I am SO excited to share an extraordinary global cookbook with our Wandering Educators today. Gather a& Graze: Globally Inspired Small Bites and Gorgeous Table Scapes for Every Occasion, by Mumtaz Mustafa and Laura Klynstra.

Mumtaz Mustafa spent her childhood in Karachi, where memories of family gatherings and her dad’s grand Friday breakfasts were sealed with the spices and aromas of Pakistani food. Laura Klynstra grew up in a community of Dutch descendants in Michigan, where potlucks were a staple and food, built on local produce and simple flavors, meant comfort. Check them out on Instagram at SpiceandSugarTable, which features tales and recipes celebrating their cultural roots, their culinary adventures around the world, and the joy of cooking, baking, creating, and sharing great food.

Our family has one culinary motto: Food is Love.

This book is more than cookbook, more than table; it is a celebration of global food, of gathering together, of cooking the world, and a pure expression of food is love. It is packed with delicious recipes, enticing intros (I have so many bookmarks in it that I had to NUMBER said bookmarks for cooking priorities), deep international cuisine knowledge, and such a warm sense of community and inspiration. Each section takes us to a different place in this world, teaches us about local food, and then gets us cooking. 

From your travels, you might have such fondness for foods you've tried and loved (Istanbul, I'm looking at you!). You might also want learn about food for an upcoming trip, or to travel the world from your table. THIS is your book.

Simit

The stunningly beautiful and creative spreads that grace the pages of this collection include:
• Pakistani Street Food
• English High Tea
• New York City Brunch
• Sonoma Wine and Cheese Board
• Heartland Cookout
• Spanish Tapas
• Liege Waffle Board
• Pan-Asian Table
• Portuguese Pestiscos
• Moroccan Table

Huevos Rancheros

When these two women met in the HarperCollins art department in New York City, they were from totally different worlds. Although connected through book design, they bonded over their real passion: food. They started swapping stories, cooking together, and inviting friends to join them in eating and talking. Brainstorming menus, uncovering nuggets from their own culinary histories, and exploring different traditions and flavors has kept Mumtaz and Laura close over a friendship that, despite life, career, and geographic changes, remains as vibrant, strong, and soul-nourishing as ever after twenty years.   

We are so happy to share their recipe for Frangipane Blueberry Mini Galettes! Click here to start cooking. 

I rarely READ through cookbooks, preferring to dip in and out according to the index and the ingredients I have on hand. 

This book changes all that. It's a cozy nighttime read, a hot sand beach read, a patiently waiting in the car read, an early morning with steaming cup of coffee read, a together read on the couch to plan family meals and special gatherings. My beloved new copy is lovingly becoming worn, favorites definitely arising, ideas for entire international meals percolating, table scapes being imagined from my stash of global souvenirs and treasures.

This book brings the world to our tables.

Pakistan - Papri Chaat

Highly, highly recommended.

We were lucky enough to catch up with Mumtaz and Laura, and ask them about their book, inspiration, narrowing down the recipes, food and community, and more. Here's what they had to share... 

Please tell us about your new book, Gather & Graze…
Gather & Graze is a collection of recipes from around the world and is organized by location. Each location features a board or a full table spread representing some of our favorites from each location. There are over 175 original recipes with our take on foods from our travels and foods we have tried with friends. The book is based on the simple truth that no matter where we come from or how different our cultures may be, everyone comes together to eat and that so much can be learned through the fellowship of a shared meal.

What inspired you to create this incredibly unique cookbook?
We worked together designing book covers in the HarperCollins art department and we shared a love of design and similar sensibilities. But it was our love of sharing food that turned out to be our true connection. Food is both of our love languages, and we started to host parties together sharing our cultures and personal histories through our cooking. When we started to conceive of a cookbook we knew that connection had to be at the heart of the book. At the very earliest conception of the book we imagined it as a charcuterie book, but it quickly grew beyond small bites to also include buffet style meals and any amazing dish that could be shared with family and friends.   

However did you decide upon/narrow down the recipes for your book? They are all so GOOD!
When we first laid out the book, it came in over 500 pages, so we needed to cut. One section that was cut completely was our Scandinavian Smorgasbord, which was a bummer, but we hope we will get to bring that one to another project. There were also more regions in the United States that we wanted to include but simply couldn’t fit. When it came down to finalizing the list, we selected places that we had a personal connection to, while also trying to represent most of the continents. Australia was our only miss on the continents.

Stroop

I love the community aspect of Gather & Graze; it is rare to see such a joyful, global, gathering-focused cookbook. How can readers best utilize your settings and recipe ideas?
The concept of Gather & Graze is based on the idea of a party, but a party doesn’t have to be large. It could be just a couple of friends or a family meal. Big or small doesn’t matter, the idea is about connecting. Each table spread can be pared down to something smaller by selecting only a few of the recipes. We recommend customizing each board or table to what works for you and your schedule. 

What advice do you have for readers to make cooking and gathering go smoothly?
If you want to do something like one of the full table spreads in the book but it’s just too overwhelming, turn it into a potluck. Guests can each take a recipe to make from one country. Or open it up and make it an international potluck in which each guest brings something from a different country. Or you can recruit a friend to cook with you. There is more to bond over than just gathering to eat—getting together to cook and share stories while you cook is a fabulous way to bond.

What's up next for you?
We would love to do another collaboration and we have a couple of book ideas we are working on. We will also be working on our social media and connecting with other cooks for the near future. We hope to see people using Gather & Graze to share love and connect with their communities. Laura also has a pie baking book releasing in the fall of 2025.

How can people find your work?
We are one Instagram @spiceandsugartable and also at www.spiceandsugartable.com. 

If you make something from Gather & Graze please tag us with a photo. We would love to see how you use the book!

Author and food photos courtesy and copyright Spice and Sugar Table/Skyhorse Publishing. Word photo: Wandering Educators.