Eat and Explore: Take a Round-the-World Trip with 5 New Cookbooks

From China’s biggest city to the wilderness of Australia’s isolated island-state, today’s acclaimed chefs and prominent food writers are giving insight into the culture and cuisine of gastronomically rich destinations. Here, we’ve rounded up the top new cookbooks that not only succeed in transporting you to far-flung pockets of the globe, but also feature original recipes sure to bring a world of flavors to your kitchen.

AUSTRALIA: How Wild Things Are by Analiese Gregory

Tasmania, the verdant island off Australia’s south coast, is celebrated for the exceptional produce that’s grown, foraged, and fished in its extraordinary natural environment. And in How Wild Things Are (Hardie Grant), chef Analiese Gregory uses recipes ranging from wakame jam to wallaby tartar with beetroot, radicchio, and pepperberry to highlight the island’s ingredients and how produce can connect you with the great outdoors.

Gregory’s culinary pedigree shines through on every page: she honed her craft in acclaimed restaurants including Mugaritz in Spain and The Ledbury in London, before making the move to Tasmania where she helmed the kitchen of The Franklin. She’s also appeared alongside Gordon Ramsay in his National Geographic series Uncharted and has her own TV series in the works.

When she’s not renovating her 110-year-old farmhouse in the Huon Valley, with plans to open an intimate restaurant there, the chef spends her time foraging, diving, and connecting with the people who dedicate themselves to growing produce on the land. And the results are clear—this, her debut cookbook, is part narrative, part recipe collection, and all homage to Tasmania’s wild landscape and slow food movement.

Related: Learn How to Forage for Plants in Your Own Backyard

CHINA: My Shanghai by Betty Liu

In My Shanghai: Recipes and Stories from a City on the Water (HarperDesign), food writer and photographer Betty Liu gives readers a window into the flavors of an ancient cuisine and the diverse culture of a food-oriented city.

Through 100 recipes, a collection of stories, and more than 150 inspiring photographs—all organized by season—Liu takes you on a journey through a year of the Shanghai culinary calendar. And she succeeds in creating not only a cookbook, but also a travelogue and cultural study; going beyond well-known dishes to include recipes that highlight the diversity of the city’s communities, and using seasonally available ingredients from land and sea.

Expect a mix of family recipes, as well as street food favorites and centuries-old specialties, such as Nanjing salted duck (courtesy of Liu’s father-in-law) and Suzhou red-braised pork belly (her grandfather’s dish). You’ll come away with the secret to vibrant creations that reinforce just how influential Chinese cuisine is.

Related: Discover 3 Recipe Books for Healthy and Happy Eating

THE MIDDLE EAST: The Arabesque Table by Reem Kassis

The celebrated Palestinian writer and cookbook author, Reem Kassis, has followed her award-winning debut The Palestinian Table with her new title The Arabesque Table (Phaidon). Amounting to 130 recipes, this collection opens up the world of modern Middle Eastern cooking while also celebrating the evolution of Arab cuisine and paying tribute to its cross-cultural history.

In her cookbooks, Kassis weaves historical research and cultural insight into new interpretations of ancient and notably diverse dishes, giving readers a greater understanding of the Arab world in the process. Highlights include traditional dishes such as Makmoora—a chicken, onion, and pine nut pot pie—and modern, globally inspired twists on ingredients like tahini cheesecake. Overall, this book highlights the connection between food, people, and place across the Arab world.

MEXICO: The Food of Oaxaca by Alejandro Ruiz

Considered the culinary capital of Mexico, Oaxaca has no better ambassador than Alejandro Ruiz—chef and owner of the acclaimed Casa Oaxaca—who has been credited with the city’s food renaissance and has represented its cuisine across the world. The Food of Oaxaca (Knopf), written in partnership with Carla Altesor and with a foreword by culinary great Enrique Olvera, celebrates both the food and culture of this gastronomically rich Mexican state.

Encompassing ancestral and original recipes, this is one of those rare cookbooks that provides new insight into local traditions while also transporting readers to the region, with recommendations on the best places to eat providing a guide for future travels. The mouthwatering recipes include dishes that Ruiz serves at his restaurant, and range from jicama tacos to Oaxacan chocolate mousse.

Related: Find Out What’s in Store for the Future of Restaurants

ITALY: The New Cucina Italiana by Laura Lazzaroni

Laura Lazzaroni, an award-winning journalist and author, who was also the first editor-in-chief of Food & Wine Italia, has poured her extensive knowledge of Italy‘s gastronomy into one of the best new cookbooks on what to eat, what to cook, and who to know in Italian cuisine today.

Featuring 34 chefs and restaurateurs who reinterpret the Italian classics, The New Cucina Italiana (Rizzoli) highlights a long-coming movement: one that shows reverence for the nation’s great culinary tradition, while rethinking how things are done and rediscovering farming and foraging. A journey from north to south stops by restaurants and farms across the country, and showcases the stories, influences, and ingredients that are informing this new approach to cooking.

With 40 colorfully illustrated recipes—ranging from Niko Romito’s sourdough-potato bread and Juri Chiotti’s hay-infused panna cotta to fried pizza with anchovies and tomatoes by Franco Pepe—you’ll come away feeling inspired (and longing for a trip to Tuscany).

Banner image: A selection of dishes from The Arabesque Table by Reem Kassis, one of a range of new cookbooks taking readers on a culinary trip around the globe