Inside the cookbooks that set the food world on fire in 2025

PUT on your apron and prepare your kitchen because it is time to get busy.

- LUTHO PASIYA

Each year, publishers release numerous new cookbooks, making it difficult to decide which one deserves a place on your shelf.

To guide you through the latest offerings, here is a selection of some of the most notable new titles of 2025.

These books bring South African voices to the front, explore heritage with curiosity and invite both new and experienced cooks to try something fresh.

Damn Good Food marks the debut of Fehmida Jordaan, known widely as Fehmz, a South African food creator who built her reputation through social media.

The cookbook became the top-selling cookbook in South Africa soon after its release, which reflects how strongly her audience connects with her style of cooking. Fehmz has always presented food with confidence and enthusiasm, and the book brings that same spirit to print.

Inside, readers find more than 80 recipes that are easy to follow and grounded in the meals many families know well. Fehmz includes dishes that represent her heritage, such as mutton akhni, mince curry and other meals that have been passed down in her family.

Alongside these familiar recipes, she introduces playful ideas such as chilli bite waffles, sticky jam chops and peri peri prawns. She also includes dishes inspired by restaurant favourites but designed for the home cook who wants a reliable and satisfying result without ordering out.

A chapter is dedicated to what she calls her flavour boosting essentials. These include her well-known magic masala, her red dynamite sauce and a fruit sprinkle that many of her followers have requested for years.

The chapter is written with clarity and gives readers the building blocks to create flavour in their own kitchens. The pages reflect her lively approach to cooking and encourage readers to enjoy the process as much as the meal.