100,000+ Books, Games & Puzzles in-stock 🇳🇿

Thanks for supporting our NZ-owned independent bookstore ❤️ Overnight NZ Delivery 🚀

The Holiday Kitchen

Mouth-watering recipes that ease the mental load of cooking on holidays & at home
By Leigh Sales and Gwen Blake
0.0 (0 reviews)
Brief Description
Mouth-watering recipes that ease the mental load of cooking on holidays and at home. Packed with the hard-won wisdom of decades spent cooking for family and friends, two of Australia’s best-organised women share their most delicious recipes with tips on how to cut corners, minimise work,... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
$4799
Elsewhere:
$5999
Pre-order
Releases 27th October 2026 (Approx. Date) Pre-order  "The Holiday Kitchen" now to secure your copy from our first shipment

Found a better price? Request a price match

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

Mouth-watering recipes that ease the mental load of cooking on holidays and at home.

Packed with the hard-won wisdom of decades spent cooking for family and friends, two of Australia’s best-organised women share their most delicious recipes with tips on how to cut corners, minimise work, and maximise taste and fun while on holidays. The sensible, practical, and unfussy philosophy of Leigh Sales and Gwen Blake will look after your wellbeing and protect your downtime at home or on vacation, with dozens of answers to the perennial question, ‘What’s for dinner?’

From ‘double down’ recipes that create two separate meals, to ‘half-baked’ dishes that get as much prep as possible done before leaving home, to ‘fridge clear-outs’ that make the best of what you have on hand, Gwen and Leigh do all the thinking and organising for you. Coming up with ideas for economical meals and how to stretch them further is one thing you can tick off your never-ending To-Do list.

Inside you’ll find an incredible array of recipes that ensure cooking for friends and family feels like a joy, not a job. Radiating common sense and warmth, Gwen and Leigh are the friends we all need – they’ve got you sorted!

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781761632358

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Australia

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 27 October 2026

Country: Australia

Imprint: Simon & Schuster Australia

DIMENSIONS

Width: 190.0mm

Height: 250.0mm

Weight: 0g

Pages: 224

Collections

Cook Books & Recipes Cooking & Food Gwen Blake Leigh Sales Non-Fiction Pre-order Books Pre-Order Cook Books Pre-orders Pre-orders by Release Date TV & Celebrity Cook Books

About the Author

Leigh Sales AM is one of Australia’s most respected journalists. As the new presenter of Australian Story and the recent host of the ABC’s flagship current affairs program, 7.30, she has interviewed dozens of world leaders and celebrities, including Hillary Clinton, Tony Blair, the Dalai Lama, Paul McCartney, Elton John, Harrison Ford, Tom Hanks, Salman Rushdie, Margaret Atwood and Bill Gates. She has interviewed every living Australian Prime Minister, as well as the late Bob Hawke, and has anchored the last three federal elections for the ABC. Leigh is the winner of three Walkley Awards, Australia’s highest journalism honour; the author of the books Detainee 002, On Doubt, Well Hello and the bestselling Any Ordinary Day; and the co-host of the popular podcast Chat 10 Looks 3 with Annabel Crabb. In 2023, her service to journalism and the community was recognised with an honorary doctorate from Edith Cowan University.

Gwen Blake is the Founder and Director of Boxer & Co, an award-winning branding and packaging design agency based in Sydney. For seventeen years, she has worked with some of the retail industry’s biggest names, including Woolworths, Nestlé and Kraft Heinz. Gwen also produces merchandise for Chat 10 Looks 3, the wildly popular podcast hosted by Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb.

Also by Leigh Sales

View all
  • Any Ordinary Day
    The National Bestseller The day that turns a life upside down usually starts like any other, but what happens the day after? Dual Walkley Award-winner Leigh Sales investigates how ordinary people endure the unthinkable. As a journalist, Leigh Sales often encounters people experiencing the worst moments of their lives in the full glare of the media. But one particular string...
    By Leigh Sales
    Paperback
    $2700
    Elsewhere:
    $3000
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Storytellers
    Highly respected ABC anchor, bestselling author and hit podcaster Leigh Sales interviews the cream of Australian journalists about their craft – how (and why) they bring us the stories that inform our lives. Leigh Sales is one of Australia’s most accomplished journalists, having anchored the ABC’s flagship 7.30 program for twelve years. She has been a foreign correspondent, hosted Lateline...
    By Leigh Sales
    Paperback
    $4000
    Elsewhere:
    $4399
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Well Hello
    From the hit podcast Chat 10 Looks 3 comes a smart, hilarious and heartfelt book about friendship, the vagaries of life and culture, and everything in between. In 2014, two of Australia's most high-profile journalists sat at a kitchen table, hit record on a phone and started a rambling conversation that's still going on (and on). From books to TV,...
    By Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb
    Paperback
    Sold Out

