Still looking for bookish Christmas presents or reading recommendations for the holidays? We’ve put together our picks from two categories close to our hearts: food and fiction. When it comes to new recipes, Bon Appétit magazine and its YouTube channel have long been go-tos. Behind the scenes discord drove many employees to pursue their own projects, including chef Andy Baraghani whose book The Cook You Want to Be tells of how his Persian roots influence his recipes. Baraghani also reflects on his career in food, which started with onion peeling as a teenager at cult restaurant Chez Panisse. Claire Saffitz, another BA alumna who is known for her cake creations, provides dessert inspiration with her book What’s for Dessert, covering everything from cobblers to caramel peanut popcorn bars. Meanwhile, charity cookbook Turn the Tables is a collection of recipes created by DJs – including duo Marvin & Valentino, aka Public Possession.
Back to Berlin: Gülsüm Güler and Inci Güler who run supper club TDD have published a book of their own, bringing together recipes and stories from 15 years of dining experience. Blending kitchen and fiction is Cake Zine, a printed collection of cake recipes, essays, poems and photographs that launched this year with two issues. Next up is the debut novel Hund, Wolf, Schakal from Behzad Karim Khani which follows two brothers who flee Iran and end up on the streets of Neukölln. Musa Okwonga also reflects on a Berlin arrival with In the End, it Was All About Love, a book about finding a sense of belonging as a person of color. One of the fantastic love stories this year comes from Sheila Heti, who tells of a young woman who turns into a leaf in Pure Colour. Meanwhile, Theresia Enzensberger’s utopian novel At Sea follows 17-year-old Yada who lives in a floating city in the Baltic Sea. Last up is the novel Checkout 19, a tribute to writing and storytelling by Claire-Louise Bennett. Happy reading!
Text: Laura Storfner / Photos: Savannah van der Niet, Cottonbro & Samson Katt
“The Cook You Want to Be” by Andy Baraghani (2022, Lorena Jones Books, 336 pages)
“What’s for Dessert” by Claire Saffitz (2022, Clarkson Potter, 368 pages)
“Turn the Tables” by Eira Haul (2021)
“Flavours & Friends” from TDD Bon Appétit (2022, Gülsüm Güler 480 pages)
“Cake Zine”
“Hund, Wolf, Schakal” by Behzad Karim Khani (2022, Hanser Berlin, 288 pages)
“In the End, it Was All About Love” by Musa Okwonga (2021, Rough Trade Books, 132 pages)
“Pure Colour” by Sheila Heti (2022, Harvill Secker, 224 pages)
“Auf See” by Theresia Enzensberger (2022, Hanser, 272 pages)
“Checkout 19” by Claire-Louise Bennett (2021, Jonathan Cape, 224 pages)
