By Leslie Brenner
We’ve got a serious thing for cookbooks at Cooks Without Borders — and we work hard to feature standout titles celebrating cuisines from around the world in our Cookbooks We Love column. The featured titles aren’t just cookbooks that look great; they’re those that help us gain a deeper understanding of the cultures they cover — and that are filled with appealing recipes that yield excellent results.
We’re thrilled that two of our favorite titles from last year have been chosen as finalists in the prestigious International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) Cookbook Awards.
“Treasures of the Mexican Table”
It’s easy to see why Pati Jinich’s Treasures of the Mexican Table resonated with both CWB and the IACP judges: It takes a deep dive into cooking from all around Mexico. Like a latter-day Diana Kennedy, author Jinich traveled widely and deeply for the book, turning up outstanding, delicious, sometimes classic and often less well known dishes in people’s homes, in restaurants, in markets and on the street. Treasures is a finalist in the International category.
Vuelve a la Vida, prepared from a recipe in ‘Treasures of the Mexican Table’ by Pati Jinich
“Mother Grains”
Roxana Jullapat — the renowned Los Angeles baker, co-owner of Friends & Family and author of Mother Grains — has a special place in our heart. First because we’re white-flour averse, and big believers in the grain revolution, which aims to use healthful ancient grains in baking as much as possible. Second because she is a true cook without borders — born to immigrant parents (one from Thailand, the other from Puerto Rico), and she grew up in Puerto Rico.
Her recipes are as fabulous as her bakery, and we were thrilled to have her join us as an honored speaker at one of our Makers, Shakers & Mavens video events: The Grain Revolution with Roxana Jullapat and David Kaisel.
Mother Grains is a finalist in the Baking Sweet & Savory, Confections and Desserts category.
Macadamia Nut Brown Butter Blondies from ‘Mother Grains’ by Roxana Jullapat
READ: Roxana Jullapat’s ‘Mother Grains’ has all the makings of a new classic
Jullapat and Jinich are in excellent company among the many authors, photographers and others honored as finalists in the wide-ranging Cookbook Awards categories. IACP also named finalists in its Food Photography and Styling Awards, Food Writing Awards and Digital Media Awards. Find all the finalists here.
Congratulations to Jullapat, Jinich, their editors, publishers and collaborators for the recognition. Do treat yourself to a copy of their books; you’ll find links to purchase them within the reviews, linked above. Or test-drive a recipe or two first (you’ll also find those in the reviews) and then decide.
Digital Media nod for Cooks Without Borders
Finally, we are honored that Cooks Without Borders has been named a finalist in IACP’s Digital Media Awards. Our co-finalists, in the Individual Food Blog Category, are Moon Rice, from Shri Repp and Unpeeled Journal, from Lisa Ruland. (We highly recommend both!) Kudos and best of luck to all.
The winners in each category will be announced at a ceremony this fall, at a place and date still to be determined.