More from Cooking & Food

View all
  • New Release
    Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Soph's Plant Kitchen 30 in 30: 30g of protein, 30 minutes or less
    An essential cookbook for anyone looking to increase the amount of plant protein and fibre they eat without spending hours in the kitchen. Instagram sensation and Sunday Times bestselling author @Sophsplantkitchen has created her very best plant-based, high fibre recipes: all with at least 30 grammes of protein, all on the table in 30 minutes or less and all mouth-wateringly...
    By Sophie Waplington
    Hardback
    $4800
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Lizzy's Pick Lizzy's Pick
    Lunchbox Bible
    From the team behind the bestselling sensation Baby Food Bible, Lunchbox Bible is your go-to recipe book for feeding children healthy, allergen-friendly, and nutritionist-approved food that’s guaranteed to please. With 75 recipes and a visual library containing 75 different lunchboxes, this comprehensive guide has been carefully created with time-poor parents in mind. The recipes are simple, quick, nutrient-dense, and get...
    By Julia Tellidis and Lauren Skora
    Hardback
    $4700
    Elsewhere:
    $5999
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    New Release
    Disney Moana: The Official Cookbook
    Embark on a culinary adventure with Moana of Motunui with Pacific recipes inspired by Moana and Moana 2! After a long day of sailing to see how far you’ll go or keeping the demigod Maui out of trouble with Te Fiti, catch a break with the delicious dishes in Moana: The Official Cookbook! Featuring more than 50 recipes spanning the...
    By Monique Fiso
    Hardback
    $4499
    Elsewhere:
    $5299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    Fitwaffle's Easy 6
    Discover how simple cooking can be every day with over 100 easy, tasty recipes using only 6 ingredients. "My mission is simple. I want to help people feel more confident in the kitchen and show that baking and cooking don't need to be complicated. Whether you're brand new in the kitchen or you've been doing it for years, my goal...
    By Eloise Head
    Hardback
    $4199
    Elsewhere:
    $5000
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • New Release
    So Good Express
    Simple, nutritious recipes for when time is of the essence. Bringing together delicious and easy-to-follow recipes with the sound advice of a fully qualified nutritionist, number one bestselling author Emily English shows us that good food can make you feel amazing and bring you joy, every single day. Blending her nutrition expertise with a love of simple, fresh food, Emily...
    By Emily English
    Hardback
    $4799
    Elsewhere:
    $6000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • BBQ
    Britain's best-selling chef shares his BBQ passion and secrets. We all love a good BBQ, but too often they centre around some slightly burnt sausages and burgers. Not anymore! Jamie's got 90 recipes to show us just how brilliant and versatile barbecuing can be, whatever the season. With recipes suitable for both charcoal and gas BBQs, Jamie shares his key...
    By Jamie Oliver
    Hardback
    $5499
    Elsewhere:
    $7000
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • No Stress Recipe Queen
    No Stress Recipe Queen
    Take the chaos out of the kitchen every night of the week with the Masterchef favourite, globally beloved Insta cook and bestselling author of Air Fryer Queen and Easy Dinner Queen. Welcome to the No Stress Dinner Club! Put major taste on the table with these delicious, easy and stress-free recipes by the bestselling queen of simple, fun, and fuss-free...
    By Steph De Sousa
    Paperback
    $2900
    Elsewhere:
    $3299
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • My Mediterranean Life
    Transform your health and boost your energy with more than 200 easy, delicious recipes for weight loss, longevity and disease prevention.Bestselling clinical nutritionist Sarah Di Lorenzo combines her family's cherished recipes, her extensive clinical expertise and science-backed research to present a contemporary adaptation of the Mediterranean diet. The Mediterranean diet involves the type of eating observed in the world’s Blue Zones...
    By Sarah Di Lorenzo
    Paperback
    $3699
    Elsewhere:
    $4699
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • The Hungry Cook
    Olivia Galletly, aka The Hungry Cook, loves food - all food. She spends her life creating recipes for her popular blog, Dish magazine, and many well-known New Zealand food brands. Olivia loves to create delicious recipes for the everyday cook, many of which are adaptations of old classics she's loved and experimented with for years. This cookbook gathers Liv's tried...
    By Olivia Galletly
    Paperback
    $3799
    Elsewhere:
    $4500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Fatimas
    Fatima’s has been serving bold, fresh flavour to Aucklanders since 1995–now, with more than 100 recipes, you can bring a little of that magic into your own kitchen. This book is packed with the dishes and techniques that have kept our kitchen humming for 30 years. From slow cuts to zesty salads, from punchy sauces to late-night pitas, each recipe...
    By Sophie Gilmour and Kirsty Senior
    Hardback
    $5499
    Elsewhere:
    $5999
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Nadias Farm Kitchen
    Nadia’s Farm Kitchen is a warm, inspiring, and deeply personal cookbook celebrating the rhythms of the seasons and the simple joys of life on the land. Featuring over 70 wholesome, seasonal recipes and more than a dozen heartfelt short stories about life on the farm, this book offers a unique glimpse into the life of beloved cook and TV personality Nadia...
    By Nadia Lim
    Hardback
    $4400
    Elsewhere:
    $5500
    (1)
    In Stock
    Ships today
  • Simple Dinners Every Day
    'This book is here to help! Whether you're here to completely change the way you plan and cook, or just to find a few go-to dinners that will stop you from panic-ordering takeaway, I've got you.' With more than 3 million followers, Nicole Maguire of Simple Home Edit is loved for her flavour-packed, family-friendly dinner ideas, from cosy bakes that...
    By Nicole Maguire
    Paperback
    $3799
    Elsewhere:
    $4999
    In Stock
    Ships today

Why buy from us?

Book Hero is not a chain store or big box retailer. We're an independent 100% NZ-owned business on a mission to help more Kiwis rediscover a love of books and reading!

Service & Delivery

Service & Delivery

Our warehouse in Auckland holds over 100,000 books, toys, board games and puzzles in-stock so you're not waiting for your order to arrive from overseas.

Auckland Bookstore

Auckland Bookstore

We're primarily an online store, but for your convenience you can pick up your order for free from our bookstore, which is right next door to our warehouse in Hobsonville.

Our Gifting Service

Our Gifting Service

Books make wonderful thoughtful gifts and we're here to help with gift-wrapping and cards. We can even send your gift directly to your loved one.

Cooking & Food lists from the team

Explore our curated lists from our heroes to find your next read!

The Latest at Book Hero

View all