"Lush and visually stunning, this cookbook immediately draws readers into the tropics [...]. Accompanied by stories and poetry from island inhabitants, the recipes bring to life myriad island cuisines spanning the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans." — Library Journal, Starred Review
"Whatever you cook or don’t cook, this book is a trip to the islands or islas of the world." – New York Journal of Books
"Islasis a deep and engaging read …Von Diaz makes her background as a food historian and professor clear in her cookbooks, which display her talent for digging into history and drawing out connections.” — Eater
“Von Diaz’s new book looks like it was modeled after my dream vacation. Diaz, who was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in the U.S., is unafraid to address how climate change and food scarcity impact the cuisines featured in this book, making it both educational and a culinary delight.” — Food Wine
"Accompanied by mouthwatering photos, this vibrant collection will delight home cooks looking to diversify their repertoire." — Publishers Weekly
A glorious tribute to the remarkable ingenuity and brilliance of the people of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific islands. Islas will take you on a breathtaking journey and show you how cooking reflects adaptation to changes and making the most of what's available.
—Nik Sharma, author of The Flavor Equation, and Season.
Everywhere Von Diaz goes, she brings an ear for stories, and eye for connections, and a taste for the delicious. It's always been a special pleasure to explore the food of her family's beloved Puerto Rico through her writing, and in Islas, she weaves the connections between tropical cuisines around the world. Separated by oceans, languages, and cultures, there are still flavors and a spirit common to so much island cooking, and we're lucky to have Von as our guide.
—Francis Lam, host, The Splendid Table
What can we learn from the food of the world's islands, which are on the frontlines of climate change? Plenty, Von Diaz's book shows us, while honoring these cuisines' diversity, robustness, and beauty. These essays and recipes combine to form a wildly rich resource for imagining the future.
—Alicia Kennedy, author, No Meat Required
Islas is a culinary praise-song to the fragile environments that populate our oceans and seas. In it, Von Diaz takes the reader on a journey that celebrates the diversity and deliciousness of the world’s tropical islands and the ingenuity of those who inhabit them. I dare you to just read Islas. You will also want to cook from this beautifully illustrated book and savor the tastes that Diaz so lovingly explores.
—Jessica B. Harris, Culinary Historian, author of High on the Hog: A Culinary Journey from Africa to America
What a glorious ode to island nations and cultures worldwide. Islas is a lavish and loving chronicle of the distinctive cuisines of coastal people surrounded by water. Von’s expansive scholarship on food history and culture is in magnificent display, and matched perfectly with her extraordinary gift as a multimedia storyteller and collaborator. There’s no one else I’d rather have lead me on a culinary tour of island eating!
—Stephen Satterfield, Founder CEO, WHETSTONE Media, Peabody-winning Host, High on the Hog
In Islas, Von Diaz has crafted an intelligent and evocative portrait of island cuisines from around the world, lending nuance and respect to the traditions and flavors of cultures far too often dismissed as inconsequential vacation playgrounds. A skilled documentarian with a gift for engaging storytelling, Von artfully adds context to the easy-to-follow recipes with thoughtful essays and fascinating profiles that are as inspiring to the imagination as the dishes are to the appetite. Beyond a collection of beautiful recipes, Islas is a joyful love letter to the ingenuity and wisdom of island cooks.
—Alejandra Ramos, TODAY Show Contributor and Host of The Great American Recipe on PBS
Von Diaz, as visionary, storyteller, curator, and cook, brings to Islas the richness of so many island tales: dignity and ingenuity in the face of hardship; beauty and elegance in spite of efforts to rob these creolized cultures of both. Diaz’s dexterous approach makes this compilation seem obvious when in fact it’s a new and necessary culinary framing of the people whose skilled work has kept (and will keep) the world well-fed.
—Osayi Endolyn, James Beard award-winning food and culture writer
"Diaz explores the connecting threads that define the culture of islands around the world. Home chefs will delight in the rich history and mouthwatering dishes she has uncovered." — Booklist
“Von Diaz's new book looks like it was modeled after my dream vacation. Diaz, who was born in Puerto Rico and grew up in the U.S., is unafraid to address how climate change and food scarcity impact the cuisines featured in this book, making it both educational and a culinary delight.” — Food Wine
“Von Diaz highlights 125 recipes from the islands spanning the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Ocean here, with each section focused on ancestral cooking techniques that many of the cuisines share, despite distance and cultural differences. You’ll want to cook everything…”— Epicurious
