Book tip: Porto – The Cookbook

A love letter to flavors, the Atlantic Ocean, and authenticity
© Südwest Verlag
© Südwest Verlag
7. December 2025

 | Editorial team

“Porto – The Cookbook” by Sylvie Da Silva brings the flavors of the Atlantic city to life in book form. The focus is not only on the food, but also on the culture behind it – from hearty home cooking to delicate monastery desserts.

The work captivates with its mixture of recipes and travel impressions. Each chapter takes readers on an enjoyable journey of discovery – including stories about ingredients, regions, and people. The balance between culinary depth and emotional closeness is particularly successful.

INFO
Porto – The Cookbook
Author: Sylvie Da Silva
Publisher: Südwest Verlag
192 pages, approx. 120 color photos
ISBN: 978-3-517-10389-1
Price: €24.00 (Germany) / €24.70 (Austria) / CHF 33.50

Our conclusion

A charming, detailed cookbook with a storytelling character – ideal for anyone who not only wants to taste Mediterranean cuisine, but also wants to understand it.

A la table, s'il vous plaît! A la table, s'il vous plaît! A la table, s'il vous plaît! A la table, s'il vous plaît!
Copyright for the featured images used:
© Südwest Verlag

Book tip: Lasagna, Moussaka, and Co. – Happiness in Layers

Ilse Fischer's “Lasagna, Moussaka, and Co.” is a culinary journey through Europe in casserole form

Casseroles are underestimated. They are often considered cozy, filling, a little old-fashioned—but they are actually culinary narrative forms. This is exactly where Ilse Fischer comes in. Lasagne, Moussaka und Co.: Das Glück in Schichten (Lasagna, Moussaka and Co.: Happiness in Layers) is not just another “lasagna book,” but a collection of cultural identities, layered in dough, vegetables, sauces, and memories.

What sets this book apart from classic recipe collections is its focus on the principle of layering. Fischer shows that whether it’s Italian vincigrassi, Greek pastitsio, Alsatian baeckeoffe, or Savoyard tartiflette, ingredients are layered, interwoven, and combined in the oven to create something greater than the sum of its parts throughout Europe. It’s about more than technique. It’s about origin, climate, availability, and food culture.

INFO:
Lasagne, Moussaka and Co. – Happiness in Layers
Author: Ilse Fischer
Illustrations: Gudy Steinmill-Hommel
Publisher: Christian Verlag GmbH
Publication date: November 2025
Length: 256 pages
Binding: Hardcover
Language: German
ISBN: 978-3-9895101-6-6

How price acceptance actually arises

Why guests are happy to pay the price for menus, rooms, and non-alcoholic alternatives when quality and character match

Price has long been more than just the result of a calculation. It is a signal. For attitude, for standards, for credibility. Guests read prices as a silent message about what a business stands for and how consistently it lives up to its promise of quality. Today, guests no longer pay for the cheapest option, but for the most harmonious one. For an offer where price, product, and atmosphere form a coherent whole.

Highballs, Deep Cuts & Vienna's New Underground

How Salon Paradise at The Hoxton is reinventing the night—and why Vienna's most exciting cultural space is emerging beneath it.

Vienna has many bars. But only a few places that truly create their own world. Salon Paradise is exactly that: not a nightclub, but a state of mind. A dimly lit basement bar where conversations become deeper, drinks taste clearer, and music doesn’t accompany, but leads. After the summer break, Vienna’s most iconic underground bar returns to The Hoxton, Vienna on November 22—with a new tempo, a new sound, and a sharpened attitude. The rebellious soul remains, but it now beats with greater focus.

quick & dirty
Porto – The Cookbook © Südwest Verlag
Book tip: Porto – The Cookbook

“Porto – The Cookbook” by Sylvie Da Silva brings the flavors of the Atlantic city to life in book form. The focus is not only on the food, but also on the culture behind it – from hearty home cooking to delicate monastery desserts.

The work captivates with its mixture of recipes and travel impressions. Each chapter takes readers on an enjoyable journey of discovery – including stories about ingredients, regions, and people. The balance between culinary depth and emotional closeness is particularly successful.

INFO
Porto – The Cookbook
Author: Sylvie Da Silva
Publisher: Südwest Verlag
192 pages, approx. 120 color photos
ISBN: 978-3-517-10389-1
Price: €24.00 (Germany) / €24.70 (Austria) / CHF 33.50