Signed cookbooks from Matthew Evans and Hana Assafiri
Here at Readings we are pretty big fans of Matthew Evans. Earlier this week he dropped by to sign copies of his wonderful new cookbook, Summer on Fat Pig Farm. This gourmet farmer is a fair charmer; within minutes, he had booksellers and customers alike laughing – and wondering why we were not making our own ice-cream every day.
I asked him a few questions about his new cookbook. He told me that his favourite recipe for hot windy days is ‘Elderflower Sherbet with Strawberry and Bay Cream’ because it’s easy, impressive and delicious. He explained how he’d found inspiration for the dish while reading old dairy cookbooks. He’s a huge fan of the new cookbook from Cornersmith café and picklery, and next on his to-be-read pile is Nigel Slater’s A Year of Good Eating.
We also received a visit from the lovely Hana Assafiri, who signed copies of her delicious new cookbook, The Moroccan Soup Bar: Recipes of a Spoken Menu and a Little Bit of Spice.
Hana said she wrote this cookbook in a way that honoured the ethos of her restaurant, Moroccan Soup Bar, which is all about sharing stories. She has a passion for collecting women’s experiences and making sense of them, and feels there is no better place throughout history for the sharing of ideas than the kitchen. When she opened her restaurant sixteen years ago, her aim was to create a space where customers would feel cherished. Hana comes from a background working in community health, and she brings that quality to her cooking; she wants her staff and customers to be aware of the differences between cultures and to celebrate these. I think this is why her food tastes so damn good!
Now her cookbook allows for a wider audience than ever, and it feels like a document of a woman determined to change the world, one chickpea at a time.
