Where to Start with Zuza Zak
Zuza Zak was born in Communist Poland in 1979 and spent her early childhood watching her grandmothers cook, often after queuing for hours to buy ingredients. After moving to London, she built a career around sharing the Polish food and culture she grew up with. Zak studied food as a cultural anthropologist at the School of Slavonic and East European Studies at UCL, which gives her writing an unusual depth. She sees recipes not just as instructions but as windows into identity, history, and place. Her debut cookbook “Polska: New Polish Cooking” (2016) was selected as one of the best cookbooks of the year on BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme and appeared in six languages. She followed it with “Amber & Rye” (2020), an exploration of food across the Baltic and Eastern European region, “Pierogi” (2022), a deep dive into Poland’s most beloved dumpling, and “Slavic Kitchen Alchemy” (2023), which explores herbal remedies and folk wisdom alongside recipes. She calls herself a Storyteller-Cook, and that description fits perfectly: her books use food as a way to tell larger stories about culture and belonging.
Start here
Polska: New Polish Cooking
Zuza Zak · 256 pages · 2016 · Easy
Themes: polish cuisine, modern takes on tradition, cultural storytelling, home cooking
A beautifully photographed introduction to Polish cuisine from Zuza Zak, a food writer who grew up in Poland and now lives in London. Polska weaves together recipes, history, and personal stories to present Polish food as something alive and evolving, not frozen in time. The book covers snacks, soups, preserves, breads, fish, meat, salads, and desserts, all placed within the context of Poland’s geography and cultural history.
Why Start Here
Polska is the ideal first Zuza Zak book because it establishes everything that makes her voice distinctive. Her background as a cultural anthropologist means she does not just tell you how to make pierogi. She explains why pierogi matter, how they vary from region to region, and what they reveal about Polish identity. This approach transforms a cookbook into something closer to a food memoir crossed with a cultural study.
The recipes are accessible and well-tested. Zak grew up with these dishes and understands which details matter and which can be simplified for home cooks outside Poland. The photography by Laura Edwards is warm and documentary-style, capturing markets, landscapes, and family kitchens alongside the finished dishes. The book was recognized as one of the best cookbooks of 2016 by BBC Radio 4’s The Food Programme.
What to Expect
A 256-page hardcover organized by type of dish rather than by course. The writing style is personal and storytelling-driven, with each recipe section introduced by context about the food’s place in Polish culture and history. Ingredients are largely accessible, with sauerkraut, beetroot, rye flour, and smoked meats being the most distinctly Polish items. The difficulty level is genuinely beginner-friendly, and the tone throughout is encouraging and warm.