Try new cook books with these stocking fillers

Andre Burgener has been immersed in all things food since she took over the making of the family's lunch box sandwiches aged eight (her mom could make a mean creme brulee and a staggering souffle, but could never butter the bread all the way to the edges.

COOKING THE YULETIDE BOOKS

BRING AND BRAAI

I don't know whether it's the girl in me or the spoilsport who wants not to like a braai book from a TV series, filled with pictures of people in windbreakers, big fun fonts, and a headline that proclaims "Meat is Meat and a Man Must Eat".

But sometimes you are won over despite your prejudices (and I admit mine are many).

First, it is hard not to be charmed by the enthusiasm and general good-guy vibe of Justin Bonello. I've liked his previous TV and book forays both for his attitude to well-farmed produce and local eating, and for his unassuming, uncheffy no-bulls**t approach.

Bonello's Ultimate Braai Master has all this, and more - this book has some really great recipes and ideas, and the journey-around-the-country theme adds a very genuine local-is-lekker feel to the book.

Apart from the meat that a man must eat, recipes cover everything from braai-side drinks (delicious grapefruit and cane cocktail) to breads, stuffed onions and even braai-top potato salad.

Published by Penguin, 2012, R206.

SWEET RELIGION

Calling your book The Baking Bible is making quite some claim.

But Annie Bell, one of Britain's most revered bakers, has earned the right.

On first sight, I was fairly convinced this book would be useless to me because I have groaning shelves of baking and sweet-things books, but what do you know?

After a longer browse through the book, and of course some recipe-making, I am a new Bell devotee.

Her brownie is mesmerisingly good, her "Indian" cheesecake is as delicious as it is easy, her almost fudgesome pecan pie is the best I've ever made. Recipes are triple-tested, technical stuff is well-explained, and after cooking from the book, you feel as if Bell is a new best friend. The Bible is unbelievably good value.

Published by Jacana, 2012, R302.

HUNGER

Leonie Joubert is not a chef or a professional cooking person of any kind, and her book features not one recipe, celebrity chef or famous restaurant. Yet she has written my favourite food book of the year.

The Hungry Season is an amazing and much-needed book that looks at the state of our nation through the way we eat, whether by choice or lack thereof.

It explores the broken food chain that has left so many malnourished, the rising obesity and diabetes epidemics, nutritional literacy and much more.

Award-winning photographer Eric Miller has taken the beautiful or sad images. It's gripping stuff: right now, I can't put the book down. Joubert must surely be in line for yet another award. Published by Picador Africa, 2012, R257.