Megan Mabee has been filling notebooks with her story ideas and favorite book quotes since she first began reading. She enjoys board gaming, rewatching Miyazaki movies, and building Legos with her preschooler. Megan holds a Master of Library and Information Studies degree from UNC Greensboro and a Public Librarian Certification. Megan has worked in a college bookstore and high school library, and she now loves talking books in the public library where she works and as a Bibliologist at TBR: Tailored Book Recommendations.
Featuring hearty recipes inspired by Sheeta and Pazu’s adventures in the classic film Castle in the Sky, this cookbook is sure to please fans of Studio Ghibli!
Sheeta and Pazu keep up their strength by eating plenty of delicious food while on their quest to find the mythical flying city of Laputa. With this cookbook, readers can re-create the delicious dishes seen in the film and recipes inspired by the movie. Each recipe includes step-by-step instructions and photographs and is filled with additional cooking tips. The book also features numerous film stills and a delightful retelling of the story.
I have always been a foodie reader. No matter what genre the book falls in, I live for the food descriptions. I’m sure it’s the hobbit heart in me. The only thing better than reading about food in books is seeing delicious food pictures. This makes comics the perfect platform to showcase good eats. Seeing and reading about food doesn’t just bring me joy though. I find it incredibly comforting too. In an era where the news is usually bringing me down, food comics make for a sweet pick-me-up.
If you’re a foodie reader like me, I have some treats in store for you below. I’ve gathered together some of the best foods or meals in comics. I organized the books by format, so you’ll find some of the best foods or meals in comic cookbooks, manga, and graphic novels. Each style offers unique features from recipe collections to slice-of-life cooking stories, and all of them include incredible food illustrations. For every title, I also highlight a particularly special food found within its pages. Which food or meals are your favorites in comics?
Best Foods and Meals in Comics
Food or Meals in Comic Cookbooks
Cook Korean! A Comic Book With Recipes by Robin Ha
This eye-catching comic cookbook by Robin Ha offers vividly illustrated Korean recipes, along with sweet, personal asides from Ha. The cookbook opens with a solid foundation of helpful information, including an illustrated guide to a Korean pantry and refrigerator, key ingredients in Korean cuisine, and a Korean meal guide. While all of the foods and meals look amazing, the food illustrations on each chapter heading page truly stand out. Highlights include the vegetable side dishes, like dolsot bibimbap, and the snacks and street food, like tteokbokki and kimchi bokkumbap.
Cook Like Your Ancestors: An Illustrated Guide to Intuitive Cooking With Recipes From Around the World by Mariah-Rose Marie
Mariah-Rose Marie has created a memorable comic cookbook that celebrates the art of intuitive cooking. This style of cooking really speaks to me as it relies less on measurements and more on intuitive skills like estimating, using your senses like taste and smell, balancing flavors, and keeping ratios in mind. Marie draws upon vegetarian recipes shared by friends and family from around the world, filling her cookbook with a diverse array of delectable delights, including a seriously scrumptious-looking Salma curry.
Food or Meals in Manga
She Loves to Cook, and She Loves to Eat, Vol. 1 by Sakaomi Yuzaki, Translated by Caleb Cook
This foodie manga by Sakaomi Yuzaki combines slice-of-life cooking with a heartfelt romance. Nomoto loves cooking big meals, and her neighbor Kasuga becomes an enthusiastic taste tester for her. This story really celebrates how food can be its own love language. You’ll find delicious eats like yaki onigiri interwoven throughout this must-read manga series!
The Food Diary of Miss Maid, Vol. 1 by Susumu Maeya
While most of these comics emphasize cooking good foods, I appreciate that this cute manga series by Susumu Maeya spotlights the joy in eating. When maid-in-training Suzume Tachibana visits her grandmother in Japan, she finds her visit extending to a year as the British mansion she works at undergoes repairs. Suzume decides to spend the year sampling an array of Japanese cuisine from sweets like melon bread to savories like takoyaki.
Witch Hat Atelier Kitchen, Vol. 1 by Hiromi Satō, Kamome Shirahama
Fans of Witch Hat Atelier and those new to the series will love digging into this slice-of-life cooking spin-off series by Hiromi Satō and creator Kamome Shirahama. During the night as Coco and the other Witch Hat Atelier apprentices sleep, Qifrey and Olruggio cook up some mouth-watering meals for themselves and their students. Each chapter focuses on a different foods and ends with the recipes so you can try your hand at cooking them too! The fantasy ingredients often have real world substitutions, and while it’s tough to choose the best meal from the book, the Witch-Hat Pasta With Parasol Jelly and Tomato Cream Sauce looks to die for.
Food or Meals in Graphic Novels
Batter Royale by Leisl Adams
Leisl Adams’ delightful romance graphic novel is perfect for fans of The Great British Bake Off. When a waitress named Rose impresses a food critic, she and her friend Fred get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to compete in a 10-day baking competition. Sweet treats and desserts fill the pages of this book. I love that the recipes of the foods the characters bake are interspersed throughout the story. Rose’s vanilla strawberry shortcake looks especially yummy.
Chef’s Kiss by Jarrett Melendez, Illustrated by Danica Brine, Colored by Hank Jones, Letters by Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou
While Ben graduates with an English degree, his initial job search struggles inspire him to pick up a job in a restaurant. As he discovers a knack for cooking, he also begins catching feels for a handsome chef named Liam. The food prepared in Jarrett Melendez’s graphic novel all looks super tasty, but it really hits its stride with the tarts, including a pear tart and Ben’s mushroom ricotta tart. Plus, a couple of recipes from the story appear at the end, too.
Before You Get Cooking…
I hope the food and meals I’ve mentioned in these comics have inspired you to get reading and cooking! Or, next time you see that little treat you want to buy, I hope you decide to go for it. Little treats really do matter, and they can be just as much a pick-me-up as these joyful food comics.
English (US) · 