NPR

These Are The Best Cookbooks Of 2018, According To Chef Kathy Gunst

Looking for a gift for the chef on your list? Here & Now resident chef Kathy Gunst says this year was another great one for cookbooks.
Three of chef Kathy Gunst's favorite cookbooks of 2018: "Pie Squared: Irresistibly Easy Sweet & Savory Slab Pies," by Cathy Barrow; "Everyday Dorie: The Way I Cook," by Dorie Greenspan; "Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food," by Nik Sharma. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)

Here & Now resident chef Kathy Gunst has compiled a list of her favorite cookbooks of 2018, and joins hosts Robin Young and Jeremy Hobson with dishes from her top three picks.

You can find recipes from three of Kathy’s favorite 2018 cookbooks here, and also check out her latest cookbook, “Soup Swap,” published by Chronicle Books.


Another year, another collection of great cookbooks. I know that I say this every year, but 2018 offered so many good books it made it extremely difficult to pick my top 10, let alone my top three.

But the job must be done, so here are a few favorites.

There is much to learn from this collection — from incorporating Indian spices into everyday food, to baking unexpected combinations of fruit into pies, to finding inventive ways to use leftovers and endless ideas for making everyday cooking just a bit better.

And while air-fryer and instant-pot books abound, you won’t find any on this list. Call me old-fashioned, but this collection is devoted to that good-old on-the-stove or in-the-oven kind of cooking.

May your kitchen be filled with wonderful food this coming year!

You Want … To Wake Up The Flavors In Your Food

Season: Big Flavors, Beautiful Food,” by Nik Sharma

Nik Sharma is immensely talented. He not only developed this collection of outstanding recipes but also took all the gorgeous photographs found in “Season,” published by Chronicle Books. Known for his blog , Sharma introduces us to the exotic flavors of the

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from NPR

NPR11 min read
Kenya's Samburu Boys Share A Sacred Bond. Why One Teen Broke With The Brotherhood
After initiation rites – including circumcision – the boys leave their families to take charge of the herds, driving them high into the mountains. It's a way of life that climate change is testing.
NPR2 min read
Short-term Loss For Long-term Gain? The Ethical Dilemma At The Heart Of EVs
As mines meet mineral demands for electric vehicles, they put communities and ecosystems at risk. Sustainability researcher Elsa Dominish says the EV industry cannot repeat fossil fuel's mistakes.
NPR5 min readWorld
Putin Replaces His Defense Minister As He Starts His 5th Term In Office
Putin proposed Andrei Belousov, who until recently served as the first deputy prime minister, to replace Sergei Shoigu in a Cabinet shakeup.

Related Books & Audiobooks