The cover and internal illustrations in The Blue Kitchen are beautiful which makes it a pleasure to browse through to find a recipe to make.
The recipes are accessable and with easily sourced ingredients, the dishes all look delicious and while some are familiar, some look and sound more difficult but once you read the recipe and ingredients it is a pleasant surprise to find them achievable for dinner or lunch.

The Blue Kitchen is a really inventive and important cookbook. I think many people would appreciate a cookbook with healthy recipes that are geared towards helping people live longer but are also delicious. The recipes use fresh and healthy ingredients and are easy to follow as well. Most of the recipes were unfamiliar to me, which I appreciated. The photographs were beautiful, but I do wish there were more photographs of the dishes since they were dishes that were new to me and would have been nice to see plated. I also would have liked a bit more information about each recipe such as what it is and how to serve it. Otherwise, I thought this is a good cookbook and would benefit everyone.

Beautifully illustrated cookbook. There are a wide range of recipes from across the cultural areas of the Mediterranean region. The diversity of recipes is appreciated. The recipes are easy to follow and use common ingredients. Very nice!

Mediterranean food is very comforting to me, so this book immediately caught my attention, and I was not disappointed! It’s packed with all the classic Mediterranean green recipes you’d expect—tzatziki, spanakopita, and other must-have dishes. But it's also filled with recipes from all over the world, including flavorful Asian, Middle Eastern, and other cozy, soul-warming dishes. It’s like a passport to the most vibrant and diverse cuisines, and every recipe feels like an exciting new experience.

What I really love about this book is how easy the instructions are to follow. It’s all very straightforward, so even if you’re not a seasoned chef, you’ll feel confident diving in. But here's the thing—the recipes can get a bit more complex at times, especially with the unique ingredients and preparation methods. That’s honestly one of the reasons I think this book is perfect for dinner parties or when you’re hosting guests.

The photos and artwork in this book are gorgeous. The food looks so vibrant and appetizing, and the whole aesthetic of the book really draws you in. It makes me want to go through every page and try something new. Plus, the variety of recipes means that there’s truly something for everyone—whether you’re looking for appetizers, salads, or soup dishes, you’ll find it here.

Some of the ingredients might be a bit harder to find depending on where you live, but that’s part of the fun of experimenting with new cuisines! Even if you’re unable to find every single ingredient, the book does offer some great alternatives, and honestly, the extra effort is worth it when you taste the final dish.

All in all, this book is a fantastic addition to any kitchen, especially for those who want to expand their cooking repertoire and try their hand at global flavors. It’s perfect for special occasions, dinner parties, or just treating yourself to a meal that feels like an international celebration. Highly recommend!

Many have probably heard of the so-called “Blue Zones,” the parts of the world where it’s not unusual to live a fairly healthy life up into one’s nineties or beyond. Because diet and nutrition play a major role in long-term health, these Blue Zones have become the focus for cookbooks promising to provide recipe recommendations to help more of us enjoy life into very old age.

“The Blue Kitchen” is promises and delivers recipes based on Mediterranean, Asian, and Californian cuisine, along with lovely photos of one delicious looking dish after another. The photos and lovely illustrations inspired my New Year’s Resolutions for 2025: Eat more plants; drink more water.

The problem is that many if not most of the recipes include ingredients that will be unfamiliar to readers or may be difficult to obtain. Although I enjoy cooking and consider myself fairly knowledgeable about ingredients, I wasn’t familiar with quite a few of the items required for recipes. It was frustrating because there was plenty of space to provide information about less familiar items, but no one appears to have thought it necessary.

A recipe for natto requires “natto spores,” with no information as to what these are or where they might be found. The description does explain to the reader, “When the natto is ready, it will have a slimy texture and a strong, pungent aroma. If the natto is not slimy or pungent enough, you can leave it to ferment for a few more hours.” This may not be the most accessible of books for readers looking for an alternative to the all-too-common American diet of processed foods. I believe the recipe is Japanese, but the book doesn’t say that.

Another recipe calls for sumac. While I know what it is - it’s commonly found along roadsides and its berries can be used to make an herbal lemonade-style drink, I don’t know for sure if this recipe requires dried or fresh sumac. A reader in a large city could most likely obtain some dried sumac at an Asian market. A rural reader would be more likely to find fresh sumac, which would probably not be what the recipe calls for. But we don’t know that.

A recipe for “Roasted and Stuffed Sardines” gives careful instructions for cleaning the sardines: “Make an incision in the belly of each one from head to tail. Remove the guts and carefully snap the spines at the neck and tail.” I think I just won’t plan to make that recipe.

Books based on research into Blue Zones have an important case to make to readers about why they should try these recipes. The editors appear to have prioritized white space to set off the recipes and photographs rather than offering helpful information. Even basic information about which country’s cuisine a recipe is based on is missing. While I understand that designers don’t want a busy, jumbled look on a page, this cookbook could actually use some text boxes.

A basic rule for writers is to hold your reader’ hand. Make it easy for them to understand the story or the facts. Give us the what and why and where of the foods that support good health and long life, rather than assuming all your readers are already knowledgeable.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing a pre-publication copy in exchange for an honest review. I have no plans to purchase “The Blue Kitchen” for the library.

This book is packed with recipes for nutritious and delicious dishes from all over the world. There's something for everyone in this book! It is the perfect addition to any kitchen and is great for someone who wants to expand their recipe repertoire, as the recipes are super easy to follow!

Thank you Netgalley and Cider Mill Press for giving me an ARC of this wonderful cookbook!

I was hoping this would be similar to the other Blue Zones cookbooks I've read, offering a little insight into the region and culture. This wasn't that. It did have some lovely photos and artwork, but it's all recipes. That's ok, but unfortunately there weren't many recipes I'll be making. I found a few that I'm excited to try. The food photos all look amazing, but most of them either use ingredients that aren't very accessible to me (we do have an international grocery store, but it didn't have many of these ingredients) or were a lengthy preparation. That's also ok once in a while, but it seemed like more than I would have time for most days.

Takeaway: It was fun to browse through and I got a few new things to try from it. I won't be using it every week.

*Thanks to NetGalley and Cider Mill Press for the review copy.

I am normally more of a small home cook and a lot of the recipes I would never have the time to make at home. Some of the ingredients would need to be purchased in a larger city. I did like the book, The content and the extensive amount of photos were outstanding. The photos allows me to visualize the end goal of the recipes.

Really interesting selection of recipes. Many blue zone cook books focus on one zone only, but this has a refreshing range of recipes from multiple regions

Layout and photography are excellent.

I absolutely loved the concept of this book and the food photography was gorgeous. There was a decent variety of cultures reflected in recipes yet the recipes maintained simple and easy to follow.

There are a couple things that keep this book from being a 5 star read. Firstly, where were the sweet treats? There were no desserts which I feel like is a must have and would've added so much to this book. Also some of the recipes didn't feel like actual meals, they were either good options for sides or snacks so an expansion on the recipes with serving accompaniments would've been wonderful.

This is a visually appealing cookbook which has many recipes designed for healthier eating, and they all look and sound delicious. There is a great variety too and a lot of the recipes are not things that I already have in other cook books.

This cookbook focuses on "Blue Zone" recipes, and so covers a variety of Mediterranean, Indian and Asian cuisines.

Although a number of the recipes are vegetarian / plant based, the introduction makes it clear they have deliberately included more meat recipes in this cookbook.

The photos are lovely but not for every recipe (and one recipe mentions carrot tops as a decoration but the photo is definitely of different green leaves, which makes me question the accuracy of the rest of the photos as well).

The other unusual aspect of this cookbook is that the recipes have no context or explanation - it's just each recipe on a page. Some serving suggestions would be helpful. Also, a number of recipes have their name in their original language, with no explanation as to what they are - needing to read the whole recipe to work out what you would be making doesn't encourage me to try them out! I'm a keen cook but had no idea what "Affunniatella Molisana" or "Scarola Mbuttunat" were.

I'm in the UK - other UK readers should be aware the ingredients and measurements use US terms eg. eggplant, cups, entree for main course etc.

And there's no dessert or pudding section! I would have thought some fruit recipes could have been included.

There are a few recipes I'll try but the lack of explanation for the recipes means it's probably not a book I will return to.

The Blue Kitchen has a lot of great recipes that put plants in the spotlight. I love how so many of the recipes are conducive to fresh, clean eating. However, I wish there were more pictures! I love being able to compare what I made with how it is supposed to look. Photos also help me decide which recipes I want to try first, as I'm very visual and have a hard time imagining dishes with which I'm not familiar. Overall, I enjoyed the book, but I'm still debating whether I would add it to my extensive cookbook collection.

Thank you to the publisher and net galley for the free advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

It’s a beautiful cookbook and the recipes look so fancy that probably wouldn’t make most of them at home. There are a few recipes that I would: tzatziki, hummus, baba ghanoush, and the Greek chicken bowl. The photos are beautiful but the recipes are way too fancy for my home kitchen haha I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

I really like this recipe book! every recipe was so yummy and easy to follow. I think it had a great blend of different cuisines and flavors. I really liked it


Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

This cookbook is very straightforward with lots of interesting recipes. It doesn’t have photos of all the dishes which downgrades it for me. It’s very professional looking but lacks a certain something to make it a must buy for me. However, if you’re looking for a Mediterranean leaning cookbook with a clean layout, this one meets that.

This was put together in a wonderful way. It read easy and the recipes are easy to follow. However, these are not recipes the average household will follow. There were obscure ingredients and items not found in the average kitchen. While lovely, this is not an every day cookbook.

A great cookbook to get you into eating a more plant based diet. It is a cookbook with some great information and easy to use and follow recipes. The Crispy Brussels Sprouts are so yummy and there are so many recipes I will be trying and keeping in my repertoire. The salad bowls are right up my alley and I will be making more of these for sure.

A great cookbook, great recipes and the photos made me hungry. This is certainly a keeper.

Thank you NetGalley and Cider Mill Press for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

Though this book covers varied recipes from diverse cuisines, the lack of any cultural context associated with a particular dish made the book feel very disconnected and lonely. Moreover, as there is no name of any author, it lacks a personal tone. Instead of being excited like I usually am about any cookbook, I found myself skipping through the pages as fast as I could just to finish the whole thing. Some of the recipes seem lovely; and the photos are also great – but this book just didn’t appeal to me.

Thoughtful collection of recipes with great artwork throughout. Really looking forward to trying some of these!