Bluey fans will be excited to see the release of Bluey and Bingo's Fancy Restaurant Cookbook. It starts with a page of tips (safety, hygiene, allergies, etc) which is a good reminder to cooks young and old of things to be careful of. And for young cooks, the safety reminder includes making sure they have a grown up helper.
Then there are a selection of recipes with a connection to Bluey and Bingo. There are little narrative pieces spread throughout, which feature Bluey, Bingo and their family and friends.
Each recipe comes with a 'trifficulty' rating, a list of the ingredients needed, extra things that might help (generally optional and sometimes humourous), plus step by step instructions about what to do to make the recipe.
Recipes include those which are relatively simple, like an omelette and orange juice iceblocks, to intermediate recipes like prawn kebabs, and more complicated recipes like curry and spring rolls. You'll also find recipes for things like pizza, fish and chips, and Shadowlands cupcakes, amongst others.
One thing that perplexed me was the choice to include recipes with pre-made items (like a pre-made pavlova base) instead of how to make your own, when full recipes were used for other meals (like the curry). Perhaps it was to provide an overall mix of 'trifficulty' levels.
Design decisions for Bluey and Bingo's Fancy Restaurant Cookbook appear to have been carefully made to enable pages to be easily turned (spiral binding) and kept clean (the pages are laminated so they can be wiped down).
The middle of the cookbook includes a double-page spread with a template for budding cooks to create their own menu (choosing a starter, main, dessert and specials), and to write their own recipe (listing the ingredients and method). They can be used repeatedly by using a whiteboard marker which can be wiped off when finished.
Get your chef's hat and cooking utensils ready, gather the whole family with a copy of Bluey and Bingo's Fancy Restaurant Cookbook, and get cooking!
Title: Bluey and Bingo's Fancy Restaurant Cookbook
Author/Illustrator: Bluey
Publisher: Puffin, $ 19.99
Publication Date: June 2022
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781761045769
For ages: 5+
Type: Activity Book
