Mitchell Beazley acquires recipes from Siberia

Mitchell Beazley has acquired the first book of chef and entrepreneur Alissa Timoshkina: Salt & Time: Recipes from a modern Russian kitchen.

Stephanie Jackson, Octopus publishing director, acquired World rights all languages from Zoe Ross at United Agents. The book will publish in March 2019, priced £25.

According to Octopus, it will be a collection of delicious recipes from Siberia and beyond, adapted for modern tastes and Western kitchens, accompanied by "evocative" storytelling as well as "inspiring" photography.

The hope is it will transform perceptions of the food of the former Soviet Union, and especially Siberia. Jackson said Timoshkina's book was "a gorgeous, inviting collection of dishes with real history and heart from a part of the world that will be new to many".

The author herself came to the UK in 1999 from Russia to study. After lecturing and publishing on the subject of Russian and European cinemas, she worked as curator and coordinator of film festivals in London, but is now pursuing her passion for cooking. In 2015 she left her job to launch a new project: a cinema supper club called KinoVino, which offers film screenings and sit down dinners with menus inspired by the films.