Menus from an Orchard Table: Celebrating the Food and Wine of the Okanagan
Written by Heidi Noble
Reviewed by Christina Burridge
Hard to find a better time to re-read this silver medal winner from the 2008 Canadian Culinary Book Awards than the August long weekend when my own Vancouver Island garden is bursting with zucchini, tomatoes, eggplants, peas, beans and potatoes.
A summer visit to the Penticton Farmers Market ultimately led Heidi Noble and husband Michael Dinn to buy an orchard and country farmhouse on the Okanagan Valley’s Naramata Bench, home to some of …

The 100-Mile Diet: A Year of Local Eating
Written by Alisa Smith & J.B. MacKinnon
Reviewed by Sasha Chapman
By now, the virtues of eating locally have become so fixed in the public consciousness that even Lay’s Potato Chips have glommed onto the idea. Ads helpfully point out that it uses local potatoes to make its salty snacks. There are television series that chronicle the trials of “real” people attempting their own 100-mile diet, sourcing all their ingredients within a 100-mile radius of where they live in an attempt to reduce …

Dish Entertains: Everyday Simple to Special Occasions
Written by Trish Magwood
Reviewed by Nancy Hinton
At first glance, Trish Magwood’s Dish Entertains (HarperCollins, 2008) struck me as superficial – a glossy package that was short on substance, more concerned with looking good than with delicious food.
However, after spending some time with the book, I found this initial impression to be dead wrong.
Yes, Dish Entertains is more about entertaining than actual cooking. There are more artistic photos of table ornaments and of Trish than of the actual dishes. However, the design is attractive, …

Fresh: Seasonal Recipes Made With Local Ingredients
Written by John Bishop, Dennis Green and Dawne Gourley
Reviewed by Barbara Barnes
When I hear the name John Bishop in my food circle travels, I think of a man who is a Canadian pioneer in sustainable kitchens and the “eat local movement”. The environmentally-conscientious Bishop, runs a green kitchen and keeps wastage to a minimum.  He has a special bond with the local growers and food producers who supply his restaurant. After reading Fresh (Douglas & McIntyre, 2007), which won Gold at the 2008 Canadian …

The 2009 Canadian Culinary Book Awards are closer than you think. This summer our judges will be reading, testing and weighing their decisions.
This year, 56 titles vie for top honours. While the subject matter varies widely, all books have met the same publishing criteria and are :

Written by a Canadian author (Canadian citizen or permanent resident of Canada).
Published by a Canadian publisher or self-published in Canada.
Published between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008.

If an entry is a revised book, it must meet the above conditions and also contain a …

A Year at Les Fougères
Written by Charles part and Jennifer Warren-Part
Reviewed by Karl Wells
Charles Part and Jennifer Warren-Part’s A Year at Les Fougères (Chelses Books, 2007) is a cookbook, but it’s also the story of a year in the life of a restaurant – Les Fougères – with emphasis on how it embraces and celebrates each unfolding season. Les Fougères borders the Gatineau Hills of Quebec. The seasons there are well defined and spectacularly beautiful, as seen in the few hundred photographs taken for the book by Ottawa-Gatineau photographer, Andrew …

Ultimate Foods for Ultimate Health
Written by Liz Pearson and Mairlyn Smith
Reviewed by Elizabeth Shears
Years of working in public health and health promotion have taught me a very clear lesson. People want information on healthy eating and they want it simple and usable. This year’s winner in the Special Interest Food and Beverage category, Ultimate Foods For Ultimate Health (Whitecap Books, 2007) delivers just that!
When I scanned the table of contents, I wondered if this book might be too science-oriented. As I read on, I realized these two authors had …

Eat, Drink and Be Vegan: Everyday Vegan Recipes Worth Celebrating
Written by Dreena Burton
Reviewed by Barbara Barnes
Over the years in my capacity as a gas utility home economist, fielding consumer telephone inquiries regarding food and household science, I was occasionally asked to recommend a good vegetarian or vegan cookbook. This was always a difficult question. Cookbooks in this area often include ingredients that may not be readily available in mainstream grocery stores or in some communities, not available at all! Many vegan and vegetarian cookbooks are not well suited to …