Some books you read, some books you treasure. Far Afield is one of those rare books that’s both.

I was first intrigued by the cover picture. It captures a scene with three Indians – an old man wearing the poor clothes and worn shoes of a goat herder but with a brightly colored turban and a playful look in his eye. In the background, two younger women, both of whom look like they might be dressed for a wedding ceremony. The juxtaposition of work and play raised questions in my mind that I hoped flipping through the pages would answer. It did.

A few years ago, award winning chef Shane Mitchell decided to travel the world and witness firsthand some of the more traditional cultures and the role that food plays in the lives of the native people. She took photographer James Fisher along; Far Afield is their travel diary – a beautiful and enticing log of their trip, the lessons they learned, the people the met, the foods they ate and why.

For each of the countries and cultures the pair visited, there are beautiful full-page snapshots of the seldom-captured minutiae of life, a written recap of the experience and recipes so you can try to recreate the dishes mentioned.

Reading Far Afield gave me an itching to jump on a plane and travel to some faraway location and try to recreate Mitchell and Fisher’s experience. Having the book on my table is a small consolation until I’m able to do that.

• Author: Shane Mitchell
• Pages: 303
• Format: Hardcover
• My rating: 5 stars

I received this book from Blogging for Books in exchange for writing an honest review.