Vij’s at Home House Party Launch

Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks is pleased to launch Vij’s at Home House Party Launch

Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks is pleased to launch Vij’s at Home: Relax, Honey, the highly anticipated second cookbook by Meeru Dhalwala and Vikram Vij, Vancouver’s gurus of haute Indian cuisine. As the busy owners of ever-popular Vij’s and Rangoli restaurants and parents to two young teens, Vikram and Meeru value family meals and have made an art of cooking delicious and timely meals at home. Vij’s at Home gives readers a taste of their home cooking: flavourful, simple and quick. Recipes range from vegetarian dishes that go from stove to plate in less than 45 minutes to company-worthy seafood, poultry and meat dishes that come together in 20 minutes then cook while you help the kids with their homework or sit down with a glass of wine.On Saturday, September 18 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., join Vikram and Meeru at Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks for a festive, vivacious house party to celebrate Vij’s at Home. Enjoy a steaming cup of chai and some delectable tastes and tales from the book. Tickets to this event are $55.00 and include a signed copy of Vij’s at Home.

For more information about this and other events, visit our website at www.bookstocooks.com and please call 604-688-6755 to register.

, the highly anticipated second cookbook by Meeru Dhalwala and Vikram Vij, Vancouver’s gurus of haute Indian cuisine. As the busy owners of ever-popular Vij’s and Rangoli restaurants and parents to two young teens, Vikram and Meeru value family meals and have made an art of cooking delicious and timely meals at home. Vij’s at Home gives readers a taste of their home cooking: flavourful, simple and quick. Recipes range from vegetarian dishes that go from stove to plate in less than 45 minutes to company-worthy seafood, poultry and meat dishes that come together in 20 minutes then cook while you help the kids with their homework or sit down with a glass of wine.

On Saturday, September 18 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., join Vikram and Meeru at Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks for a festive, vivacious house party to celebrate Vij’s at Home. Enjoy a steaming cup of chai and some delectable tastes and tales from the book. Tickets to this event are $55.00 and include a signed copy of Vij’s at Home.

For more information about this and other events, visit our website at www.bookstocooks.com and please call 604-688-6755 to register.

Cook Book Awards at Books to Cooks

The Fourth Annual Sprouts cookbook awards will soon be upon us. On Thursday, April 8 at 6 p.m. we honour Tender Volume 1 by Nigel Slater (Judges’ choice) and The Tastes of Sonora Resort by Matthew Stowe (People’s choice) with a festive evening of good cheer, hors d’oeuvres prepared by Vikram Vij and Meeru Dhalwala and the presentation of the much coveted silver Sprouts award. Since April is Poetry Month, we will be entertained with recitations of poetry by local actress, director and teacher, Joy Coghill, including Lorna Crozier’s The Sex Lives of Vegetables. All proceeds from this evening’s event will be donated to the Vancouver East Cultural Centre.

Tickets to this festive fundraiser are $75.00 and are selling quickly. Don’t miss this unique opportunity to support the arts and to celebrate the best in culinary writing. To purchase tickets call 604-688-6755.

Araxi Cookbook gets James Beard nomination

Araxi: Seasonal Recipes from the Celebrated Whistler Restaurant receives prestigious James Beard Award nomination

The warm afterglow of the Winter Olympics was further brightened when Araxi: Seasonal Recipes from the Celebrated Whistler Restaurant recently gained two international cookbook awards and high praise from chefs Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal.

Yesterday, things went truly stellar, with the nomination of Araxi for a James Beard Foundation Award.

Araxi by James Walt was nominated for the ‘Cooking from a Professional Point of View’ category, along with Momofuku by David Chang and Peter Meehan and The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Arts by The French Culinary Institute with Judith Choate.

“I’m absolutely delighted for our entire culinary team at Araxi, along with John Sherlock, Jim Tobler, and our publisher, Douglas & McIntyre, all of whom dedicated a great deal of time and expertise to this important project,” said Jack Evrensel, proprietor of Top Table Group.

