Oh, Paris. We didn’t even realise we missed you and yet here we are, pining over a tiny wine bar-slash-restaurant in the City of Light, thanks to La Buvette. This book takes us to the real-life wine shop that also does small plates of food. Think plenty of wine and grazing-style entertaining, like owner Camille Fourmont’s ‘famous’ giant beans with citrus zest, baguettes, butter, and white peach and verbena jam. This chic book is a guide to wine, food, and Parisian lifestyle, and it unlocks the secrets to achieving that coveted je ne sais quoi French entertaining style, along with revealing the best of Paris.

Locals and Adelaide insiders might be forgiven for calling this a South Australian travel cookbook. Actually, though, it’s Afghan food created by the family behind the gorgeous Parwana restaurant and kitchen in Adelaide. The family-run restaurant opened its doors in 2009, with a vision to share Afghan cuisine and culture with the world. Author Durkhanai Ayubi’s recipes save us the flight, to either Afghanistan or Adelaide. They span rice dishes, dumplings, curries, meats, Afghan pastas, chutneys and pickles, soups and breads, and each has a special story to tell. Available in September 2020.

It doesn’t get more international than this beautiful book. Author Ravinder Bhogal was born in Kenya to Indian parents, then moved to London as a child, lending her a playful approach to the world’s larder. Jikoni means ‘kitchen’ in Kiswahili, and the recipes within the book are a lawless concoction of nationalities, reminding us to get back out there when we’re allowed – to enhance our own existence through the discovery of other people’s food.

This cookbook is a love letter to Palestine, a place often left from even intrepid travellers’ bucket lists. Authors Sami Tamimi and Tara Wigley take us through Bethlehem, East Jerusalem, Nablus, Haifa, Akka, Nazareth, Galilee and the West Bank with stunning food and travel photography illustrating the stories, recipes, and previously unheard Palestinian voices.

Chef and author Hooni Kim received the first ever Michelin star awarded to a Korean restaurant for Danji in New York, and now we don’t have to fly there to get a taste. This book entails a masterful presentation of small, Korean dishes. The chef recounts his Korean heritage, which pays homage to tradition – there’s plenty of doenjang, ganjang, and gochujang – while staying incredibly fresh, contemporary and illuminating to the craft of this extraordinary culture.

The restaurants and hotels of the mountainous region north of New York have become a culinary destination – some have even labelled it the alt-Napa Valley. The Phoenicia Diner is integral to this revolution. It’s a pit-stop along the highway for ‘biscuits and gravy’ and chicken pot pie. It’s always busy. Except for now, possibly, although it’s likely New Yorkers are taking their chance with the queues while international travellers are held captive in their homelands. The diner – with authors Mike Cioffi, Sara B. Franklin, and Chris Bradley – has made a cookbook about its comfort food and Catskills roots, so there’s no need to take Route 28 west from the Hudson River.

What sets out to be a uniquely international book results in something so very New York. And that’s the way it should be. This genius book by John Wang and Storm Garner collects the recipes from the Queens Night Market vendors, who brought their recipes to America from their homelands. It’s true that eating the food is the best way to understand the story of another person, and that makes this book truly special. It’s exquisite, unique travel, from our own kitchens.

Russian food isn’t all herrings and vodka, after all. This new cookbook by Darra Goldstein showcases recipes from Siberian villages and the vegetables of this vast land, and even vodka infused with pepper and horseradish. Recipes focus on hearty grains, fermentation, pickles and preserves, and there’s homemade cheese and cultured butter, puff pastry hand pies stuffed with mushrooms and fish, and seasonal vegetable soups.

Eric Werner and Mya Henry, an intrepid young couple, gave up their restaurant jobs in New York City to start anew in the one-road town of Tulum, Mexico. Here they built Hartwood, one of the most exciting and inspiring restaurants in the world. This book thrills with an exhilarating narrative and exciting recipes to cook at home.

This hotly anticipated book is set to be released in October 2020, and is an enlivened, more adult rendition of our country’s favourite recipes. This is the man who brought avocado toast to the world, who was labelled the ‘egg master of Sydney’ by The New York Times in 2002 and ‘the king of breakfast’ by The Telegraph Magazine in 2016. He’s the author of Sydney Food, a cookbook in which he brought his fluffy pancakes and cafe classics to kitchens across the world, painting an idyllic picture of the city as early risers who delight in a good, healthy feed before midday. There’s avocado and poached egg on rye in this book, but also more complex additions that nod to our multicultural heritage. Available for pre-order now.

Modern Maori cuisine is not something you may have realised you needed in your kitchen, until now. Not being able to jump across to our closest neighbour during lockdown makes the land seem somehow more beautiful. Or maybe it’s the work of Monique Fiso, a modern-day food warrior, enchanting us. After working in Michelin-starred restaurants, Fiso opened Hiakai, an innovative pop-up-turned-restaurant in Wellington. Her book looks to history, tradition and tikanga, and includes an illustrated ingredient directory, foraging notes and recipes infused with ancient knowledge. Available September 2020.