Kozue’s cookbook, My Mother’s Love, which features a collection of her grandmother, Fusae’s, recipes. These recipes have been adapted by Akiko with local produce and ingredients and adapted for the way we eat today, i.e. more local and sustainable. It’s “a glimpse into my chaotic childhood of worldwide migration, displacement, assimilation, repeat — held together by the stability and consistency of my Japanese family and food”, says Akiko. Available to purchase from Akikokurematsu.com or Florets Bakery.

Butter Butter

By Petra Galler (Allen & Unwin NZ, $50)

You might have seen her beautiful creations popping up at events and one-off dinners, the likes of multi-tiered cakes topped with flowers or a liberal dousing of perfectly toasted nuts, but the best place to get a taste of Petra Galler’s baking is through her debut cookbook, Butter Butter. The Auckland-based baker was inspired by her Jewish heritage for many of the recipes in Butter, Butter, which celebrate Middle Eastern flavours with ingredients like semolina, hazelnuts and tahini and toppings such as candied fennel, pistachios, sesame and thyme. Alongside familiar recipes for carrot cake, rhubarb tart and brownie are some special creations to try: Persian Love Cake, Tiramisu Crepe Cake, Knafeh (Palestinian), Rugelach (Polish) and many others. Viva has three recipes from Butter Butter, including the tahini babka loaf, a silky ricotta, honey and yoghurt tart, and some classic ginger kisses, which Petra says took the longest to perfect, with the recipe tweaked over and over until it was just right.

Modern Chinese

By Sam Low (Allen & Unwin NZ, $50)

You may recognise Sam Low from his stint (and subsequent win) on MasterChef NZ in 2022, or from his viral images of quarantine food plated like a fine dining restaurant (”I love how it injected a bit of joy into people’s lives in what felt like a pretty joyless time”, writes Sam in the opening pages of his book), but before that he was a barista champion, winning the New Zealand Latte Art Championship in 2013 and 2015 and the New Zealand Barista Champs in 2016. On the side, he’d create dishes, mostly Chinese, to share on social media in an effort to “dial in to his Chineseness”. “Ultimately, my food reflects who I am: this mish-mash of everywhere and everything I’ve experienced.” Modern Chinese is a culmination of life experiences and a love of food, with 70 everyday recipes from snacks to soups, seafood to sweets. The recipes are clear to follow, and the book offers tips and tricks for building a pantry and toolkit for perfecting each dish, with sweet illustrations by Aan Chu. Try Sam’s twice-cooked pork with cumin, spicy saucy tofu or vibrant seafood prosperity salad.

Enjoy

By Kelly Gibney (Beatnik Publishing New Zealand, $60)

The second cookbook from Auckland-based food stylist, cook and photographer Kelly Gibney, Enjoy: Food Sharing with the People you Love is a collection of 90 simple, everyday recipes made for sharing. Kelly is passionate about wholefoods and the book highlights recipes where the ingredients shine, like Moroccan lamb lasagna with cauliflower bechamel, seedy yoghurt flatbreads and vanilla and nutmeg panna cotta with roasted strawberries. Her book celebrates the joy of bringing people together, cooked and photographed in her Te Atatū home, with recipes designed to be cooked again and again. “My new book celebrates the joy of bringing people together, and the triumph of finding a recipe that everyone around the table, big and small, can enthuse about and look forward to,” says Kelly.

The Indonesian Table

The Indonesian Table tells the story of chef, writer and entrepreneur Petty Pandean-Elliott’s Indonesian heritage and explores the unique tapestry of culture, history and biodiversity that makes up Indonesia’s food. The book has 150 recipes that Petty says are ideal for home cooks, however, they do require a bit of planning and shopping to acquire the necessary ingredients. The beef rendang, for example, includes recipes for homemade red spice paste, white spice paste and a tamarind paste, as well as judicious slow cooking of the beef, but, is well worth the effort. Other recipes from the book include pork satay with chilli, ginger and lime sambal, and coconut pudding with palm sugar and roasted cashews. In The Indonesian Table, Petty focuses on food from eight key regions in Indonesia: Sulawesi, Java, Bali, Nusa Tenggara, Maluku Islands, Sumatra, Papua, and Kalimantan, with fragrant coconut curries, laksas, sotos, salads and sambal. She also offers thoughtful background on local culture and other influences on the cuisine including the landscape, religion, trading, and migration, all topped off with stunning images by photographer Yuki Sugiura.

