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Well, I would say that, wouldn’t I. I live in Devonport and contributed the forward, wine matches and my signature dish to this very high-quality production. It’s been a real community effort with many people contributing their favourite recipes and writing a line or two in defence of their choice, such as,

“This is one of my favourite recipes from my mum (Nana Reid). It is super-easy to make, even my husband does a great job!”

This is a very personal cookbook driven by a lot of pride and passion. Contributors have dug deep to offer tried and true recipes that really work. I get frustrated by recipes that only three-star Michelin chefs could possibly manage. These are tasty, practical dishes made from readily available ingredients that will please the family and impress visitors.

I should mention that my signature dish is smoked salmon. It is ridiculously easy to make and will build your reputation as a great cook. I’m embarrassed by the number of glowing compliments I’ve received for a dish that takes minutes to prepare (plus an hour or two to soak and 15 minutes to cook).

A Christmas gift solved!

Cost: NZD $49, 228-page hardback book with numerous, mouth-watering photos

Order: The Devonport Village Cookbook website

Enter British food writer Fuchsia Dunlop. Every time she publishes a book is time for celebration; a former resident of the Middle Kingdom and frequent visitor ever since, her knowledge of regional Chinese food and her engaging way with words is unparalleled among native English speakers. She’s not without competition though. Carolyn Phillips, a scholar, translator and former Taiwanese resident, is the USA’s answer to Ms Dunlop and is just as fascinating to spend both armchair and kitchen time with.

Land of Fish and Rice by Fuchsia Dunlop

Previously Fuchsia Dunlop has devoted books to the food of Hunan and Sichuan provinces and this, her latest, focuses on Jiangnan, a region she describes as ‘the culinary heart of China’. It encompasses the lower Yangtze region best known for the modern city of Shanghai, but it’s the ancient cities of Hangzhou, Suzhou and Ningbo where this gentle cuisine may be better showcased. The food is known for its balance, locals believing it calms the mind as well as the palate. Dunlop notes it fits with modern Western tastes because of its clean flavours, emphasis on health, fermented foods and moderate meat consumption in a vegetable-rich diet. (Bloomsbury RRP AUD $49.99)

TESTED FAVOURITE: Juicy shitake mushrooms

All Under Heaven by Carolyn Phillips

It was living in Taipei for eight years that exposed Carolyn Phillips to the breadth of Chinese food. In the wake of China’s communist revolution in 1949, millions of Nationalist sympathizers retreated to Taiwan transforming the island into a microcosm of China’s many regional cuisines. This intriguing book dismisses the notion that China has eight major cuisines and explores 35 distinct ones grouped into five broad regions. ‘I noted how regional flavours and ingredients repeated themselves, how certain recipes reemerged in neighbouring provinces with little twists and how China’s history and minority peoples coloured the foods in each place,’ she says. The author’s line drawings illustrate techniques, dishes and whimsy. Look elsewhere, photo junkies. (Penguin RRP AUD $64.99)

TESTED FAVOURITE: Radish threads with green onion oil

Land of Plenty by Fuchsia Dunlop

‘China is the place for food but Sichuan is the place for flavour’ is a common Chinese saying and one convincingly argued in this book. Dunlop’s first cookbook, it was originally published in 2001 in Great Britain under the title Sichuan Cookery and quickly established her as an authority on the region’s food. She was the first westerner to study at the Sichuan Institute of Higher Cuisine and her ability to speak, read and write Mandarin gives the authenticity of her recipes from street food to banquets the edge. Don’t skip the intro, a fascinating discourse on flavour combinations, texture, cutting and eating the Sichuanese way. (Norton RRP AUD $48.99)

TESTED FAVOURITE: Fish with chilies and sichuan pepper

Savour – Salads for all Seasons by Peter Gordon

Hold onto your hats, folks, you’re in for a wild ride. These recipes by New Zealand-born chef, now UK success story, redefine salads with their surprising combinations, a keen eye for texture and sometimes labour intensive technique. The Simple Salads opening chapter delivers straightforward combos with twists that keep things interesting. The fun continues as the complexity increases in chapters such as Veggie Grains, Veggie Cheesy, Fish and Shellfish, Poultry, Meat. The final chapter on dressings will spark up anything you toss into your salad bowl. I’ve made the Miso-baked aubergine with dates, feta and tahini yoghurt which was fab even without the crisp buckwheat on top and I’ll be miso-baking aubergine regularly now, even just as a side. Whatever effort is required for some of these multi-staged extravaganzas is well rewarded and elevates the salad to star status. (Murdoch Books. RRP AUD $49.99)

TESTED FAVOURITE: Puy lentils and quinoa dressed with pomegranate-roasted grapes, eschalots and cherry tomatoes with mint and basil.

The Salad Book by Belinda Jeffrey

Byron Bay based cook Belinda Jeffrey is a cookbook generating machine it seems and this one, her seventh, adheres to her trademark conversational style. She leaves no technical question or curiosity unanswered which makes this a good book even for entry-level cooks. It also means recipes tend towards the long and texty, spilling over several pages which are mercifully broken up with gorgeous photography. Special attention is granted through stand-alone pages to matters such as croutons, citrus, heirloom tomatoes and homemade ricotta. (Lantern. RRP AUD $39.99)

TESTED FAVOURITE: Pea and spring onion salad with goats cheese and buttermilk dressing

Salads all year round Murdoch Books

Salads all year round compiled by Makkie Mulder

Makkie who? She’s the editor of Delicious magazine in Holland – keep your hair on, it’s a translation – and she’s picked 100 of the best quick and easy salad recipes that have crossed her desk. Chapters are divided into straight vegetable combos, fish, cheese, grains, poultry and meat, and fruit with a final chapter of bread recipes to bolster the meal and swipe through the salad dressing. There’s a universal appeal to most of this with a few Dutch leanings like pickled herrings and plenty of spuds but I love her quirky touches; there’s a marinated beetroot and steak salad finished with a grating of bitter dark chocolate. I’d go there, wouldn’t you? (Murdoch Books. RRP AUD $35)

TESTED FAVOURITE: Roasted fennel with marinated raisins (the title under promises, the recipe over delivers)