Peter Peeti's Kai Time: Tasty Modern Maori Food (New Holland, pbk, $35) is from the television series of the same name.
His recipes are an interesting blend of wild food, from pork to deer and eel, from watercress and pikopiko to puha, Maori tradition and modern chef's techniques, condiments and styles of presentation.
From Northland is Paul Jobin's A Pinch of Salt: Celebrating New Zealand Food (HarperCollins, hbk, $40).
Chef at Kauri Cliffs lodge in Matauri Bay, Jobin has cooked in Sydney, Bratislava, Prague and New York and is a regular on Sky Living Channel television.
His stylish, often Asian-inspired food ranges from dukkah chicken with pear, feta and spinach salad to sake-pickled salmon, rice and cucumber; and includes variations on classic New Zealand food such as chocolate carrot cake.
At last Michael Cooper's 2009 Buyer's Guide to New Zealand Wines is out (Hodder Moa, pbk, $35).
The annual publication, now in its 18th edition, is essential for anyone interested in wine, whether looking for a cheap and cheerful good-value wine or something top-flight for a special occasion.
His summary of the vintage and overview of the industry always make interesting reading, as do his ratings of super classics, classics, potential classics, and a list of reliable wines that always deliver value for money: Everyman's classics.
This year his best buys are Mission Hawkes Bay Reserve Syrah 2007 ($23), Mount Riley Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc 2008 ($19), and Main Divide Waipara Valley Riesling 2007 ($20).
Cooper will be speaking in Cromwell at Wooing Tree Vineyard on December 9 (for more information phone 03 445 1166), and in Wanaka on December 10 (for more information phone 03 443 7532), both events hosted by the local Paper Plus stores.
Fans of cook-school chefs and caterers Ruth Pretty and Jo Seagar will not be disappointed this year as each has a new book.
Ruth Pretty Entertains (Penguin, pbk, $50) has the Wellington caterer's usual elegant food; recipes for nibbles, special occasions, posh dinners, and casual summer or winter entertaining, from stylish little prosciutto rolls filled with figs, parmesan and rocket, to a simple poached corn-fed chicken with vegetables and tarragon sauce and a classic summer pudding.
Jo Seagar, based at Oxford near Christchurch, has more solid country recipes in The Cook School Recipes (Random House, pbk, $45).
Beautifully produced, it features recipes for rich food, from cheese and chive pastries, carrot cupcakes with peanut-butter frosting and southern beer-braised lamb shanks to lemony apple tart.
Peta Mathias fans will want her new DVD, Peta Unplugged (Redhead, $25).
Besides an introduction and some of her background illustrated with childhood photographs, it includes 10 recipes for summer entertaining, and printable versions.
Mathias is her usual irrepressible self, demonstrating the recipes beautifully dressed in designer clothes, and oodles of jewellery, and not an apron to be seen.
A useful reference book is Edible: The Illustrated Guide To The World's Food Plants (Global Book Publishing, hbk, $50).
With Barbara Santich and Geoff Bryant as consultants, it lightly covers the origins, botany and culinary uses of vegetables and fruit around the world.
Just the thing if you want to look up some unfamiliar tropical fruit like mombin or babacao, or want to know a bit more about familiar veges such as onions or leeks.
Mostly well-illustrated, although there are a few frustratingly unillustrated entries.
