Any meal is only as good as the company with whom it's shared, which is why this book unites food and its local community. This cookbook is a celebration of shared homes and their most iconic dishes--the food designed to feed the crowd, without breaking the bank or spending hours in the kitchen. It is a book about community, warmth, love, and the unique connection of a nurturing home, where shared meals are central to the environment. Plus, without getting preachy or "clean 'n green eating" about it, all the recipes in the book are vegetarian and vegan. The eight chapters are captured in different share houses throughout the sunshiny inner suburbs of Brisbane, Australia. Each chapter has a distinct theme, as dictated by the culinary skills of those living in the featured house: a breakfast-spread menu; hungover brunch; a leisurely long lunch; eat it with your hands; a Mexican-inspired feast; a Mediterranean dinner party; pasta night; and comfort-food spread. Through its clean and bright photography--all taken by Clare's own friends and roommates--The Shared Table is simultaneously luxe and sincere. It's a warm and inviting cookbook that every share house needs on their communal bookshelf.

In A Common Table, Two Red Bowls blogger Cynthia Chen McTernan shares more than 80 Asian-inspired, modern recipes that marry food from her Chinese roots, Southern upbringing, and Korean mother-in-law’s table. The book chronicles Cynthia’s story alongside the recipes she and her family eat every day—beginning when she met her husband at law school and ate out of two battered red bowls, through the first years of her legal career in New York, to when she moved to Los Angeles to start a family. As Cynthia’s life has changed, her cooking has become more diverse. She shares recipes that celebrate both the commonalities and the diversity of cultures: her mother-in-law’s spicy Korean-inspired take on Hawaiian poke, a sticky sesame peanut pie that combines Chinese peanut sesame brittle with the decadence of a Southern pecan pie, and a grilled cheese topped with a crisp fried egg and fiery kimchi. And of course, she shares the basics: how to make soft, pillowy steamed buns; savory pork dumplings; and a simple fried rice that can form the base of any meal. Asian food may have a reputation for having long ingredient lists and complicated instructions, but Cynthia makes it relatable, avoiding hard-to-find ingredients or equipment, and breaking down how to bring Asian flavors home into your own kitchen. Above all, Cynthia believes that food can bring us together around the same table, no matter where we are from. The message at the heart of A Common Table is that the food we make and eat is rarely the product of one culture or moment, but is richly interwoven—and though some dishes might seem new or different, they are often more alike than they appear.

Food for me is the essence of life and life shared with family and friends is beautiful. Food in general brings people together -- it's part of the glue that binds society. Being Greek is about celebrating life with the ones we love. It's about spreading the table with delicious dishes bringing everyone together, feasting, laughing, drinking, listening to music, singing and dancing. Treasured moments to become lifelong treasured memories. What I have come to realise over the last few years, especially since setting up the "Sweet Greek Shop", is that cooking fulfils those basic needs we all have - the need to create, contribute, share and love. For me, this encapsulates the essence of cooking something special for the ones we love. It's the using of our own hands to make something out of simple, honest ingredients, something prepared not for sustenance or financial gain, but purely for the purpose of bringing warmth and happiness, however small, to another person's life. Family, life, my friends, their good health and happiness, my culture and heritage are all the things that matter to me. It's respecting the legacy that our parents have left us and passing it onto future generations. The recipes that I have chosen to include in this book hold a lot of meaning for me. Some, are more traditional, others are more simple, and some are from my travels in Greece. All the dishes, apart from being delicious are simple, pragmatic and achievable in your own kitchen. Everyone relates to food based on their own experiences and its these experiences that create treasured memories and is what life is all about. Happiness is where the heart is, and the heartbeat of my home is the kitchen.

