Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary

Recipes, travel & adventure from the wild and remote Shetland Islands

Vanilla Salt: Book Review & Giveaway

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Vanilla Salt

I’m an avid book reader. I’ve often got several on the go at once and there’s usually a few hidden in my handbag too. You never know when you might get a minute or two to devour a few pages, so when Alma Books contacted me and asked if I’d like to review their new publication Vanilla Salt by Ada Parellada I promptly agreed.

If I am to be honest I didn’t pay that much attention to the press release before I agreed and I thought it was a cookery book – Vanilla Salt, it sounds like a cookery book doesn’t it! It’s not; it’s the fantastic first novel by top Catalan chef Ada Parellada.

Àlex is a brilliant Catalan chef, but he struggles to fill his restaurant because of his gruff, eccentric personality and his refusal to use ingredients that trace their culinary origins to America, such as potatoes and tomatoes. When he meets the young, enthusiastic and beautiful Canadian Annette, he finds his ideas and narrow-minded outlook challenged, and discovers that they are both concealing painful pasts. Vanilla Salt is a sensual and mouth-watering exploration of the kitchen and the human heart, as well as a tale of simmering passions and the need to confront personal truths.

When the parcel containing the book arrived I was busy pottering about the kitchen. I tore the package open, read the first paragraph, put the book down, made hot chocolate, instagrammed the photo above and took the rest of the afternoon off to read, curled up on the couch, captivated.

This is a very well written novel with intriguing and engaging characters you instantly feel you can relate with (the lead character is a spunky Canadian redhead with a fondness for food.. hrrm… sounds like someone you know?). It’s the first novel I’ve ever read mentioning food bloggers and the virtual relationships formed in online communities. I feel like this book could have been written about any one of us. Some of the strong opinions expressed by some of the characters took me aback – do some people really think this about food bloggers in the real world, or is that pure fiction?

Parellada’s mouthwatering food scenes transport you into Àlex’s kitchen, so much so I was inspired to try recreating one of the dishes myself (see Chicken with Apples).

Vanilla Salt is a tale of the fragile human heart and the power of the internet to make or break a person. It’s an easy read and although the foreshadowing was a little too obvious and the sex scenes more amusing than sensual I thoroughly enjoyed every moment it. It would make excellent holiday reading for anyone who reads or writes food blogs, or anyone with a passion for cooking.

I am now desperate to visit Catalonia!

Vanilla-Salt-Signature

VANILLA SALT – The Perfect Condiment to Happiness

Vanilla Salt is a debut novel by top Catalan chef Ada Parellada, she owns restaurants in Barcelona and Lisbon and is the author of several cookery books as well as collaborating with various newspapers and TV channels in Spain. Her first novel Vanilla Salt was released in the UK, translated from the original Catalan, in mid July and Alma Books has offered Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary readers the chance to win one of two copies. To enter, fill in the Rafflecopter form below. UK entries only.

Click here to read an excerpt.

HOW TO ENTER

For your chance to win one of two paperback copies of Vanilla Salt RRP £7-99 enter using the Rafflecopter form below. Come back and tweet about the giveaway every day for more chances to win!

TERMS & CONDITIONS

This giveaway is open to UK entries only. Entrants must be age 18 or over. The winner will need to respond within 48 hours of being contacted; failure to do this may result in another winner being selected.

The prize is offered and provided by Alma Books. The prize is one of two copies of Vanilla Salt. There is no cash alternative and the prize is not transferable.

If you need some help using Rafflecopter, here’s a quick clip to show you how. Rafflecopter will pick the winner at random from all the entries received. I will be verifying entries and any automated entries or those who have claimed they have made the mandatory blog post comment and really haven’t will be disqualified. It’s mandatory!

Closing date is midnight on Monday 1 September 2014 and the winner will be announced that day.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

If you want to be kept up to date on my recipes, occasional craft tutorials, adventure stories and giveaways then please subscribe to my weekly newsletter; it gets sent out every Monday morning if there is new content. Your email address won’t be passed on to anyone, you will never be spammed and you are free to unsubscribe at any time, no questions asked.

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Elizabeth’s Kitchen Diary was sent a complimentary copy of Vanilla Salt for review. All opinions expressed are our own. This is not a paid post.

Comments

  2. The Time Traveller’s Wife by Audrey Niffenegger… it’s just so wonderfully romantic but tragic at the same time.

    Reply

  7. I have read so many books I couldn’t possible pick an all time favourite. A recent favourite is A Man Called Ove by Fredrik Backman

    Reply

  12. I love The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern because it has wonderful characters and a unique story about a circus with strange magical lands and inside the tents.

    Reply

  14. The Diary of Anne Frank, reading it at aged 13, it just really made me think about the world and the things that had happened and possibilities for the world we live in

    Reply

  16. Weaveworld by Clive Barker as I read it while on holiday in the states when I met my US family for the first time!

    Reply

  20. Stephen King’s The Stand, It is such a long book that gets you very envolved witht the story and Characters, its perfect for a winters night!

    Reply

  33. I loved reading Alaska by James Michener – because it was the first book I read that truly lost me within it

    Reply

  37. The Cloud Garden. It is a true story that is shocking, makes you laugh and smile, but ultimately has a happy ending when the captives are released.

    Reply

  39. I love The Magician’s Nephew by C.S Lewis. It is a prequel to the Narnia series and is a wonderful book for children and adults.

    Reply

  41. P.S I Love You, it makes me smile and cry. It also got made into a fab film that is every bit as good as the book.

    Reply

  44. Mute by Piers Anthony is a great sci-fi adventure with many twists and turns and lots of action. I have read it several times and would recommend it to anyone

    Reply

  46. My favourite tends to be the one I’ve just finished, there are just so many books and so little time. But one book I keep coming back to re-read is The Mists of Avalon by Marion Bradley. Arthurian legend fascinates me and this is a very different, very magical, take on it.

    Reply

    • The Mayor Of Casterbridge by Thomas Hardy as it was the first book that I had to read at school that I actually enjoyed reading, it was a pleasure not a chore.

      Reply

Trackbacks

  2. […] You can read my review of the novel (and a giveaway if you fancy winning a copy for yourself!) by > clicking here <. I thoroughly enjoyed the cooking scenes and the first one, on pages 4-5 of the book, transported […]

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