Check out these brilliant new books by our guest performers. Some are already published. Others will be out later in the year or launched at the Festival. We will be adding more to this page as the programme firms up. Festival Bookstalls will be run by Book-ish of Crickhowell in the Market Hall and at the Castle over the weekend. Book-signing sessions give you the opportunity to meet the author and take a personalised copy home. Other books by guest performers will also be on sale.
Jürgen Krauss
Jürgen’s gentle charm, as well as his ambitious flavours and scientific know‐how, captured audiences’ hearts on The Great British Bake Off and this, his first book, is a must‐have for ‘Jürgenators’ everywhere. Drawing on the flavours and techniques of his childhood home in the Black Forest, the authoritative, fool‐proof recipes provide delicious inspiration for any time of day and any occasion.
From sweet and savoury classics such as Flammkuchen and Streusel, to festive bakes like Lebkuchen and Stollen this is the perfect way to celebrate German baking at home.
Read more on publisher’s website
Jeremy Pang
Easy feasting is back on the menu with this new collection from TV’s Jeremy Pang. Bringing together the best flavours from across East and South East Asia, Jeremy Pang’s Simple Family Feasts includes more than 80 irresistible recipes for the whole family to enjoy.
Nine of the ten chapters in the book are dedicated to a different country in East and South East Asia, each one offering a range of dishes inspired by that particular cuisine.
Read more on publisher’s website
Andi Oliver
The Pepperpot Diaries: Stories From My Caribbean Table is the long-awaited first cookbook from award-winning chef and broadcaster Andi Oliver. Featuring both traditional and new recipes, cherished ingredients and vibrant flavours from across the Caribbean, let Andi take you on an exploration of identity and heritage, as she shows you how to create simple yet sensational dishes. ‘The ingredients we use in Caribbean cookery tell a story – and it’s a huge swirling tale…’ Andi Oliver
Read more on publisher’s website
Angela Hartnett
Chef Angela Hartnett invites you into her East End home with her first cookbook in 10 years – The Weekend Cook. Inspired by her famous gatherings with husband Neil, this is a warm, relaxed guide to hosting everything from intimate suppers and raucous street parties to empty-the-freezer nights and family barbecues. The food is a delightful mix of Angela’s London roots and Italian heritage – there’s Osso Bucco and wild garlic Gnocchi as well as Sausage Rolls and Apple Tart.
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Simon Fairlie
Part moving, free-wheeling memoir, part social critique, Going to Seed questions the current trajectory of Western ‘progress’—and the explosive consumerism, growing inequality, and environmental devastation laid bare in our daily newsfeeds—and will resonate with anyone who wonders how we got to such a place. Simon’s story is for anyone who wonders what the world might look like if we began to chart a radically different course. ‘Simon Fairlie is possibly the most influential – and unusual – eco-activist you might not have heard of’ The Observer
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Niki Segnit
The hugely anticipated follow-up to Niki Segnit’s landmark global bestseller, The Flavour Thesaurus
In The Flavour Thesaurus: More Flavours – Plant-led pairings, recipes and ideas for cooks, Niki Segnit applies her ground-breaking approach to explore 92 plant-based flavours, from Kale to Cashew, Pomegranate to Pistachio. Every ingredient is vegetarian and explored with the economy of a thesaurus, then expertly paired with those they complement. ‘Matching ingredients isn’t a trivial matter and Niki Segnit is definitely the reigning champion’ Yotam Ottolenghi
Read more on publisher’s website
Nicola Chester
In On Gallows Down, Nicola Chester bears witness to – and fights against – the stark political and environmental changes imposed on the land she loves, whilst raising her family to appreciate nature and to feel like they belong. From protesting the loss of ancient trees to the re-wilding of Greenham Common, this is the story of how one woman made sense of her world – and found her place in it.
Shortlisted for the Wainwright Prize 2022 for Nature Writing. Winner of the Richard Jeffries Award 2021 for Nature Writing.
