Let’s start with our favourite cookbook of the year. Rick Martínez ate his way through all 32 states in Mexico—he visited 156 cities in 586 days—to create this travelogue-style memoir, a beautiful ode to the food of each region that the former Bon Appétit Test Kitchen star enjoyed the most. (Hello, Ceviche de Camarón y Leche de Coco—or any of the citrus-soaked eats from the Yucatán chapter!) With its personal essays and recipes inspired by Martínez’s memories, this is a much-needed read on an often underrated and misunderstood cuisine. And it will make you very, very hungry.

Price: $47

Another contender for cookbook of the year is Korean American, by New York Times staff writer Eric Kim. The son of two Korean immigrants, Kim grew up in Atlanta, Ga., and this is his charming story—told through food. Embracing the tension—and ultimate harmony—between the two sides of his cultural identity, he brings us third-culture cooking (in this case, a unique-to-him combination of Korean and American foodways) at its finest. With every page turn, expect recipes you’ll want to bookmark (like the Milk Bread With Maple Syrup, the Pan-Seared Rib Eye With Gochujang Butter and the Caramelized Kimchi Baked Potatoes), photos with electric pops of colour and warm, fuzzy mom stories. More, please.

Price: $42.50

PSA: Even the country’s top culinary stars feel the wrath of their kids when it comes to feeding the family. (Feel free to relish that fact for a second.) But no matter what, there’s always that one slam-dunk recipe that does the trick. Enter Little Critics, a compilation of more than 100 doable and delicious recipes from chefs across the country. It’s by Joanna Fox, who also happens to be the associate editor here at ELLE Canada. With dishes like Dyan Solomon’s Green Hulk Risotto, Ryusuke Nakagawa’s Cheesy Chicken Katsu and Billy Alexander’s Fry Bread Tacos, your mealtimes may create an appetite for a fuller understanding of Canada—and the world.

Price: $35

“Black joy often emanates from Black sorrow,” writes Nicole A. Taylor. When you pick up the James Beard Award-nominated author’s Watermelon & Red Birds, you’re holding history: It’s the first cookbook that celebrates Juneteenth (which commemorates June 19, 1865, the day more than 250,000 enslaved Black Texans were declared free, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation). The book is designed to help you organize and cook for your own celebrations—with vibrant, drool-worthy recipes like the Pork Ribs With a BBQ Sauce Flight, the Very Green Coleslaw With Grilled Peppers and the Hibiscus-Sichuan Snow Cones—and offers lessons that go way beyond the kitchen.

Price: $40

Vancouver restaurant St. Lawrence has been taking guests on “trips” to Quebec since 2017. In his debut cookbook, Where the River Narrows, chef J-C Poirier pays tribute to his home province, the nostalgia-tickling French-Canadian fare served at his much loved restaurant and even family dinners à la maison. The gooey Parmesan and Gruyère Croquettes have “dinner party” written all over them, and the Fried Pork Rinds With Maple Syrup and Montreal Steak Spice might just become the new popcorn. If you really fancy a challenge, try the show-stopping Pâté en Croûte. Now, where do we find those cute Habs-flag toothpicks used to garnish.

Price: $45

With the help of bestselling author Maunika Gowardhan, you can cook your way through India in 80 or so mouth-watering dishes. Taking readers from Punjab in the north to Kerala down south, the book celebrates lesser-known dishes with a kaleidoscope of flavours made for mixing and matching. Thali is loaded with stir-fried vegetables, slow-braised meats, comforting dals, pickles and dips. Between the Pickled Squash With Turmeric and Mango Powder from Rajasthan, the Hot and Sour Goan Fish and the Mangalorean Curry Leaf and Ghee Fried Chicken, you might find it hard to figure out where to begin. So how about all of the above?

Price: $32.50