Silvena Rowe was brought up on a diet of  Ottoman delicacies by her Turkish father. She is now based in London as chef-patron of Quince.

Her previous cookbooks Feasts and Purple Citrus and Sweet Perfume are both glorious incantations on the cuisines of the Eastern Mediterranean.

The inspiration for her latest book, Orient Express,  came from the street foods of Istanbul, Ankara and Gaziantep, Beirut, Damascus and Aleppo. Subtitled “Fast food from the Eastern Mediterranean,” but don’t expect too many recipes which can be quickly knocked up – many require overnight marinating or setting in the fridge. It is the kind of food you would expect to find at street stalls and markets – mezze style eating, great for entertaining.

The book is divided into highlighted ingredients and flavours, as opposed to the standard fare of starter, main, etc:

• Emerald spice & gold dust  – a celebration of za’atar and saffron;
• Fire and noble velvet – chilli and cumin;
• Purple citrus and summer breeze  – Sumac and fresh herbs;
• Sweet eucalyptus & liquid gold  – cardamom and honey;
• Exotic perfume and delicate fragrance – cinnamon and flowers

This structure enables one to combine a selection of diversely spiced dishes into an impressive banquet. She presents 100 light, perfectly balanced recipes for sharing. Added to this is some stunning photography of many of the completed dishes.

This book will certainly give Wickedfood Cooking School a lot of inspiration for our Turkish cooking classes and middle eastern cooking classes.

Interested in buying this book? Visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R252 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R295)! Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%, a total saving of R43.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference. Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

The Hairy Bikers are David Myers and Simon King, two guys from Northern England with a passion for cooking and food. They began their TV careers working behind the scenes, Si as a first assistant director and locations manager for film and television and Dave as a BBC make-up artist specialising in prosthetics. It was on the set of a TV drama that they first met and became friends.

They first appeared in front of the camera for their pilot Hairy Bikers series, filmed in Portugal. No strangers to travel before they started working together, the lads embraced the opportunity to seek out new dishes from around the globe when their show took off. Since then, they’ve travelled to Namibia, India, Vietnam, Argentina and Mexico as well as sampling the cuisines of places nearer to home.

The Hairy Bikers’ Perfect Pies: The Ultimate Pie Bible from the Kings of Pies is packed full of British classics as well as some innovative pie recipes, in all, over 150 recipes,  compiled by  The Hairy Bikers.  Featuring an extraordinary range of pies – from the sweet and savoury, deep and small, and to the pies that are puddings. With top tips on pastry, fail safe methods, secrets and cheats, the guys  explain how to choose the right type of pastry and filling for any occasion. In addition there is a whole chapter on pickles, relishes, sauces and side orders to turn a pie into a complete meal.

Apart from the mouthwatering recipes, the book is also well illustrated throughout.  For anyone who enjoys baking both savoury and sweet, this book is a must, full of great ideas, especially with winter at hand.

Interested in buying this book? Visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R431 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R504)! Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%, a total saving of R72.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference. Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Food blogging has taken the Internet by storm.  We should know, the Wickedfood blog gets over 2 600 views per week.

One of south Africa’s more active food bloggers,  Sarah Graham, has just released her first cookbook  – Bitten: Unpretentious Recipes From A Food Blogger. The book includes a selection of the more popular recipes from her blog, as well as several new ones.  Many of the recipes draw inspiration from food moments with her family. For the large part, they are unpretentious recipes aimed largely at the novice cook.  Most recipes in the book are supported by full page photographs of the dish.

To add extra spice she has also included a selection of recipes from fellow bloggers.  Most probably not the most inspirational book out there, but rather a good selection of everyday recipes for the home cook.  And there are some great baking recipes.

Interested in buying this book? Visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R197 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R230)!  Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%, a total saving of R33.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference. Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

In France, home bakers have relied on a folksy little baking book – the country’s answer to Kook en Geniet, sort of – called Je Sais Faire la Pâtisserie, for the past 70-odd years. First published in 1938, this bestseller, has now been translated into English as The Art of French Baking.

The author, Ginette Mathiot (1907–1998), taught three generations of the French how to cook and is the ultimate authority on French home cooking. She wrote more than 30 best-selling cookbooks, covering all subjects in French cuisine. Je sais cuisiner (I Know How To Cook) was her definitive, most comprehensive work, which brings together recipes for every classic French dish.

In The Art of French Baking, Ginette covers the fundamentals of the French pastry kitchen, from éclairs and fruit tartlets to macaroons and madeleines, when it comes to sweet things, no-one does it better than the French. Beautiful, elegant and delicious, French desserts are easy to create at home as only a few basic recipes are needed to make some of the world’s most renowned cakes and tarts – try the section on soufflés or Tarte Tatin. The book  contains more than 350 simple recipes that anyone can follow at home.

The book also includes details of basic equipment, techniques and information on how to troubleshoot common baking problems. Along with beautiful photographs and illustrations throughout, The Art of French Baking is an inspiring collection to celebrate the sweet tastes of France. A book that will definitely become a feature in the Wickedfood Cooking School library as a reference for our baking classes.

Interested in buying this book? Visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R316 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R395)!  Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%, a total saving of R79.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference. Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.

Reuben Riffel is one of South Africa’s top chefs. He is a shining light of a local boy made good, from humble beginnings to the pinnacle of the South African food industry.  Today he is  owner of Reuben’s Restuarant in Franschhoek, and concept chef at Reuben’s One & Only Cape Town as well as the Robertson Small Hotel.

And to crown of all, he has also produced two books.  In his latest, Reuben Cooks Local he has taken South African ingredients from snoek to skilpadjies and given them his own unique twist – skilpadjies, usually a snack cooked over the coals, is here elegantly presented on a green pea mash with a muscadel jus, or seared miso scallops on creamy mielie puree, elevating the ingredients to a totally new level.

The book is divided into chapters from the sea, field, earth, orchard, wild and vine. Although I’m not totally in favour of the way the book has been divided up, the recipes are nonetheless inspirational.  This is not another traditional South African cookbook, but rather a book taking traditional South African ingredients and cooking styles, and reinterpreting them for the modern kitchen.

And apart from the recipes, the book has also been beautifully designed by Quivertree, and photographed by their in-house photographer, Craig Fraser, who is also a true master of his craft. The book will inspire you in the kitchen, and also make a superb corporate gift for international clients.

Interested in buying this book? Visit - Red Pepper Books – The South African online bookshop, is able to offer you great prices on any book you are looking for, and they deliver to your door. Pay only R312 for this book (Recommended Retail Price = R390)!  Red Pepper Books is offering Wickedfood Cooking School subscribers an EXTRA 10% off this book. Simply type in the promotional code WICKEDFOOD on the shipping page of the checkout process and your purchase will be reduced by a further 10%, a total saving of R78.

Wickedfood Cooking School runs cooking classes throughout the year at its purpose-built Johannesburg cooking studio. Cookery classes are run in the mornings and evenings 7 days a week (subject to a minimum of 12 people). The venue is also popular for corporate events and private functions – teambuilding cooking classes, birthdays, kitchen teas, and dinner parties with a difference. Our cooking lessons are hands-on, where every person gets to participate in the preparation of the dishes. They are also a lot of fun where you not only learn new skills, but get to meet people with similar interests. For corporate groups and team building cooking classes these events are a novel way of creating staff interaction or entertaining clients.