No.1 Lady shares her culinary secrets in new cookbook
'A lively mix of recipes combined with Mma's charming ability to provide sensible food for thought' – Sunday Times
'A delightfully cheery and tongue-in-cheek book' – BBC Good Food Magazine
The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series has sold more than 20 million books in English and has been translated into 45 languages. Add to that a BBC/HBO feature film AND a television series, both of which have delighted the critics on both sides of the Atlantic, and you have a rich list of ingredients for a rare success story. Now Polygon are delighted to offer Precious Ramotswe, proprietrix of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency a new platform: Mma Ramotswe's Cookbook: Nourishment for the Traditionally Built.
Charity worker and former BBC journalist, Stuart Brown has worked with Alexander McCall Smith and photographer Mats Ögren Wanger and Ulf Nermark to create this delightful and delicious journey through the stunning landscapes of Botswana. Featuring all that is traditional and good in African cooking – including hearty Botswanan stews, fruitcakes, fish dishes and more – you'll encounter many of the ingredients and recipes so loved by the characters of the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series. The book carries a foreword by Alexander and is seasoned with quotes taken from his delightful characters.
Mma Ramotswe's Cookbook is a feast for the sense of sight as well as taste. The photographs – by Mats Ögren Wanger and Ulf Nermark – capture the people and sights of Botswana so evocatively that you'll feel you can taste the dishes, smell the aromas of cooking pots; in fact, that you are walking with Precious through her beloved homeland.
Talking about the book, Alexander McCall Smith commented, 'I am delighted to have worked with Stuart Brown on this book which will raise funds for worthwhile causes in Botswana. The readers of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency have long been intrigued by the dishes the characters describe and enjoy and this book has been much requested. The recipes are full of the flavour and colours of Botswana and reflect the character of cooking in that country, the country Mma Ramotswe loves so much. She would be delighted to know that the good folks of Britain are enjoying her favourite ingredients – including an abundance of pumpkin, melon and chicken and, of course, Mr J.L.B. Matekoni's favourite – traditional fruit cake.
'The photographs bring us a real sense of the beauty of her homeland and even capture the peaceful stillness that offers such great inspiration to all who have the privilege to encounter it.'
Proceeds from sales of the cookbook will go toward a number of good causes in Botswana.
Mma Ramotswe's Cookbook is available now, published by Polygon.
The Double Comfort Safari Club (the eleventh book in the No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series) is published by Little, Brown in March.