Saturday August 20th is Australian National Bookshop Day; a chance to celebrate with our community of readers, authors and customers all that we love about what we do.  Bookshops all over the country are hosting events big and small, funny and serious but always with books, authors and readers in their hearts.

There are many great events going on around the country - you can check them out on Facebook - or just drop into a local bookstore - there is sure to be something fun going on!

For our part we will be celebrating on Saturday with Bubbles and lots of tastes throughout the day.  Amanda will be baking up a storm from books new and old and a few of our friends will be helping out too.   We expect the odd chef and author to drop in and say hullo (they do most days!).

Please join us throughout the day: after breakfast or before lunch; on the way to the football or before an afternoon coffee - or just because you have a moment -  and raise a glass with us  to the health of independent and community bookstores and the communities we live in.

Every customer will receive a booklet listing many of our favourite chef/authors’ favourite cookbooks, books and bookshops; food for thought for your next visit to a bookshop or two.

Please also buy a ticket (or ten) in our ‘Grand Cookbook Library Raffle which will be drawn at the end of the day on Saturday.  Donations are flooding in of classic and new release cookbooks and the window will fill during the week with a display of all the donated cookbooks up for grabs.  Already there are a number of classic references in the prize, and rumour has it there might even be a copy of Modernist Cuisine in the mix…!  (Here’s an early picture…)

This will be the one raffle you just have to win!

All the proceeds will be donated to two charities dear to the hearts of booksellers around the country - the Indigenous Literacy Foundation and the Stephanie Alexander Kitchen Garden Foundation so dig deep!

Tickets are $5 and can be bought instore.  Donations are also welcome.

Thanks in advance to our sponsors: Murdoch Books; Pan Macmillan; Random House Australia; Penguin Australia; Hardie Grant Books; Harper Collins Australia; & many more to come.

A New Cookbook - Tropical Cuisine

Over the years we have had occasional ‘taste’ workshops with local growers and producers.  Next Tuesday, we are lucky to have Clare Richards visiting from cyclone swept Cairns in far North Queensland.

Clare is a cook, recipe developer, cooking school teacher & committed tropical locavore based in Cairns after spending a decade in tropical and Northern Australia.

Recently published, Tropical Cuisine: cooking in Clare’s kitchen is one of the best self-published books we have ever seen.  Defined by strong design, and filled with beautiful photographs, sumptuous recipes, and a treasure trove of detailed useful information about tropical & Australian food products, this is a beautiful and practical cookbook.

Only published late last year, and already an award winning cookbook, Tropical Cuisine is currently in the running for a Gourmand ‘Best in the World’ Cookbook Award going up against cookbooks from Sweden, France and Brazil.  The awards will be announced in March at the Gourmand Cookbook Fair in Paris where hundreds of cookbooks from all around the world compete for recognition.

On Tuesday, Clare will be chatting to us about tropical produce, self publishing a gorgeous cookbook, and the effect of Cyclone Yasi on local food producers.

Please join us for a taste of the tropics, a look at unusual tropical produce and learn how to support our local tropical produce industry.

As usual, bookings are essential.  Places are limited to 30.  The event is free.

Telephone Bookings are Essential: +613 8415 1415

7pm Tuesday  22 February @ Books for Cooks, 233-235 Gertrude St Fitzroy

If you can’t attend, we can organise signed and/or personalised copies of this beautiful cookbook for you.

Copies will be available for purchase on the night.

Please RSVP by telephone after 10am

Next Monday evening, the 6th…Greg & Lucy Malouf will be sharing their recent food & travel experiences in Iran recorded in their new beautiful & sumptious cookbook…Saraban: - a chef’s journey through Persia

….please join us if you are in town - you’ll need to be quick - we only have 30 seats! [Update 1/12/2010 doubled to 70+ seats but the event is booked out - sorry!]

“We sit for a while, quiet now in the flickering candlelight, & reflect on the countless other travellers who have passed this way. Most would have been ordinary people like us - merchants, soldiers, pilgrims, tourists even - each with a story, a destiny. Tomorrow our journey will continue. We will have our very own saraban to guide us, & this vast country stretches all around, waiting to be explored, to be revealed, gradually.” Greg & Lucy Malouf

Following on from the success of their previous multi-award-winning food & travel books, Saha and Turquoise, Greg and Lucy Malouf now explore one of the world’s earliest and greatest empires - Persia.

Saraban is an unforgettable journey through the culinary landscapes of ancient Persia and modern-day Iran. More than just a cookbook, Saraban is a compelling blend of taste and travel and offers a unique glimpse into a fascinating country that remains elusive and enigmatic to many of us in the West.

In ancient times, the saraban was the head of a camel train, who would lead travellers safely across the desert to their destination. In Saraban: a chef’s journey through Persia, Greg and Lucy are guided by their own local saraban as they follow ancient spice trails across this vast and complex land. They meet pistachio farmers and toffee-makers, saffron growers and boat builders; they eat in exotic markets and tucked-away ‘dizi’ restaurants and are invited again and again into the homes of people they meet along the way. They discover a land of generous hospitality and of tea houses, mosques and caravanserais, where the diversity of climate and terrain, a tumultuous history, and exquisite art and architecture provide a fitting background for one of the world’s oldest, richest and most influential cuisines.

The recipes in Saraban are much like Iran itself: a coming together of the old and the new. Classic recipes, such as New Year Noodle Soup; Sweet Rice with Saffron, Nuts and Orange Zest; Fresh Herb Stew with Lamb and Dried Limes and Apple Vinegar-Mint Sherbet transport the reader to the heart of Old Persia. Others are reinterpretations and brilliant new creations, inspired by the techniques and flavours the Maloufs experienced on their travels. Hot Yoghurt Soup with Apricots and Sizzling Mint Butter; Barberry Rice with Rose Petals; Golden Seafood Stew with Bandari Spices; Pomegranate and Blood-orange Sorbet and Sour Cherry-Pistachio Nougat are just a few of the enticing dishes that confirm why Greg Malouf is recognised around the world for his ability to reinterpret Middle Eastern cuisine for the modern table.

Shot by Iranian photographer Ebrahim Khadem Bayat, the travel imagery in Saraban is vivid and enticing - as a local, he had unfettered access to cultural and religious sites which are often shielded from foreign eyes. Stunning food photography by Mark Roper and styling by Glen Proebstel translate Greg’s irresistible recipes from the road into a home-kitchen setting.

Please join Greg & Lucy Malouf to hear how they explored the food, the culture and the people of this mysterious and beautiful land.

Telephone Bookings are Essential: +613 8415 1415

$ Free

7pm Monday 6th December

Books for Cooks

233-235 Gertrude St

Fitzroy

If you can’t attend, we can organise signed and/or personalised copies

of Saraban, Turquoise, Saha, Moorish or Arababesque for you.

Copies will be available for purchase on the night.