NATIONAL POST (CANADA) BEST COOKBOOK OF 2020

“In this delightful debut, Romanian-born food blogger Georgescu shares the traditional recipes, and explores the various regional influences, of her homeland’s cuisine. The opening chapter of small plates includes stinging nettle fricassee with garlic flakes and pumpkin seeds (recipe names are all presented in Romanian with English subtitles) and includes tips on nettle-picking (best in March, when they first appear). Bread makers will rise to the challenge of such offerings as Romanian cornbread or Hungarian chimney cakes, which are coated in chopped walnuts. Georgescu instructs that sour broths, made tangy by the addition of fermented wheat, vinegar, or pickle brine, are commonly served before a dinner’s main course. Options include a cod-filled fish broth with rice and sour cream as well as a tarragon pork rib broth with smoked pancetta. Pancetta also turns up, along with ground pork, juniper berries, and sauerkraut, in the country’s national dish, stuffed cabbage leaves. For desserts, there’s a tasty array of baked goods, including an Easter favorite, brioche baked cheesecake, as well as a comforting noodle pudding with grilled peaches that uses honey rather than sugar. Shining a light on an underexplored food culture, this collection proves to be full of hearty and unique treats.” — Publishers Weekly

“A captivating immersion course… [A cookbook to] refresh the spirit and inspire in the kitchen… Outlining the influences of the chef’s native cuisine gives the reader anchoring context, but Georgescu beautifully details how Romanian cooking has melded into something soulful and self-possessed. Hearty succor fills the pages: baked apples stuffed with ham and feta; pan-fried chicken with caramelized quince; grape leaves filled with sticky rice and raisins; a cake, called chec, marbled with fresh berry syrup. A warm wryness seeps into Georgescu’s writing. She translates bors, a ubiquitous wheat-based fermented liquid for flavoring broths, as ‘The Ingredient.'”
—Los Angeles Times

“At a time when we are all forced to stay at home, travelling in the kitchen can be a great comfort. And I have been so grateful for Irina Georgescu for taking me to Romania through the pages of her wonderful book, Carpathia. Every page is imbued with generosity, the spirit of community, and the flavors of a rich and varied culture: it makes for an uplifting, inspiring, and gorgeously transporting read right now.”
—Nigella Lawson

“Wherever you go in this fascinating country, you find a passion for food and a celebration of tradition. Irina Georgescu’s new book, Carpathia: Food from the Heart of Romania, is a marvelous exploration of Romania’s rich culinary heritage, inspired by her family’s recipe collection and her recollections of the family’s ‘all hands on deck’ approach to cooking and eating.”
—New Books Network

“The debut cookbook from Bucharest born-and-raised Irina Georgescu celebrates Romanian food in all its meaty, smoky, sharp glory, enriched with fascinating folklore and atmospheric landscape photos.”
— Delicious Magazine

“I couldn’t be happier to see one of my favorite cuisines being represented by a voice as warm and thoughtful as Irina Georgescu’s. Carpathia is full of delicious and interesting recipes and photos that will tempt you to travel to the Carpathian Mountains immediately.” —Olia Hercules