Wednesday, August 22, 2007


DIGBY LAW’S SOUP COOKBOOK Hodder Moa $30

I remember when this title was first published way back in 1982 !!
Bert Hingley was the publisher at Hodder & Stoughton and he published this book, and the other five Digby Law titles published in the 1980’s, in hardcover.

In those days I was the M.D./Publisher at Penguin Books and I knew Digby quite well from having attended cooking classes at his Freemans Bay home. One night I suggested to him that I should publish the books in paperback under the Penguin imprint. He liked the idea very much and suggested I have a chat to Bert. I subsequently did that, Hodder & Penguin were neighbours on Auckland’s North Shore back then, and Bert thought it was such a good idea that he immediately published them himself in paperback under the Hodder imprint.

Up until the 1980’s there had been a fairly clear line between hardback publishers and paperback publishers. The hardback publisher traditionally sold the paperback rights to his titles to a paperback publisher. All that was about to change and Bert Hingley’s decision to keep the paperback rights soon became the industry norm.

As the publisher’s blurb claims - Every soup you've ever heard of and many that you've only dreamt of are contained in this timeless cookbook.Digby Law's recipes are culled from all over the world and many of his own creations are included. All the classical soups are here - vichyssoise, borsch, bouillabaisse, etc - together with more exotic soups such as Turkish wedding soup, and curried cauliflower. The book has clear and simple instructions, an emphasis on using only the very best ingredients, and the imagination and flair that the author brings to all his cooking. With recipes for stocks, garnishes and soup accompaniments, as well as for over 300 soups,

Sadly Digby died in 1987 aged 51 but his books live on and it is great to see this gem back in print after 10 years of being unavailable. R.I.P. Digby.

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