Cold weather and shorter days mean your food-obsessed loved ones are likely to spend more time in the kitchen, and what better way to encourage them than the gift of a new cookbook? Whether they’re hoping to master a tried-and-true sugar cookie recipe, explore plant-based eating or learn to make the perfect pork roast, we have an option for every interest—and they’re all from local chefs.
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Kiin: Recipes and Stories from Northern Thailand
Nuit Regular, Toronto
Kiin, or “eat” in Thai, brings northern Thailand to readers’ kitchens using traditional ingredients and recipes passed down from Nuit Regular’s mother. The Toronto-based executive chef teaches readers how to make everything from steamed chicken dumplings to Tom Yum paste from scratch and lifts the veil on Thai classics like mango sticky rice and beef curry. Fans of Regular’s restaurants Pai, Kiin and Khao San Road, will love her first cookbook.
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Home Style Cookery: A Home Cookbook
Matty Matheson,Fort Erie
Matty Matheson is beloved for his sense of humour and chilled out, relaxed way about the kitchen. He’s back on bookshelves with 135 of his absolute favourite recipes to cook for his loved ones. Matheson takes the reader through pantry staples, hosting favourites and easy-to-make weeknight meals, making this the perfect gift for a young family or new grad.
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Baking Day with Anna Olson: Recipes to Bake Together
Anna Olson, Welland
If baking is more their speed, look no further than Anna Olson’s top-tier sweet and savoury recipe book. The Welland-based baker wants you to grab your child, best friend, or your significant other and try your hand at her easy-to-follow recipes. Her latest cookbook is all about the journey and time spent creating together. Of course, you get a tasty treat at the end, too.
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Eating Out Loud: Bold Middle Eastern Flavors for All Day, Every Day
Eden Grinshpan, Toronto
Eden Grinshpan offers all levels of cooks an accessible way to incorporate bright tastes and textures, all while paying tribute to her Israeli heritage. Her recipes use simple, everyday ingredients in new ways, like roasting whole heads of broccoli in yogurt or adding in-season fruits and herbs to traditional salads. Above all, Grinshpan inspires readers to get messy, creative and enjoy what you make, no holds barred.
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Take Back the Tray: Revolutionizing Food in Hospitals, Schools, and Other Institutions
Joshna Maharaj, Toronto
Institutional food doesn’t have to be terrible, and Maharaj shows readers how in her latest book, which is part memoir, part manifesto and part incredible cookbook. Over the past 14 years, Maharaj has brought good, healthy food to institutional kitchens. Her goal is to revolutionize institutional food, taking readers through a mouth-watering journey that shows just how delicious, nutritious and wholesome food on trays can be.
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County Heirlooms: Recipes and Reflections from Prince Edward County
Natalie Wollenberg and Leigh Nash, Prince Edward County
Prince Edward County is home to some of the best culinary finds in Ontario, so it’s no surprise that a new cookbook pays tribute to the region. Take a trip to Canadian wine country through stories and recipes from chefs, farmers and food producers in the area, who break down everything from growing the perfect heirloom tomatoes to cooking for a crowd. Also, royalties from the sale of this book go towards a local initiative tackling food insecurity.
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Cooking Meat: A Butcher’s Guide to Choosing, Buying, Cutting, Cooking, and Eating Meat
Peter Sanagan, Toronto
A chef by training and butcher by trade, Peter Sanagan’s latest cookbook dives into everything there is to know about meat. He takes readers through some of his favourite staple dishes, like fried chicken and barbecued ribs, while also demystifying processes and techniques. Covering everything from the basics of carving poultry to making your own bacon, this is a cookbook for the home cook who wants to level up their kitchen game.
Resource Alert
If you’re interested in local food, you need to check out the latest edition of The Ontario Pantry by Lynn Ogryzlo. Brimming with 24 local recipes, a directory of 280 farmers and stunning photos of Ontario food and more, this e-book aims to inspire home cooks to think, buy, eat and drink local. The Ontario Pantry helps readers do just that by providing a comprehensive list of where to do your local shopping, and who to go to for your favourite farm-to-table agriculture products. Better yet, it’s free.
Explore The Great Taste of Ontario at ontarioculinary.com/great-taste
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