Cook With Me is a collection of recipes from MasterChef NZ winner Aaron Brunet – it is a sophisticated but accessible cookbook that is well worth picking up. Having reviewed a number of cookbooks released by MasterChef winners, I would say each has its individual charm and focus. It is probably getting quite difficult for the winners to be super original in their content, but I believe Aaron has done a good job of presenting something inviting and unique.
I’m liking
I was quite inspired on my first flicks through this cookbook, and immediately noted several recipes I would like to try. I like a bit of a challenge and I like something different that is achievable in the family kitchen – I feel like Aaron’s recipes offer these benefits. You might end up buying a few new ingredients to cook some of these meals, but they do reappear in other recipes fairly often, so you the jars won’t sit around until you chuck them at their expiry dates.
His family has Serbian heritage, and he lived there for a time, so many of these recipes have a Serbian/European slant to them. I found this really interesting (and pretty delicious).
This book is primarily about fresh and healthy food, which I enjoyed. Components are well balanced, so you will often get a complete meal (meat, side and salad for instance) – everything will fit together nicely.
There is a whole chapter dedicated to a Mexican feast, which is a fun and crowd-pleasing idea to entertain the crew. Also present are fun things to attempt, like homemade peanut butter, sourdough or confectionery items.
The conclusion
If you’re looking for a recipe book with ‘the old classics’ rehashed, this isn’t for you. But if you’d like to try something a bit new, gain some new techniques and experience new flavours; if you’re a fan of Aaron’s from the show and would like to see what he’s come up with then I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in Cook With Me. It’s a beautiful book with lovely pictures, detailed and original recipes, and it presents plenty of opportunities to be creative in the kitchen.
Cook With Me is published by Random House New Zealand. RRP $49.99.