Eat Up New Zealand: The Bach Editon

By Al Brown (Allen & Unwin NZ, $50)

The follow-up cookbook to chef and restaurateur Al Brown’s Eat Up New Zealand, The Bach Edition focuses on casual recipes for enjoying on summer holiday, at the bach, preferably by the sea. Kaimoana is a big focus in this book, with the recipes providing myriad ideas for cooking with freshly caught fish or shellfish gathered that day. The Bach Edition has more than 150 recipes with beautiful food photography and snapshots from around the country that tell a story of Aotearoa’s food. One spread might highlight a diver and his haul of pāua and kina, opposite an image for Al’s pāua pie recipe, while another has fisherman’s knots next to a beautiful image of a woven kite hanging on a bach door. Each page evokes the nostalgia and anticipation of a Kiwi summer. Viva was welcomed to Al’s home in Auckland earlier this year where he talked about kitchen essentials, carving out a career as a celebrity chef, and shared a recipe for roasted fennel and red onion bruschetta with white anchovies.

More Is More

By Molly Baz (Murdoch Books, $59.99)

LA-based Molly Baz is a cook, recipe developer, food writer and ex-Bon Appetit food editor with a prolific following on Instagram. There, she posts pics of her dreamy mid-century modern-style home (with its butter-yellow interiors designed by husband Ben Willet), her dachshund, Tuna, and her ultra-appealing food, enticing followers to join her subscriber-only online “club”, where she shares her best recipes. Her new book More Is More is another way to access Molly’s recipes and builds on the style of her debut book Cook This Book, which was all about the fundamentals of cooking. More Is More offers what she says is a looser, more playful approach with recipes that wring maximum flavour out of every ingredient. Find dishes like chicken piccata with sweetcorn, chillies and buttermilk; marinated zucchini and mozzarella with fried sunflower seeds; and crispy salmon with coconut rice and “crackle sauce”. The photography, graphic design and fonts are standouts, designed by LA-based Playlab.

Good from Scratch

By Michael Van de Elzen (Allen & Unwin, $50)

Chef Michael Van de Elzen’s cookbook Good from Scratch is a celebration of his favourite recipes, as well as tips and tricks on ingredients, gardening, pickling, composting and more. With photographs by Viva’s go-to photographer Babiche Martens, the book not only captures delicious recipes but also scenes from Michael and wife Bee’s cooking school and farm in Muriwai, Good from Scratch Cooking School, which they opened in 2020. The book contains 50 recipes, as well as sides and sauces, that are all “made from scratch”. Viva has three recipes from the book, including Michael’s favourite meal to cook for himself, mushroom risotto with rocket, a delicious snapper with tomato kasundi and roasted capsicums, plus his sweet garlic aioli for dolloping alongside, and Son-In-Law Eggs with sticky pork and nam jim dressing.

Rick Stein’s Simple Suppers

By Rick Stein (Penguin Random House, $65)

We love a bit of Rick Stein, the British celebrity chef with a penchant for seafood and a swathe of restaurants and cookbooks to his name (seriously, the man has 20+). The recipes in Simple Suppers are “straightforward and informal — yet effortlessly delicious” says Rick in the introduction to his book. “The idea of supper appealed to me because it suggests an ordinary meal. When one is not trying too hard; maybe something you’re going to cook in your jeans and polo shirt, a glass of Vinho Verde on the worktop.” The book has suppers of all kinds, for one person, one-pot, vegetarian and speedy suppers, with recipes like puff pastry fish pie; spaghetti with courgettes, rosemary and ricotta; and coconut prawn curry.

Bluebells Cakery Classics

By Karla Goodwin (Penguin Random House, $50)

This is the third cookbook from Auckland-based baker and cakery owner Karla Goodwin, whose business Bluebells Cakery is known for its beautifully decorated cakes. What started as a Saturday market stall at La Cigale has now grown into a multi-bakery operation and online shop, with cafes in Kingsland and Commercial Bay. This book combines original recipes from Karla’s now out-of-print first book Bluebells Cakery with some popular new recipes. There are also baking tips and step-by-step instructions for perfecting the decoration of much-loved cakes like the Cloud Cake, Vintage Cake, Tea Rose Cake, Unicorn Cake and more. There are recipes for cupcakes, cakes, tarts and slices, biscuits and cheesecakes, as well as a high-tea chapter with savoury options such as chicken sandwiches. The beautiful accompanying photos are by Lottie Hedley.