Friday 23 October 2020

REVIEW - THE UNOFFICIAL HOGWARTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS COOKBOOK BY RITA MOCK PIKE

ABOUT THE BOOK

Chocolate Frogs, Cauldron Cakes, 

Treacle Tarts, Butterbeer… 

Harry Potter’s wizarding world knows good food. 

With The Unofficial Hogwarts for the Holidays Cookbook (978- 1646040728, Ulysses Press, October 2020), you’ll stupefy your tastebuds with 75 magical recipes for every occasion from tasty train snacks on your way to Hogwarts to full, Muggle-worthy holiday meals. 

Because some of the most iconic moments happened around mealtimes and holidays at the castle, The Unofficial Hogwarts for the Holidays Cookbook offers step-by-step instructions for the dishes from those scenes that you can recreate in your own kitchen. The cookbook is organized by season, then by holiday feast, and covers all of the important holidays celebrated at the castle (and over the summer break), from pumpkin treats in the fall to heart-shaped sweets in the spring. 

With 75 delicious recipes, easy-to-follow instructions, and spellbinding full-color photographs, this cookbook is sure to have everyone—no matter their skill level—whipping up magic in the kitchen. Tuck in!

THE BOOK & MY REVIEW

 

Title: The Unofficial Hogwarts For The Holidays Cookbook
Author: Rita Mock Pike
Publisher: Ulysses Press
Release Date: 6th October 2020

BLURB from Goodreads
Make every day a spell-tacular celebration with the Harry Potter-inspired cookbook featuring delicious recipes for everything from magical snacks to full, Muggle-worthy meals. 

What better way to celebrate than by whipping up a magically delicious meal in your kitchen? From sumptuous fall and winter feasts to delectable desserts and tea-time treats, this book has all of your holidays and special occasions covered, with an extra magical twist. Celebrate in true wizarding world style with recipes like: 

- Pumpkin Pasties
- Cauldron Cakes
- Roast Beef
- Yorkshire Pudding
- Chocolate Gateau
- Bath Buns
- Rock Cakes
- and many more! 

Bring your love for wizardry and magic into the kitchen and onto the table with The Unofficial Hogwarts for the Holidays Cookbook—the perfect gift for any Potterhead. With 75 delicious recipes, easy step-by-step instructions, and spellbinding full-color photographs, this cookbook is sure to stupify any fan of the boy who lived. Tuck in!

Goodreads Link

PURCHASE LINKS
Amazon US
Amazon UK

REVIEW
The cover is in the red and mustard yellow Gryffindor colours which would make this book look great alongside your official Harry Potter collection. The by-line at the top of the book further promotes the suspense of what recipes will be inside the book, saying “Pumpkin pasties, Treacle tarts, and many more spellbinding treats.” Then there is also more writing/a second by-line at the bottom of the cover that says “75 recipes for a year of magical celebrations.” Which gives you high expectations for the content of the book.

Of course, having read the Harry Potter books and having watched and enjoyed the films I thought this book would be a really interesting take on some of the different foods featured in the books/films. Imagining Butter Beer recipes and other magical concoctions to be revealed.

The book actually contains recipes for Chocolate Gateaux, Rock Cakes and Roast Beef and Yorkshire pudding, which I would say are pretty “British” foods/meals and I guess it’s true they may appear being eaten in the grand hall of Hogwarts. Then there’s Pumpkin pasties which some would categorise as a more “American” food.

I think I was expecting more unusual recipes, rather than things I kind of already know how to make. The description I read of the book made me think it would be all Harry Potter themed recipes, like the Cauldron Cakes etc,

Perhaps the book is aimed at much younger people that perhaps don’t know now to do a Roast dinner, or Yorkshire puddings. I would say the book is more of a novelty value than a magical recipe book. I guess I didn’t get the real feel of the book as I reviewed an e-book. I think an actual physical copy of the book would be a totally different, maybe more immersive experience. The photographs of the food made along with the formatting of a physical book would certainly improve the experience of reading the book.

To sum up this is more of a novelty gift book for someone who loves Harry Potter than a recipe book for a serious cook/baker. I think I should also add that t
his book is not associated with or authorized or approved by J. K. Rowling, her publishers or Warner Bros. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rita Mock-Pike is a freelance novelist, writer, and journalist. She has published works across multiple industries, both as a ghostwriter and as a bylined author. Thanks to living with her gourmet grandmother, Jerrie Mock (who also happens to be the first woman to fly around the world), home economics teacher mother, Nancy Mock, and cooking enthusiast father, Roger Mock, Rita has been cooking and creating recipes since she was seven years old. It was then that she began teaching her friends’ moms how to cook something other than macaroni and cheese from a box. She hasn’t stopped since, much to her husband’s delight. She lives in Palatine, Illinois. 

*This book is not associated with or authorized or approved by J. K. Rowling, her publishers or Warner Bros.*

 


1 comment:

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