Read more on publisher’s website
Kiran Sidhu
After Kiran loses her mother, she escapes to the Welsh countryside – to allow herself to grieve, and to find solace in the purity of the natural world.
I Can Hear the Cuckoo is a tender, philosophical memoir about the beauty of a microscopic life, the value of solitariness, and respecting the rhythm and timing of the earth. This is a reflective book about finding friendship in the most unexpected places – and what nature and a small community in the Welsh Valleys can teach us about life.
Read more on publisher’s website
Jeremy Lee
Winner of the André Simon Award 2022 for Best Food Book.
Cooking Simply and Well, for One or Many is about good food honed from good ingredients whether great potatoes, asparagus or berries. This is a masterclass by Jeremy Lee in simple things done well. ‘A beautifully written instant classic that is every bit as exuberant and delicious as the man himself’ Nigella Lawson
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James Whetlor
In The DIY BBQ Cookbook award-winning author James Whetlor demonstrates how to build 10 different types of BBQ, alongside 50 recipes that are easy to prepare and packed full of flavour. From a small portable Japanese grill to a Washing Machine Drum BBQ, a Tandoor oven made from a flowerpot to a Simple Dutch Oven, there are projects for all skill levels to try.
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Jake Fiennes
Jake Fiennes is on a mission to change the face of the English countryside. Land Healer is the story of Fiennes’s ambition to bring back our flora and fauna – by reclaiming our traditions and trialling new experiments which could restore our symbiosis with our land. A unique combination of nature writing and environmental manifesto, of passion and policy. ‘Jake Fiennes is changing the face of farming in Britain… a revolutionising force’ Isabella Tree
Read more on publisher’s website
Imad Alarnab
This is the first cookbook from Imad Alarnab, a renowned chef from Damascus. Imad now runs an acclaimed restaurant in London, which was named GQ’s ‘Best Breakthrough Restaurant 2022’.
Imad’s Syrian Kitchen is a bustling, vibrant tour through 120 traditional and adapted Syrian dishes that can be made in the comfort of your own home.
Read more on publisher’s website
Gurdeep Loyal
Winner of the Jane Grigson Trust Award
Born in Britain to Indian parents, Gurdeep Loyal embraces the delicious contradictions of his British Indian identity. In Mother Tongue he explores his culinary upbringing which combined ‘authentic’ home-cooked Punjabi food, with ‘inauthentic’ curry-house Tikka Masalas, the Western foodie cannon, and a wanderlust for travel in pursuit of flavour. ‘A Willy Wonka-style wizard of flavour, his joy in food shines from every page – a genuinely thrilling book’ Felicity Cloake
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Chris Smaje
In the face of ongoing food, energy and environmental crises, Chris Smaje, farmer and social scientist, is one of the most prescient voices on the future of farming. In Saying NO to a Farm-Free Future he argues against the inevitability of a factory-produced food system and an urbanised world, as championed by the likes of George Monbiot, and explains why we must put the power back into the hands of farmers, producers and the local communities that support them.
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Bee Wilson
The Secret of Cooking is packed with solutions for how to make life in the kitchen work better for you, whether you are cooking for yourself or for a crowd. Bee Wilson’s 140 recipes are doable and delicious, filled with ideas for cooking ahead or cooking alone and the kind of unfussy food that makes everyday life taste better. ‘There is wisdom, and notes from a lifetime of reading, thinking, cooking and eating here. And it’s not just about food but about how we live, and how we look after ourselves and each other’ Diana Henry
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Anna Jones
This book by Anna Jones warns that unless we learn to accept and respect our social, cultural and political differences as town and country people, we are never going to solve the chronic problems in our food system and environment. Each chapter, from Family and Politics to Animal Welfare and the Environment, explores a different aspect of the urban/rural disconnect, weaving case studies and research with Anna’s personal stories of growing up on a small, upland farm. ‘A brilliant call to action for town and country to work together like never before’ Adam Henry
Read more on publisher’s website