'Cooking from Memory' is a sumptuous, glorious celebration of Jewish cookery from around the world. Separated into regions and countries, we meet twenty-one cooks who have migrated to Australia from places such as Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Japan, Poland and Argentina.
They recount their sometimes courageous, sometimes tragic but always inspiring stories -and detail their histories, the origins of certain recipes and their experiences of food as they were growing up. From Georgia to Italy to Israel, Japan and South Africa, we learn of the miracles and tragedies that formed the Jewish Diaspora in Australia. The common thread is how food and flavours fill a Jewish home with love.
Their unique journeys and reminiscences are told through food, and are accompanied by sumptuous colour photographs by Mark Roper and delicious recipes – from traditional dumplings, noodles and soups to biscuits, pastries and even doughnuts! Some dishes are simple, made from the freshest ingredients, while others are complex and elaborate. There is the spicy fragrance of Indian curry contrasted with the sumptuousness of Sephardi couscous and, of course, legendary chicken soup (Jewish penicillin), gefilte fish and strudel from Ashkenazi cooking, to name just a few.
'Cooking From Memory' is a veritable cornucopia of the riches, traditions and flavours of Jewish cooking – not only a delicious book of recipes and stories but a triumphant showcasing in words and pictures of a proud and vital culture.
