Features & Stories

Newsletter: 📚 25th anniversary edition of Classic Palestinian Cuisine + IACP shortlisted books on ckbk 📚

12 November 2026 · ckbk newsletter
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Happy publication day to Classic Palestinian Cuisine!

We are truly thrilled to bring you Classic Palestinian Cuisine: 25th Anniversary Edition with added tempting photography on its publication day, November 12. A seminal work that sparked renewed understanding of Palestinian cuisine on its original publication, this anniversary edition is chance for new readers to acquaint themselves with Christiane Nabdoub Nasser's work. As she writes in her introduction:

“Traditional Palestinian cuisine offers a rich variety of dishes characteristic of the eastern regions of the Mediterranean. At a crossroads between east and west, a strategic post on trading routes for centuries, Palestine has experienced more than its share of invasions and occupations. Yet its tumultuous history has only enriched the Palestinian culinary experience, conferring a cosmopolitanism that differentiates it from neighbouring Arab cultures, while strengthening its roots within the civilisations of the area.”

In honor of this new edition we spoke to Christiane to hear about the book’s creation, and her relationship with Palestinian cuisine. Christiane is a novelist and the co-founder of the Centre for Cultural Heritage Preservation in Bethlehem, born to a Palestinian father and Franco-Syrian mother. Writing this cookbook saw her grow from ‘barely able to fry an egg’, to becoming an authority of this multi-layered cuisine.
It was often a community process, and she tells us not only about favorite dishes, but about the family stories and memories woven into her experience of perfecting each recipe. She also calls attention to some of the many chefs, food producers and Palestinian food champions who are continuing to make Palestinian cuisine prominent on the world stage.

In addition to an introduction to this rich culinary culture and its ingredients, Classic Palestinian Cuisine is also a feast of recipes you will want to try. Find Stuffed Aubergines and Rice with Mutton and Chickpeas, a Cheese Dessert made with vermicelli dough and soaked in a lemony syrup, and Cream Pudding with Pistachios aromatic with rosewater.
Read Behind the Cookbook: Classic Palestinian Cuisine
Pictured above: Aubergines with Tomatoes from Classic Palestinian Cuisine: 25th Anniversary Edition by Christiane Dabdoub Nasser

Let’s meet at The Anime Café

Content creator and lifelong anime enthusiast Nadine Estero is a food recreationist who posts her wildly popular creations online. The Anime Café: 50 Iconic Treats, Snacks, and Drinks from your Favorite Anime is her second cookbook, containing recipes to bring on-screen dishes to life. As Nadine writes to introduce the book:
“Anime cafés are establishments that immerse fans in their favorite anime, serving dishes straight from episodes or inspired to look like characters and items from the anime. I created this book with recipes worthy of being in an anime café, so anime fans can enjoy the anime café experience anywhere.”

Browsing the book begins this experience, with each recipe illustrated in anime style, and with the source reference given to bring you right to its on-screen heart. Thankfully the tempting recipes are far from fictional, and written with all the detail needed to help you make them at home.

Try a Caprese Salad from Chef Tonio’s restaurant in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, a Strawberry Seltzer from season one of Buddy Daddies, Hinata’s Naruto Onigiri, or a Sadist Bunny Parfait from Café Stile in Blend S.
Find all the recipes in The Anime Café

Congratulations to our IACP shortlisted authors

The shortlists are in for the annual International Association of Culinary Professionals cookbook awards.

We extend huge congratulations to Katie Reicher for Seasons of Greens: A Collection of New Recipes from the Iconic San Francisco Restaurant, which is nominated in the Chefs & Restaurants category.

 And to Zaynab Issa for Third Culture Cooking: Classic Recipes for a New Generation. We love these books, and are very proud to have them on ckbk.

Best of luck to you both!

Ingredient focus: pears

The pear, like its cousin the apple, is a member of the rose family and originates in the Caucasus. While the best apples are crisp and tart, pears at their best have a yielding flesh and a mellower taste. There are many differing varieties of pear, from sweet yellow and red Williams that have a citrussy hint, to earthy Comice with its incomparable deep flavor.
At the perfect point of ripeness—famously brief and hard to predict—nothing beats a raw pear. But they are also glorious in many dishes.
Explore our collection of 12 Ways with Pears for some ideas. Use up imperfect pears or excess harvest with this Cranberry-Pear Chutney. Poached Pears (pictured above) is a beautifully classic way to prepare them—just serve with sour cream, or a good vanilla ice cream. And a Pear & Almond Tart makes the perfect winter dessert.

6 of the best bread roll recipes

You can always get a full loaf, and cut a slice. But there is something about a bread roll, with its higher ratio of crust to crumb, that is deeply pleasing.

Buttermilk Pretzel Rolls

from Little Flower Baking by Christine Moore

Brazilian Tapioca and Cheese Rolls

from Easy Soups from Scratch with Quick Breads to Match by Ivy Manning

Toasted Oatmeal Rolls

from Bien Cuit: The Art of Bread by Zachary Golper

Beef Fat Bread Rolls

from The Quality Chop House by Daniel Morgenthau, Shaun Searley and William Lander

Bread Quest: Kaiser Rolls

from Bien Cuit: The Art of Bread by Zachary Golper

Bread Rolls

from Macedonia: The Cookbook by Katerina Nitsou