Cuisines of Odesa

"It captures the very soul of the city." Tom Parker Bowles
"An absolute must-have for both food and culture lovers all over the world." Olia Hercules

Odesa sits on the Black Sea, and its food carries every culture that has passed through the port: Ukrainian, Jewish, Greek, Turkish and Armenian, layered over generations into something the city can call its own.

Gourmand and travel writer Maria Kalenska brings that cooking home with more than 100 recipes, from street food to the elegant end of the table. There is breakfast of kefir mini-pancakes, sweet egg bread toast and rose petal jam. Lunch of dumplings with potato and cabbage, and a wild garlic salad. Dinner of chicken borscht with beans and challah. Seafood throughout, drawn from the coast. And chocolate-glazed eclairs to finish, because Odesa has never been shy about dessert.

Between the recipes sit the stories: how the city eats, why it eats that way, and what chefs across Europe have carried with them from its kitchens. The photography is as much a portrait of Odesa as of the food.

The recipes suit confident cooks and curious beginners alike, and it makes a generous gift for anyone who loves food, travel, or the way the two explain a place.

• More than 100 recipes across breakfast, appetisers, mains and desserts
• Seafood dishes drawn from the Black Sea coast
• Essays and stories on Odesa's food culture, with full-colour photography throughout