Artisan – The Bell Bookshop

Il dolce far niente

Emma — Thu, 20 Jun 2024 00:00:00 +0000

Il Dolce Far Niente is a gorgeous, photographic ode to the magic of southern coastal Italy in the summer by renowned travel, fashion, and lifestyle photographer Lucy Laucht.

Throughout these pages, the spirit of summer will come shining through-shimmering blue seas, long, summer afternoons walking on the beach, those fearless jumpers diving off cliffs into the sea. There’s a special essence to summer in South Italy-the pleasure of living simply. Lazing on the beach, perching on the rocks overlooking the sea, relishing moments of escape and calm.

Organized by place, each destination is its own chapter: Naples, The Aeolian Islands, Ischia, The Amalfi Coast + Capri, Sicily, Puglia, and Pantelleria. Framing each chapter is a rule that embodies the sense of place such as Napoli’s “Find Peace in Chaos”-follow these rules in your own life, and bring a bit of the magic of an Italian summer home. Brimming with photos, Il Dolce Far Niente is for anyone who loves Italy.

The food of Sicily

Emma — Thu, 07 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Tucked away on an estate in the countryside south of Palermo is the Anna Tasca Lanza Cooking School, a unique centre dedicated to preserving and sharing the great food culture of Sicily. The spirit of the school, now run by Fabrizia Lanza, the founder’s daughter and scion of a renowned family of winemakers that goes back generations, is what makes Lanza’s The Food of Sicily such a singular cookbook-not just a collection of recipes and techniques, but a vibrant and beautifully photographed profile of the land, the people, the history, and so much more.

On every page, in every recipe and note, the author captures the distinct taste of Sicily. How the simplest antipasti, brightly seasoned with nothing but lemon or vinegar, open the appetite-like a classic Octopus Salad or dish of Sautéed Black Olives. The little fried somethings-like an arancine or panelle-are easy, welcome, and nourishing. The Fresh Cavatelli, Pasta with Eggplant and Tomatoes, Bucatini with Sardines and Wild Fennel, and the eye-opening Anelletti Timballo explain why Sicilians are the biggest pasta eaters in the world. Festive meat dishes-such as Lamb-Stuffed Pastry, an Easter staple, or Grilled Sausage with Bay Leaves and Onions-are festive because the moment it’s holiday time, Sicilians everywhere head outside and fire up their grills. And for a people known for their passion for sweets, some famous Sicilian treats-Watermelon Pudding, Lemon Granita, Rolled Fig Cookies, and the pinnacle of desserts, the elaborate Sicilian Cake with Ricotta Cream and Marzipan. Along the way, the author delves into everything from cheese, couscous, and olives to Amaro and the importance of bitterness.

Visitors to Sicily often sense it to be a place unlike anywhere else-lost in time and a little bit secretive. The Food of Sicily opens a bright window on it, celebrating this wonderful food culture while honouring everything that makes it special.

Noma 2.0

Emma — Tue, 08 Nov 2022 00:00:00 +0000

There’s a reason Noma sits atop the list of the world’s best restaurants. Every bite, every dish, every course surprises, delights, challenges, and deeply satisfies in a way that’s unique in the world of dining. As the New York Times‘s Pete Wells wrote recently in praising Noma’s flavors, “sauces are administered so subtly that you don’t notice anything weird going on; you just think you’ve never tasted anything so extraordinary in your life.” In Noma 2.0, René Redzepi digs deep into the restaurant’s magic through the creation of nearly 200 dishes, each photographed in spectacular beauty and detail.

Noma 2.0-the title is a reference to the reinvention of Noma after it closed in 2018 to move to its new compound across the water-is about true seasonality, from wild game in the fall to just-picked peas in the summer. It is about using only local ingredients, to build a cuisine that is profoundly situated in its place and culture. It is about transforming the ordinary-a mushroom, a chicken wing, often through fermentation-to develop haunting, memorable flavors. It is about composing a plate that delights the eye as much as the palate, whether through the trompe l’oeil of a “flowerpot” chocolate cake or a dazzling mandala of flowers and berries. It is about pushing the boundaries of what we think we want to eat-a baby pinecone, a pudding made of reindeer brain-to open our palates with a startling confidence. And it is about how to stay creative and challenge yourself over the course of a career.

For foodies, for chefs, for artists and art lovers, for thought-leaders and makers, and for the kind of reader who is compelled by the idea that sometimes one person can change everything, Noma 2.0 is the gift book of the season.

Life in the Studio

Emma — Mon, 05 Oct 2020 00:00:00 +0000

“Roll-up-your-sleeves advice on throwing pottery, growing dahlias, cooking her tried-and-true recipes, and everything in between.”-Martha Stewart Living”Suited to any type of creative, offering up lessons on inspiration and creativity that are sure to bring out your inner talent.” -House Beautiful, Best New Design Books What makes a creative life? For an artist like Frances Palmer, it’s knitting all of one’s passions-all of one’s creativity-into the whole of life. And what an inspiration it is. A renowned potter, an entrepreneur, a gardener, a photographer, a cook, a beekeeper, Palmer has over the course of three decades caught the attention not only of the countless people who collect and use her ceramics but also of designers and design lovers, writers, and fellow artists who marvel at her example. Now, in her first book, she finally tells her story, in her own words and images, distilling from her experiences lessons that will inspire a new generation of makers and entrepreneurs.Life in the Studio is as beautiful and unexpected as Palmer’s pottery, as breathtakingly colorful as her celebrated dahlias, as intimate as the dinners she hosts in her studio for friends and family. There are insights into making pots-the importance of centering, the discovery that clay has a memory. Strategies for how to turn a passion into a business-the value to be found in collaboration, what it means to persevere, how to develop and stick to a routine that will sustain both enthusiasm and productivity. There are also step-by-step instructions (for throwing her beloved Sabine pot, growing dahlias, building an opulent flower arrangement). Even some of her most tried-and-true recipes. The result is a portrait of a unique artist and a singularly generous manual on how to live a creative life.

In the Company of Women

Emma — Fri, 04 Sep 2020 00:00:00 +0000

New York Times Bestseller

Named One of the Ten Best Books of the Year by Essence

Named a Best Holiday Gift Book by Real Simple, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Boston Globe, and more

Named a Best Gift for Coworkers by Heavy.com

Named a Best Mother’s Day Gift by the Seattle Times

“I want to rip out every page of this glorious book and hang them on my wall so that I can be surrounded by these incredible women all day long.”
-Emma Straub, New York Times bestselling author of The Vacationers and Modern Lovers

Over 100 exceptional and influential women describe how they embraced their creative spirit, overcame adversity, and sparked a global movement of entrepreneurship. Media titans and ceramicists, hoteliers and tattoo artists, comedians and architects-taken together, these profiles paint a beautiful picture of what happens when we pursue our passions and dreams.