Quite a treasure trove, though the "cute" organization is a bit trying.

Quite a treasure trove, though the "cute" organization is a bit trying.

Quite a treasure trove, though the "cute" organization is a bit trying.

Got this when our son was in kindergarten, because his school seemed to have a regular "multicultural festival" where each class was assigned a country and parents were asked to provide a dish from that country for the program. His middle school did the same thing so the book was used for grades K-8.

Packing away now as we declutter the house, preparing to put it on the market.

Sheila Lukins had a mission. To bring together all the unique food she tasted on her travels around the world, in a cookbook which the average person could use in their home. I think she accomplished that mission. The recipes in this book look very approachable, and though she has tweaked them to be accessible, they still retain the aroma and flavor of their country of origin. I love a two page spread which shows how to make chicken soup from many countries by changing the ingredients.
I did not care for the way the book was arranged. Instead of by country, it is by the type of food, such as; salad, breakfast, meat, dessert. This is simply a matter of preference though and I'm sure most people would like it the way it is. The narrative style was not my favorite, possibly I just found the endless descriptions of restaurants around the world to be repetitive. But for those with a big interest in beer and wine from other countries, there are several highlights of those things. The pages were too busy for my taste, distracting from the recipes. I would have liked more food photos and less drawings and travel photos.
Though this is not my new favorite cookbook, it looks to be a useful one and I could see how someone else might love it. ( )