Amanda Ruben is the founder and owner of Miss Ruben, a New York-inspired deli and cafe in suburban Ripponlea Village, in the heart of Melbourne's Jewish community.

She is the daughter of Jewish parents and grew up in the various kitchens of her mother, Tamara, who ran a series of food businesses in Melbourne. It seems natural for her to find a career where she feeds others - after a slight detour as a journalist.

After leaving journalism, Amanda opened two food stores in partnership with her mother. The two Cooper & Milla's stores - named after Amanda's two children - offered amazing salads, cakes and simple food based around the best seasonal produce. Her current hotspot, Miss Ruben has continued the theme, with a greater emphasis on catering and take-home food that pays homage to the Jewish heritage of the area.

Amanda's debut cookbook, Feasting: A New Take on Jewish Cooking delivers modern inspiration on classic Jewish cooking with a range of delicious Jewish staples and new recipes to enjoy.  As she spends her day creating food for everyone to share, "It's no coincidence that a cookbook of mine is called Feasting. I don't know any other way to cook or eat," she said to the Guardian. 

When I first posted about this book on Instagram someone asked what makes this book different? Feasting couples New York-style Jewish food with an Australian vibe that appeals to a wide range of cooks. Walnut-crusted whole snapper, Roast chicken breast with lemon jam and crushed Jerusalem artichokes, Roasted peach, pecan and spelt crumble with lemon curd - are examples of how the author makes food fresh and exciting. 

In addition to the above, the classics are covered along with a chapter on Jewish holiday food recipes that we can turn to for celebrations with friends and family. Beautifully photographed and filled with recipes for any day or a special occasion it is the perfect book to give as a gift to someone who loves to cook or to gift yourself.

 

 

For a glance inside this book, check out our   and  for the following recipes: 

Special thanks to Hardie Grant for providing the materials for our EYB Book Preview as well as three copies of this title in our giveaway below. 

The publisher is offering three copies of this book to EYB Members in the US, UK, AU and NZ. One of the entry options is to answer the following question in the comments section of this blog post.

Which recipe in the index would you try first?

Please note that you must be logged into the Rafflecopter contest before posting or your entry won't be counted. For more information on this process, please see our step-by-step help post. Be sure to check your spam filters to receive our email notifications. Prizes can take up to 6 weeks to arrive from the publishers. If you are not already a Member, you can join at no cost. The contest ends at midnight on July 29th, 2018.