Fans of both reading and cooking know that a good story can be as satisfying as a good meal. There are many themed cookbooks that explore this connection by celebrating the role of food in popular fiction.
Most of the cookbooks included in this list contain recipes meant for adults and older teens with cooking experience while a few of these titles do contain simple recipes that younger (supervised) cooks might also enjoy.
In Paddington's Cookery Book, by Michael Bond with recipes by Lesley Young and illustrations by R.W. Alley, Paddington Bear shows how to prepare several recipes - including a few that call for the use of his beloved marmalade.
A few cookbooks pay tribute to the Star Wars universe. Check these out for some fun recipes for delicacies such as Hoth Chocolate and Boba Fettucine. The first of these is The Star Wars Cookbook: Wookiee Cookies and Other Galactic Recipes by Robin Davis and Frankie Frankeny. The sequel is titled The Star Wars Cookbook II: Darth Malt and More Galactic Recipes by Frankeny and Wesley Martin. The newest book in this series is The Star Wars Cookbook: Wookiee Pies, Clone Scones and Other Galactic Goodies, by Davis and Lara Starr.
The Manga Cookbook, written by the Manga University Culinary Institute and illustrated by Chihiro Hattori, highlights the foods that often appear in Japanese comics. Recipes are illustrated and explain how to make a variety of Japanese foods, such as decorative bento boxes, sweet dumplings and California rolls.
The Unofficial Harry Potter Cookbook by Dinah Bucholz provides recipes for many of the foods highlighted in the popular book series. Recipes include Aunt Petunia's pork loin, Mrs. Weasley's fudge, and the pumpkin pasties sold on the Hogwarts Express.
The Unofficial Hunger Games Cookbook by Emily Ansara Baines is inspired by the dystopian future world in the popular trilogy. Recipes are based on the foods mentioned in the books, such as lamb stew with dried plums and bread from the Mellark's Bakery.
Joanne Fluke's Lake Eden Cookbook collects the recipes from the first eight books of the Hannah Swensen Mysteries, a popular series that routinely includes the recipes of the title character (who runs a bakery when she is not solving mysteries). Like the book series, this cookbook is also written by Joanne Fluke.
Brunetti's Cookbook (also known as A Taste of Venice: At Table with Brunetti) provides recipes for the lavish food dishes described in the Commissario Brunetti Mysteries. Series author Donna Leon pairs with Roberta Pianaro to provide recipes and book excerpts for some of Brunetti's favourite meals.
Fans of southern U.S. cooking will appreciate Fannie Flagg's Original Whistle Stop Cafe Cookbook, a companion to the novel Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe. Author Flagg includes the recipes from the novel as well as more recipes from The Irondale Cafe, the Whistle Stop's real-life inspiration.
At the Downton Abbey estate, the Crawleys are used to the fine dining of their "upstairs" lives. But it's their dedicated "downstairs" staff that makes this lifestyle possible. In The Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook, author Emily Ansara Baines presents the recipes of Mrs. Patmore, Daisy and other notable characters.
These are just a few of the cookbooks that highlight the relationship between good stories and good food.
And don't forget that there are also many novels that include recipes as part of the story.
Visit the library to find these and other titles that celebrate the foods enjoyed by some of our favourite fictional characters.
A Good Read is a column by Tri-City librarians that is published every other Wednesday in July and August. Tammie Mercado works at Port Moody Public Library.
