We all sometimes need a little inspiration when it comes to campsite cooking, especially if your facilities are limited.
With fabulous food our hot topic this month, here are 5 of my favourite food books full not only with tasty recipes, but packed with useful information on where to buy (or forage) your ingredients, the story behind the food and some wonderful locations to eat it.
The Forager’s Calendar
John Wright £16.99 www.profilebooks.com
Our countryside is full of edible delights in any season and this guide from expert forager John Wright shows month by month what to pick, where, how to identify it and how to store, use and cook it. Even if your interest in wild food only extends to the humble blackberry, the book contains interesting stories behind the latin names of fungi and other species plus how to make rosehip syrup, cook a hop omelette and more.
Buy it now
The Picnic Book
Ali Ray £14.99 www.theaa.com
The product of many months of work and outdoor feasting from Eat Local Guru Ali Ray delivers this, her latest tome: The Picnic Book. Inside you’ll find more than 70 recipes to suit all kinds of outdoor adventure (especially camping) covering everything from full meals to packable snacks. There is a lso a comprehensive listing of great picnic spots round the country, so dust off that picnic basket and grab a copy.
Buy it now
The Campfire Cookbook
Viola Lex/Nico Stanitzok £12.99 www.dk.com
Who said campsite cooking was boring? Certainly not chef Nico Stanitzok and lifelong camper Viola Lex. Together they have come up with 80 imaginative sweet and savoury recipes perfect for rustling up on your next camping trip from simple snacks and sandwiches to more imaginative dishes. The book also has helpful cooking hacks and checklists of camping essentials.
Buy it now
Let’s Eat France
Francois-Regis Gaudry £36 www.amazon.co.uk
Francophiles and foodies feast your eyes on this beautifully illustrated gastronomical tome by food critic Francois-Regis Gaudry. Referencing French culinary knowledge, flavours, recipes and heritage Let’s Eat France features 1,250 specialty foods, 375 iconic recipes, 350 topics and 260 personalities, in fact everything you want to know about the food of France.
Buy it now
Pitch Up Eat Local
Ali Ray £12.50
Want to know where to camp, what to cook and how to cook it? Pitch up, Eat Local is the perfect foodie companion for lovers of the great outdoors. Throughout the book Eat Local ambassador Ali Ray brings to life to regional locations with recipes and mouth-watering descriptions of local foods and its history.
Buy it now