Elle Australia - 10.2018

Last year, Jamie Oliver’s 5 Ingredients

wasthe third bestselling book in

Australia. Which is weird because, at

any given moment, you could log on to

his website and search the database of

literally thousands of recipes for the

exact type of food you’re looking for,

for free. And yet, we still buy

cookbooks. Hundreds of thousands of

them, in fact. But why?

Henrietta Ashton, publishing

manager at Murdoch Books, says that

while most readers want cookbooks to

provide solutions (like dinner ideas)

they also crave a “lifestyle experience”.

“When people pick up a cookbook,

it needs to speak to them. They want the

images and food to tell a story and take

them on a journey. It’s very sensory.”

For Hetty McKinnon, whose bestselling

cookbooks (most recently,Family) read

like journals of her culinary experience,

this comes naturally. “My cookbooks

are like memoirs,” she says. “They’re

a way of inviting readers to sit down

at the table with me. It’s more than just

showing them how to put a salad

together.” British cookbook author

Rachel Khoo, whose most recent

book,The Little Swedish Kitchen,

is an homage to Swedish food

and culture, agrees. “I collect

cookbooks voraciously,” she says.

“The best ones build a rapport

between reader and writer.”

Cookbook design is now an industry

in itself, with extravagant touches like

location photography, gold-rimmed

pages and silk ribbon bookmarks

becoming the new normal. “They're

luxury objects,” says Ashton. “Cookbooks

often live on coffee tables or living room

bookshelves, so they need to look good.”

And though even Ashton, whose very

livelihood depends on us all buying

cookbooks, admits that she often turns

to Google for recipes, the truth is that

cookbooks tell a story that a singular

recipe cannot. With her latest cookbook,

Khoo was excited to write about her

journey of discovering Swedish culture

and food. “Otherwise what’s the point?”

she asks. “You can google how to cook

Swedish meatballs, after all.” E

FOOD

FETISH

In the age of

Instagram, apps

and Google,

cookbooks

still dominate

the bestseller

lists. What’s up

with that?

BOOKS:

BOOK OF THE MONTH:

THEBUS ON

THURSDAY

SHIRLEY BARRETT

If you’re not hooked from the very first

sentence of this highly original, incredibly

funny novel from Australian author,

screenwriter and director Shirley Barrett,

then check your pulse. The dark comedy

follows thirty-something Eleanor, who’s just

been diagnosed with breast cancer,

dumped by her boyfriend and replaced by

a woman with huge breasts. What unfolds

is part horror, part comedy, part social

commentary, all of it riotously fun. If you’ve

read Barrett’s previous work, including

historical novelRush Oh!, forget what you

think you know about her. This book is like

nothing you’ve read before.

Out September 26

($29.99, Allen & Unwin)

“THE CUBES

AREINSPIRED BY

THINGS LIKE JARRED

SPECIMENS IN

MUSEUMS, FISH

FROZEN IN LAKES,

SCULPTURAL ART”

“It feels somewhat like baking,” she

says of the multi-step process involved

in the cubes’ creation, which takes

a few days. “Just rather than putting

them in the oven, you put them in the

freezer.” For a recent Girlboss rally

in LA, Kirchhoff created cubes with

the brand’s logo and tea roses

encased inside, served in a herbal

and floral flavoured cocktail.

While Disco Cubes’ own

branding (see @discocubes)

references “dreams, old films, music,

and old advertisements”, Kirchhoff

says the cubes themselves are

inspired “by things like jarred

specimens in museums, fish frozen in

lakes and sculptural art”. She reveals

she’s working on creating a menu of

drinks to accompany the cubes, and

has plans to offer full bar service for

events. “That way I can get even

more creative.”

But you don’t have to be an ice

chef (a job title in some high-end

restaurants) or fashion your own

branded creations to make a splash

with your cubes. Kirchhoff also

creates flavoured and coloured

variations, including recently, mini

spheres of peach-nectar ice, which

she topped with prosecco “to create

a Bellini that not only stays cold, but

becomes more flavourful over the

duration of the drink”. Genius.E

discocubes.com

55

Words: Elle McClure; Lauren Sams. Photography: Getty Images/George Pimentel; Pablo Martin (still-life). Books featured: Family

by Hetty McKinnon ($39.99, Plum);

The Little Swedish Kitchen

by Rachel Khoo ($49.99, Michael Joseph);

Foundations Of Flavor:

The Noma Guide To Fermentation

by René Redzepi and David Zilber is out October 16 ($55, Workman, October 16);

Eat At The Bar

by

Matt McConnell and Jo Gamvros is out October 15 ($50, Hardie Grant Books);

Ottolenghi Simple

by Yotam Ottolenghi ($55, Ebury Press)

This is the latest instalment of the ELLE Book Club,

where each month we recommend one read we

know you'll love. For a chance to win a copy of

this one, head to ELLE.com.au/win