THE MODERN KITCHEN

TIM HAYWARD, QUADRILLE, H/B, $40

WE HAVE SO many gadgets in the modern kitchen, from zucchini noodle makers to mincers and egg timers, and many of us won’t have given any thought to the origins of these invaluable food saviours. Tim Hayward, on the other hand, has set about creating a brief history of everything in the kitchen, telling the stories of the seemingly mundane, such as pots and pans, knives and kettles, in a cheeky and engaging manner. With an accompanying podcast of the same name, he discusses each and every piece of the kitchen in depth. The Modern Kitchen is both a great pick-up, putdown book for the coffee table and also fodder for the serious foodie. This is the BBC journalist’s fourth book about cooking and kitchens, having written two in cookbook style, and it’s the perfect extension of his third book, simply dubbed Knife. TH