8 Cookbooks to Take a Trip Around the World Without Leaving your Kitchen
As frustrating as it was not to be able to travel during the pandemic, our inability to move reminded us that it’s not always necessary to escape to an exotic and far-flung destination to explore. And the kitchen is the perfect way to travel the world without even leaving our place.
Through cooking, through flavors and smells, it is possible to transport ourselves to different corners of the globe. Cumin will make us dream about the chaotic rhythm of the Marrakech Medina. A spicy salsa can take us right to a street taco stand in Mexico City. Some butter and freshly baked pastries, and we’re right in Paris, strolling along the Seine.
Cooking itself can be an adventure, but adding a foreign component to it will bring any kitchen incursion to a whole new level. And it will give you the perfect excuse to explore your city even further as you go on a quest to find rare and not-so-rare ingredients.
Get ready to be a culinary Phileas Phogg and follow these eight cookbooks on a trip around the world…without even leaving your place. Here we go…
8 Cookbooks for
Food & Travel Lovers
Number #01: Paon:
Real Balinese Cooking
When I was living in Bali, a friend made me realize how you don’t see many Indonesian food restaurants around the world, unlike Thai or Korean places, which are now pretty common worldwide. Indonesian food is often considered too “flat” - a less diverse and watered-down version of other famous cuisines around Asia.
However, Bali, while a part of Indonesia, is truly a world apart. Not only because it's the only place in the world where you’ll find their kind of Hinduism, but because of their devotion and dedication to the rituals of daily life. And this permeates into the kitchen.
Created by two Balinese locals, writer Tjok Maya Kerthyasa and chef I Wayan Kresna Yasa, Paon beautifully showcases the sacredness and uniqueness of Bali culture through over 80 recipes, essays, and photographs, setting the record straight on how diverse real Balinese cooking can be.
NUMBER #02Lanka Food:
Serendipity & Spice
Sri Lankan food is another Asian cuisine that isn’t as globally known as others, especially in contrast with their northern neighbor, India. Probably because it is as complex as this country’s recent history. And, of course, Sri Lanka hasn’t been as exposed to international tourism as other destinations have.
In Lanka Food: Serendipity & Spice, author, and chef O Tama Carey demystifies Sri Lankan food through recipes, gorgeous photography, and essays that immerse the reader into this country’s cultural layers.
NUMBER #03Mi Cocina:
Recipes and Rapture
From My Kitchen in Mexico
Mexican food. Loved by all yet deeply misunderstood by many! Mexican food is complex as it is simple, and it is probably one of the cuisines worldwide that has been re-made and re-interpreted the most, both in successful and unsuccessful ways ). Preparing real Mexican food is no easy feat, but this book makes it fairly easy.
While there are innumerable Mexican Cookbook options to choose from, what makes Rick Martinez’s Mi Cocina remarkable is the relatability with which he shares the recipes he himself learned to prepare in his own journey through the 32 states of Mexico. And how easy he makes cooking Mexican ourselves back home.
The incredible photography and general colorfulness of the book are the perfect way to portray the lively and festive nature of Mexican food and the culture around it in our country. This book is as sexy as that scrumptious first bite of a salsa-loaded street taco.
NUMBER #04Bitter Honey:
Recipes and Stories from Sardinia
And talking about widely reproduced cuisines…Italian food has also been tried and done and made and remade incessantly. However, Sardinia’s cuisine is often overlooked as the island remains somewhat of a cultural mix between Spain and Italy to this day.
Surprisingly written by an English chef, Letitia Clark has adopted Sardinia as her home and offers a fresh and wondrous perspective of the island. Her recipes explore the island, from the coast to the hillsides, playing with classic Mediterranean ingredients like artichokes, fennel, and olives. While Letitia re-creates some Sardinian staple dishes, Bitter Honey maintains the essence of tradition, celebration, and community that makes Italian food so special.
Ps. How beautiful is this cover?!
NUMBER #05 Kin Thai:
Modern Thai Recipes to
Cook at Home
Thai food is widely loved for its vibrance and array of spicy, salty, sweet, and sour flavors. And this book does a wonderful job of portraying the spirit of Thai cuisine.
Kin Thai, translated as“Eat Thai,” by half-thai/half-brit chef John Chantarasak dives deep into Thailand’s different regions, detailing each region’s cuisine, traditions, and how they came to be.
From soups and curries to snacks and sweets, Chantarasak recipes explore the Thai territory. But they also reinvent Thai dishes in a way that’s easier to make them anywhere in the world, replacing typical Thai ingredients with other more “common” ones without losing the recipe’s essence.
Kin Thai’s recipes are written in great detail, and the book even includes a prop list of things, like a spice mortar, that will help you become a Thai food master chef in no time.
NUMBER #06Japan:
The Cookbook
I’ve never met a Phaidon book I didn’t like. I could probably go broke at the mercy of Phaidon and their gorgeous, thick, lustrous, and aesthetically pleasing books. And this one is no exception. True, this one is probably a little less visually striking than others in this list, but in true Japanese style, it’s the elegant simplicity that makes it powerful. Both in design and the kitchen, more often than not, less is more is always the rule of thumb to live by.
But as minimalistic as Japanese cuisine may seem, it’s everything but easy. Japanese food is complex and inherits the ritualistic nature of its culture. However, author Nancy Singleton Hachisu’s recipes are clear and easy to follow, making this book such a friendly (and beautiful) way to approach Japanese cooking.
Japan: The Cookbook has over 400 recipes, organized by course, and is full of comprehensive notes. And to make it even easier for you, there’s even an ingredient glossary at the end of the book.
NUMBER #07 Portugal:
The Cookbook
Portuguese cooking may not be as widely famous as other European cuisines, like French or Spanish, but that doesn’t make it any less incredible. The country’s rich history and heritage link it to Latin America, Japan, Africa, and India, making Portugal’s cuisine incredibly diverse…and incredibly delicious.
Written by Leandro Carreira, one of Portugal’s first worldwide-known chefs, the book navigates Portugal’s trading history, sharing the origin stories of some of the most iconic Portuguese dishes. Some are artisanal and forgotten even, while others are simpler and part of Portugal’s daily life.
With over 550 recipes from across Portugal, from the Algarve Coast to travelers’ favorites like Porto, this cookbook captures Portugal’s authentic flavor. And now you can reproduce it in your own kitchen. Boa Viagem!
NUMBER #08The Nutmeg Trail:
Recipes and Stories Along
the Ancient Spice Routes
Author Eleanor Ford described her research work for The Nutmeg Trail as that of a detective - a culinary detective - diving deep into centuries of spice trading and how this cultural exchange shaped food as we know it.
The result was a project of “gastronomic archeology,” a beautiful book that braids food, history, and geography through rich stories, vivid illustrations, and approachable recipes to explore how we can use spices to create “vibrant meals”, and what they say about the food we eat.
Recipes are divided by spice groups, giving not only the “how-to"‘s” on cooking with them but an overview of each spice and its history. The Nutmeg Trail also takes you on a “journey of flavor,” traveling along a map to explain which signature spices are used in different cuisines across the world. This book is a fascinating tour de monde on its own.
Oh the money I would spend on beautiful travel cookbooks…to see the entire list of travel-inspired cookbooks I love or am lusting after, head to my Amazon Storefront:
