Summer Kitchen invites you into a Ukrainian summer kitchen, woven with culinary heritage and history alongside recipes for an outrageously delicious salads, preserves, grills and sweet treats. A gorgeous book for anyone with a hunger to learn about culinary cultures through the lens of someone who knows it so well. 

What is a 'summer kitchen'? In Ukraine, it means a small cooking space located in the veg garden, away from the main house. Calling on fond childhood memories and countless conversations and cooking sessions, Olia Hercules shows how you can make the most of summery ingredients to create new, inventive and utterly delicious plates of food. Her recipes include Ukrainian favourites like: Burnt Aubergine Butter on Tomato Toast, Sourdough Garlic Buns, Poppyseed Cake with Elderflower and Strawberries. 

'A complete revelation' 

Nigella

Olia Hercules is a London-based Ukrainian chef, food writer and food stylist. Following the financial crisis of 2008, Olia decided to quit her job as a film business reporter to pursue her dream to cook for a living. She trained at the renowned Leiths School of Food and Wine and then worked as a chef de partie in restaurants, including Ottolenghi, and as a recipe developer before landing a book deal for Mamushka, a cookbook that celebrates her family recipes, from Ukraine and Moldova to Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan. Her second cookbook is called Kaukasis: a culinary journey through Georgia, Azerbaijan and beyond.