Whenever you buy a book from our online store, we may make a small commission which supports our work. Visit our online store here.
Of course, no one says no to a fun night out at a restaurant with great food and drinks. But sometimes, you start questioning whether it is worth spending a chunk of your salary on a plate of pasta you could easily make at home.
In our latest book recommendation, we have compiled a list of books for anyone who’d rather skip the bill at overpriced restaurants. If the thought of those inflated prices leaves you calculating with regret, here’s a better indulgence: books. And not just any books—stories filled with irresistible recipes, rich cultural history and a healthy serving of family drama.
Read our recommendations below:
LONGTHROAT MEMOIRS: SOUPS, SEX AND NIGERIAN TASTE BUDS
author: YEMISI ARIBISALA
Genre: NON-FICTION
Longthroat Memoirs presents a sumptuous menu of essays about Nigerian food. This book also offers a mouth-watering appraisal of the cultural politics and erotics of Nigerian cuisine. It is also a series of love letters to the Nigerian palate. From innovations in soup, fish as aphrodisiac and the powerful seductions of the yam, Longthroat Memoirs examines the complexities, peculiarities, meticulousness and tactility of Nigerian food. This book utilizes Nigeria’s strong culture of oral storytelling to express one’s love language of appetite and nourishment.
HIBISCUS
AUTHOR: LOPÈ ARIYO
GENRE: NON-Fiction
Hibiscus is the debut cookbook from Lopè Ariyo. It contains fresh, stress-free meals that are full of flavour. With chapters including fruits, vegetables and tubers; grains and pulses; meat and poultry and baking and desserts, there is something for every occasion and for everyone. Whether it is experimenting with new ingredients (hibiscus chicken), reimagining old favourites (baked kuli kuli cod with cayenne yam chips), exploring different techniques or finding alternatives to everyday staples, this book will help you discover all that modern Nigerian food has to offer.
HOW TO COOK YOUR HUSBAND THE AFRICAN WAY
AUTHOR: CALIXTHE BEYALA
GENRE: fiction
How to Cook Your Husband the African Way is the story of Aissatou, a Paris-based Cameroonian woman, who falls in love with her neighbour, Mr Bolobolo. Bolobolo has issues, however. He chases far too many girls and lives with his mother who expects visitors from outer space. Aissatou wants a husband who is also a lover. Remembering her mother’s wisdom and the traditions of Africa, she sets out to cook her way to his heart. But it will take more than exotically cooked fish to make Bolobolo a proper man. Reading this enchanting story will make one wonder what Aissatou will cook next to get Bolobolo where she wants him to be. But in the end, it is not food that keeps him to her.
Cassava Republic Press is proud to announce the launch of their inaugural $20,000 Global Black Women’s Non-Fiction Manuscript Prize dedicated to exceptional works by Black women. Deadline: 30th June 2024. Learn more here.
BUTTER HONEY PIG BREAD
AUTHOR: FRANCESCA EKWUYASI
GENRE: fiction
Spanning three continents, Butter Honey Pig Bread tells the story of Kambirinachi and her twin daughters, Kehinde and Taiye. Kambirinachi believes that she is an Ogbanje, or an Abiku. She has made the unnatural choice of staying alive to love her human family but lives in fear of the consequences of her decision. However, Kambirinachi and her two daughters become estranged from one another because of a trauma that Kehinde experiences in childhood, which leads her to move away and cut off all contact. She ultimately finds her path as an artist and seeks to raise a family of her own, despite her fear that she won’t be a good mother. Meanwhile, Taiye is plagued by guilt for what her sister suffered and runs away, attempting to fill the void of that lost relationship with casual flings with women. She eventually discovers a way out of her stifling loneliness through a passion for food and cooking. Butter Honey Pig Bread is a story of choices and their consequences, of motherhood, of the malleable line between the spirit and the mind, of finding new homes and mending old ones, of voracious appetites, of queer love, of solid friendship, faith, and above all, family.
VEGAN AFRICA: PLANT-BASED RECIPES FROM ETHIOPIA TO SENEGAL
Author: MARIE KACOUCHIA
Genre: NON-FIction
Drawing from the cultures and traditions of more than 15 countries, years of cooking expertise, and memories from her own childhood on the Ivory Coast, Marie Kacouchia takes us on a tour of flavourful, healthy, naturally plant-based African dishes. In this book, you can explore over 70 recipes for main courses, rice dishes, sauces, snacks, desserts, and drinks. Vegan Africa provides a guide through diverse vegan cuisine from Ghana to Ethiopia, and Nigeria to South Africa. Kacouchia also shines a spotlight on the superfoods—like cacao, garlic, ginger, and sweet potato—that make these recipes both mouthwatering and packed with vital nutrients.
MY EVERYDAY LAGOS
AUTHOR: YEWANDE KOMOLAFE
GENRE: NON-FICTION
My Everyday Lagos features 75 dishes all served in Lagos. Through informative essays contextualizing ingredients historically, Yewande Komolafe explains how a cuisine has evolved that transcends tribal boundaries in a country where dozens of ethnic groups interact. Her personal narrative is interwoven throughout the book, cautioning against being burdened by notions of authenticity.
For people in the African diaspora, this book highlights foods that have been adapted and integrated into the cuisines of their respective locales. From the bustling bukas of London to those in Houston, Atlanta, Chicago, Toronto and Newark, each city offers its unique interpretation of Nigeria reflected in its culinary offerings. The featured recipes, including classics like jollof rice, puff puff and groundnut stew, serve as a starting point for home cooks, guiding them to achieve the diverse flavours emblematic of the Nigerian cuisine. Through photographs capturing the vibrancy of the city and its people, this book invites readers into the energy and pulse of Lagos, offering an in-depth exploration of its cuisine while revealing the nuances of regions, peoples, diaspora and return. Komolafe also shares her personal journey of self-discovery through understanding her home country and its food.
CHOP CHOP: COOKING THE FOOD OF NIGERIA
authOR: OZOZ SOKOH
GENRE: NON-Fiction
This is an introduction to traditional and modern Nigerian home cooking featuring 100 delicious recipes by culinary anthropologist, Ozoz Sokoh. In Chop Chop, Sokoh celebrates classic and traditional Nigerian cuisine to underscore the ingredients, flavours and textures that make it not only beloved, but delicious and easy for the home cook⎈