From Art Smith comes a unique cookbook with more than 150 recipes to strengthen bonds between loved ones. Throughout history, humans have sat down together at the table to break bread. The simple ritual of the shared meal reunites us with our families and brings balance to our lives. There are many types of families--in using the word family, Art means to include anyone whom we have sought or chosen to be an important part of our lives. Unfortunately, in today's fast-paced world, the symbolic role of the table has been threatened. In many households, family members all eat separately, according to their own schedules, on the run, or in front of the TV. With this important cookbook, Art Smith wants to bring us back to the table--and back to each other. Art provides readers with mouth-watering recipes that represent the very best of home cooking, including Roasted Tomato and Cheddar Cornbread, to-die-for Sweet Potato-Pecan Waffles, hearty Seafood Gumbo, Grilled Shrimp on Arugula with Lemon Vinaigrette, and Spiced Pork Loin with Vidalia Onion Sauce, to name just a few. There is also a rich assortment of vegetable main courses--like Art's fabulous Italian Vegetable Casserole. Traditional dishes include the best-ever Buttermilk Fried Chicken and a Roast Turkey with Pan Gravy that's not just for Thanksgiving! And then there are the celebration cakes, perfect pies, and little sweets. From French Chocolate Almond Pie to Pear and Cranberry Cobbler, from Coconut Cake with Fluffy Icing to Triple-Layer German Chocolate Cake, from Pecan Divinity to Gumdrop Cookies, Back to the Table is filled with delicious treats for any occasion. Art's life's work has involved cooking for families all over the world. These experiences have taught him that families are essentially the same, regardless of international boundaries or cultural differences. We all want the best for each other and want to take care of the ones we love. And what better way is there to care for our loved ones than at the table? Illustrated throughout with stunning photographs of food and of people sharing their tables and their lives, Back to the Table is a book to use daily and to treasure for a lifetime.

When Kaumudi Marathé moved to the US from India, she never thought she'd be a famous chef, food writer and unofficial spokesperson for Indian cuisine abroad. Shared Tables is her memoir of an unlikely career enriched and shaped by family history, stories, memorable meals and staunch friendships. In this book, Kaumudi explores her roots in the Konkanastha and Saraswat clans, recalling her immersion in their classic Marathi cuisines. Her peripatetic childhood, spent in places as diverse as Poona, Canada, Nagaland, Hyderabad and Wales, let her taste and savour the many flavours that came her way. As an adult, her choice of journalism as a profession took her to the Bombay of the heady 1980s and '90s, where she met the challenges of adulthood and authorship, navigating marriage and deadlines, while constantly exploring the many offerings of the city. Her eventual move to LA, a city that encouraged her to dream of an entirely new way of living, enabled her to set up the first Indian cooking school in the US, Un-Curry, alongside her restaurant and catering company. Throughout her journey, Kaumudi shared tables with a variety of friends and family, all of them laughing and eating together and helping one another grow into their present selves. Via anecdotes, recipes and photographs, Kaumudi Marathé illustrates how love and food build a shared connection amongst diverse cultures, countries, backgrounds and professions. Shared Tables is a feast for the mind, heart and soul.

The bestselling business book from award-winning restauranteur Danny Meyer, of Union Square Cafe, Gramercy Tavern, and Shake Shack Seventy-five percent of all new restaurant ventures fail, and of those that do stick around, only a few become icons. Danny Meyer started Union Square Cafe when he was 27, with a good idea and hopeful investors. He is now the co-owner of a restaurant empire. How did he do it? How did he beat the odds in one of the toughest trades around? In this landmark book, Danny shares the lessons he learned developing the dynamic philosophy he calls Enlightened Hospitality. The tenets of that philosophy, which emphasize strong in-house relationships as well as customer satisfaction, are applicable to anyone who works in any business. Whether you are a manager, an executive, or a waiter, Danny’s story and philosophy will help you become more effective and productive, while deepening your understanding and appreciation of a job well done. Setting the Table is landmark a motivational work from one of our era’s most gifted and insightful business leaders.

'These menus are intended to give pleasure to those who love to cook and love to share. I like to imagine that this book will lead to many wonderful parties around a table.' Stephanie Alexander If you love to bring family and friends together around your table, enjoy setting the table, cooking up a storm and anticipating the pleasure of good food and conversation, this new recipe book from much-loved Australian cookery icon Stephanie Alexander's will become a fast favourite. In The Cook's Table, Stephanie shares 25 of her favourite menus for entertaining family and friends, from special occasions such as Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Mother's Day and Father's Day, to menus inspired by her travels in France, Italy, Turkey and Peru. This must-have guide to entertaining includes 130 new tried and tested recipes, all accompanied by beautiful images by photographer Mark Chew. With Stephanie's reassuring voice by your side, you need never think twice about inviting friends and family over for a meal. Simply choose a menu to suit your occasion or mood and send the invitations out, secure in the knowledge that all the planning has been done for you - every menu includes a shopping list and detailed timetable for the cook, along with Stephanie's trusty tips and tricks for hosting the perfect event.