Around the table - in spirit at least

“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart.” – Cesar Chavez

The pandemic has not really been a time for gatherings, bringing friends and family together to break bread - we have missed them, but those times will come again. In the meantime, here are some food books to delight in.

Find recipes to practice or to cook with pals over zoom, cookbooks that tell stories or open doors, and others to just to pour over for the love of all things tasty... (featuring many of our fave kitchen queers, including Kate Young, Ruby Tandoh, Nik Sharma and Julia Turshen...)

And since I'm here, talking about food, I'd like to recommend two local eateries, run by fantastic humans, cooking up food to warm the soul in the most wondrous ways (and they do take away/delivery!)

- SEN is a bookshop neighbour, run by the ever smiling and welcoming Tâm and Jacky, this is the best Vietnamese in the city, created out of the freshest produce as ethically sourced as possible.

- Mum's Comfort Food over on Forest Road is a staple of the Southside, you can taste the good vibes in their delicious, hearty meals, always served up with a grin.

“One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.” -Virginia Woolf