Dymocks Broadway is a quite sad store with an amazing and vast collection of cookbooks.
First of all it is situated in an old mall which has been refurbished unsuccessfully. The shop itself has old carpets, sad lights and a classic if not boring setting. It seems a bit harsh a description but in times of online book-super-store, you’d expect the brick and mortar bookstore to make an effort to attract buyers and make them feel good about buying in a real store.
The critic stops there. Dymocks Broadway has an amazing cookbook section which not only contains a lot of different subsections but also hard to find cookery books, and a mind boggling number of references, rarely found in a franchise.
I was blown away by the French section. Not only do they have the excellent cookbook and absolute reference of French cooking “I know how to cook” by Ginette Mathiot but they also have great local books such as the artisanal recipes of “A la mère de famille” a beautiful little shop not far from where I last lived in Paris (rue du Faubourg Montmartre – 9th). They sell chocolates, marshmallows, lollypops made like in the ancient times. The recipe book is beautiful, full of lovely vintage recipes.
When you want the basic, foolproof mayonnaise, béchamel, crème caramel, choux pastry, white sauce recipe, just turn to Ginette. It is common in French kitchens to hear: “Pass me Ginette”, or “What would Ginette do”? I got my Ginette too. You should see it… It’s an absolute wreck. Pages fly away as you turn them but I couldn’t live without it.
Of course, you will find the whole Masterchef collection but also the great “Flavours of Sydney” which takes you on a food trip around the city.
Don’t miss “The New Nordic” which contains beautiful photographs and Scandinavian recipes.
Bondi Harvest by Guy Turland and Mark Alston fits perfectly in the trend of cookbooks presenting recipes using seasonal, simple and sustainable ingredients. The dishes look fresh and healthy, exactly the type you want to eat at a small round table with a view in Bondi.
I had a chat with the lovely girl who tried to help me find a few books. She told me that the absolute best sellers at the moment were Healthy Cooking books: paleo, quitting sugar advocates and food intolerance books.
The alcohol section is small but efficient. I found the best brewing book to date: Randy Mosher’s Mastering Homebrew. Wendell loves it (to be reviewed soon).
More great books such as Moorish, the strange “Food Lab” and the Delicious Magazine books.
Yotham Ottolenghi’s collection is here too including the fantastic last opus: Nopi which I love.
Heston is here too…
There is a massive Jamie Oliver section.
You will find a large collection dedicated to foreign cuisine including Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and South American.
Some books are fantastic, of course the Phaidon’s Mexico, “Never trust a skinny Italian Chef”, “The Lebanese Kitchen” and “Tacopedia“, but also “Death by Burrito“, “Spice I am” (which is a reference in our kitchen), “Turkish fire” and many others.
Check out Near and Far by Heidi Swanson and this great idea of a cookbook “Solo” by Linda Tubby which caters for people cooking for themselves. I like the concept despite the fact that I have never done it. I always cook for a group of people, my family, my friends, my neighbours. If I am alone, I will not cook. When I lived alone my diet was an absolute mess.
The photo above and the 2 below show the very large and super interesting “I love Dymocks Sale” section. Usually, in most bookstores, the discount shelf is really what you wouldn’t buy. Here, oh boy! The choice is massive and includes recent books and good ones.
The expensive and genius “Thai Street Food” by David Thomson is on sale as well as this very clever guide called “Tools and Techniques” by Williams-Sonoma which explains, step by step, in photos, all the gestures and ways of a pro cook. I love it.
More and more discounted books!
This is the sweet tooth sector. Can you spot the Messina book?
See the enormous Women’s Weekly section. I’ve got a few of those, the old ones: the week-end cook, potatoes, etc. I love them. I have a few of my key recipes in them including Osso Bucco and Swedish potatoes.
Don’t miss other cookbook displays in the store. There is not only the long shelf on the right but also one large table which is the first thing you see when you enter the store, a square column around which the books are displayed and a pyramid (above) of cookbooks both on the left.
These three places are where you will see the best sellers.
NOTE: this post is not sponsored
The links to books are affiliated links and the microscopic commission The Flo Show gets if you buy a book after clicking on a link helps pay for hosting.
MORE INFO:
Address: Broadway Shopping Centre, Shop 118, Level 1, 1 Bay Street, Broadway NSW 2007, Australia
Web: dymocks.com.au
Opening hours:
Mon – Fri: 9:00am – 7:00pm
Sat 9:00am – 6:00pm
Sun: 10:00am – 6:00pm
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