The Cookbook That Makes You Want to Travel. And Cook!

Kristina Babi’s new book, Breakfast in London, Dinner in Paris

The cookbook that makes you want to travel. This is how I’d describe Kristina Babi’s new book, Breakfast in London, Dinner in Paris. Reading about Kristina’s favourite food spots in France and Britain, I started picturing myself finally getting on the Eurostar train – and going to Lyon, or Grasse (“just 10 km from Cannes”), or Martigues – “a city northwest of Marseille,” famous for its Sardines Festival.

But what about cooking, you ask? That too, of course: the book has a huge number of inspiring recipes, conveniently divided into sections: “Legendary Soups,” “Seafood Sensations,” “Five O’Clock Tea,” “French Club Challenges,” and many more, covering both the classics and lesser-known dishes. What unites these recipes is that all of them have a story behind them – of Kristina’s personal connection to a place in Britain and France. And it is this personal note that makes you relate to the recipe more, as if the recipe has been given to you by your own dear friend, to try out and experience the same emotions.

In fact, with Kristina’s book on your kitchen shelf (or on your screen, if you prefer its paperless e-version), you don’t need to leave your home in order to travel. The book is wonderfully illustrated with hi-res photos of where the recipes are from, and Kristina’s short little “diary” snippets explaining her connection to each recipe allow you to smell the French sea air or picture yourself in “nighttime Edinburgh.” There is even a sense of a true novel to the book, like when Kristina shares a particularly dramatic trip to Scotland, ending up in a broken car and a surprisingly delicious lunch in a “neighbouring roadside shack.”

The range of recipes in this book is truly remarkable: with modern cookbooks tending to be more and more specialised, Kristina resurrects an old encyclopaedic style of cookbook, following in the footsteps of Julia Child and, to take a more recent example, Gordon Ramsay's Ultimate Cookery Course. The difference between Kristina and these two writers is that you feel like you're cooking with a friend, rather than an intimidating chef. And with a friend, you are bound to have a good time – whether it’s trying out Kristina’s “perfect brownie recipe – tried, tested and incredibly delicious,” or hanging out in Kristina’s top five restaurants in London. (To find out what they are is a good reason on its own to buy this book.)

To give you a taste of both Kristina’s style and her recipe format, here are a few of my favourite quotes:

From the chapter My Love, Nighttime Edinburgh:

“Enchanting, damp, quirky, alive. My cherished Edinburgh. Illuminated in a soft yellow hue under the streetlamps, with traces of black from the wind and rain. This historic city boasts a youthful spirit with its theatre festivals, lively pubs, quaint souvenirs and, of course, whisky.”

Speaking of whisky, here is a quote from Kristina’s recipe for the boozy Orange Marmalade:

“Finally, chop the orange peel, combine with the white and muscovado sugar and the orange pulp liquid. Cook over a low heat until the sugar dissolves, then boil vigorously for 15–25 minutes. Add the whisky, remove the foam and store in jars.”

If this doesn’t make you feel like Meryl Streep in her role as Julia Child, stirring vigorously in the heart of Paris and then in her iconic kitchen in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I don’t know what will. Get cooking – and travelling – with Breakfast in London, Dinner in Paris, and share your reviews on Amazon!