One of only two Canadian nominations, this recognition continues Chef Walt’s ties with the James Beard Foundation, having performed three times at James Beard House (in 1998, 2002, and 2006) in New York City’s Greenwich Village.

“I’m proud to receive this nomination,” said Chef Walt. “It’s a pleasure to be recognized amongst those I admire and I wish David Chang, Peter Meehan, Judith Choate, and all of the other nominees the very best.”

The winners will be announced in New York City on Sunday, May 2, 2010 at an invitation-only event honouring the nation’s top cookbooks, food journalists and culinary broadcast programs.

About Araxi A culinary cornerstone in the heart of Whistler Village, Araxi holds an international reputation for excellence in food, wine and hospitality. Chef James Walt’s regional menu showcases the finest locally-sourced ingredients from nearby Pemberton Valley Farms, and offers the freshest seafoods from the Pacific Ocean. 4222 Village Square, Whistler. 604.932.4540 www.araxi.com

Four Chefs One Garden Makes Living Slow Deliciously West Coast

 Evaleen Jaager Roy had a vision. Take one glorious west coast garden described and photographed through the seasons, add four celebrity chefs with seasonal, locally-inspired recipes, and add unique ideas for “living slow” and enjoying each moment in this magical part of the world. The result: the just-released Four Chefs One Garden.

Part cookbook, part gardening primer, Four Chefs One Garden is a love poem to Vancouver, told in flowers and fettuccini. In her unique debut, the Vancouver native traces one year spent in her terraced, ocean view garden and her kitchen. The book weaves together gardening ideas from some of the West Coast’s leading gardeners, including Brian Minter of Minter Gardens and includes seasonal recipes from some of the city’s leading chefs, including Umberto Menghi, Michel Jacob, Tojo and Vikram Vij.

Lush photography shows the march of Vancouver’s changing seasons, both in the garden, where spring rains lead to summer roses, and in the kitchen, where Tuscan salads give way to spicy winter curries.  Learn more about Evaleen’s book, the fabulous chefs, guest gardeners and her quest to live slow on Canada’s West Coast. 

“One year ago, I walked away from the boardroom, overnight flights and Blackberries and stepped into my garden,” says author, Evaleen Jaager Roy. “And bit by bit, as spring turned to summer and summer to fall, the world began to slow down. I was left with a few simple joys: the joy of digging in the dirt and watching things grow and the joy of cooking – taking the best of each season and turning it into sustenance and celebration with the people I love.”

Four Chefs One Garden – new cookbook from Vancouver’s great chefs

The Story

In her unique debut, Vancouver native Evaleen Jaager Roy traces one year spent in her terraced, oceanview garden and in her kitchen. Organized seasonally, the sumptuously illustrated book weaves together backyard gardening tips with recipes from the city’s leading chefs, including one-name superstars Umberto and Tojo. But while Four Chefs One Garden is a practical resource, it is also a personal story of coming home. Jaager Roy took a long sabbatical from an international career to start her garden and the book documents her quest to slow down and reconnect with the people and places she loves on the West Coast.

The book includes seasonal recipes from acclaimed French chef Michel Jacob, Italian celebrity chef Umberto Menghi, sushi master Hidekazu Tojo and Indian fusion pioneer Vikram Vij. Each seasonal section also features interviews and horticultural tips from some of the West Coast’s leading gardeners, including Brian Minter of Minter Gardens. Lush photography shows the march of Vancouver’s changing seasons both in the garden, where spring rains lead to summer roses and in the kitchen, where Tuscan salads give way to spicy winter curries.

The Details

Four Chefs One Garden
ISBN 978-0-9864781-0-9
$29.95
www.fourchefsonegarden.com

($1 from the sale of every book will go to feed women and children living in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver through the YWCA’s Crabtree Corner Family Resource Centre. The centre serves over 30,000 meals anually to families in need. www.ywcavan.org)

Four Chefs One Garden is available at Avant Gardener, Barbara-jo’s Books To Cooks, Chapters (Broadway, Langley, Metrotown, Park Royal and Richmond locations), GardenWorks, Gourmet Warehouse, Hagar Books and West Van Florist.