Kitchens of the World

Christy Conte is a member of the Parents Advisory Committee at the
YMCA’s Parent and Child Enrichment Centre and a journalist.

The author is a successful businessman with a long history of charitable
work to his credit. Having traveled and eaten his way through 65
countries, he not surprisingly came up with the idea of producing a
charitable cookbook. Proceeds from the sale of Kitchens of the World go
to support OXFAM Canada’s work in developing countries.

This book was designed not as a resource for the serious gourmand, but
rather as an informative and practical guide to foods enjoyed around the
world. The recipes were gathered from foreign-embassy officials posted
in Canada. Each of the 85 countries selected has been allotted two
pages: one for a brief description of a country’s geography and
cuisine and one featuring a favorite national dish. Typical offerings
include Nigeria’s Groundnut Soup, Kenya’s African Stew with Ugali (a
polenta-like mash), Ireland’s Dublin Coddle, Morocco’s Seven
Vegetable Couscous, and Germany’s Sauerbraten. In all cases, recipes
are fairly simple and easy to follow. Most ingredients are readily
available, though in the case of a couple of mysterious entries, it is
difficult to be conclusive on this point (I personally wouldn’t
recognize a pita cord).

Kitchens of the World will appeal to both the average homemaker in
search of adventure and those who find fulfilment in cooking with
conscience. It would be useful for schools, too, as a resource for
family studies or political economy classes.