50 MOMOFUKU David Chang
(Absolute Press, 2010)
New York-based Chang’s Korean-based food makes him the one of hottest chefs in the world correct now. Signature dish: chicharrón (fried pork rind)
49 OPERA DELL’ARTE DEL CUCINARE Bartolomeo Scappi
(The Collected Works of Cooking Art, 1570)
“The Renaissance of Dante and Michelangelo translated into the kitchen,” says Bill Buford of this 1,000-recipe collection from Pope Pius V’s cook, translated in 2008.
48 THE HANDMADE LOAF Dan Lepard
(Mitchell Beazley, 2004)
An inspirational guide to bread-creating using wild yeast from the fashion photographer turned master baker. Not for bread-machine owners.
47 WITH BOLD KNIFE & FORK MFK Fisher
(Perigree, 1969)
A “poet of the appetites” according to John Updike, and this is as literary a cookbook as you will uncover, with the added bonus of 140 recipes.
46 CATALAN CUISINE Colman Andrews
(Headline, 1988)
The founder editor of Saveur magazine’s homage to “Europe last excellent culinary secret” that has now turn out to be the common reference for restaurant kitchens of the region
45 THE ART OF MEXICAN COOKING Diana Kennedy
(Bantam, 1989)
Classic reference function by Brit who has lived in Mexico since 1957. Frequently referred to as the Julia Child of that country’s cooking, and loved by Wahaca’s Thomasina Miers.
44 ACTION COOK BOOK Len Deighton
(Jonathan Cape, 1965)
Classic cookery “strips” from the Observer, Deighton is still the person Rachel Cooke turns to for sauces. If your bearnaise is separating, he’s your man.
43 INDIAN VEGETARIAN COOKERY Jack Santa Maria
(Rider and Co, 1973)
Authoritative authentic recipes from the greatest vegetarian nation. A book to lovingly splatter with turmeric-died dhal. His sazi pulau is especially very good.
42 HOW TO EAT Nigella Lawson
(Chatto & Windus, 1998)
Her initial book with its passionate descriptions of comfort eating was revolutionary at the time, selling 300,000. Ironically, given she became the ‘queen of food porn’, there are few photos.
41 FRENCH COOKING IN 10 MINUTES Edouard de Pomiane
(Bruno Cassirer, 1948)
Raymond Blanc says Pomaine is his “hero”, and it’s straightforward to see why from this brief, delightful book that’s as much a function of philosophy. “For everyone who has only an hour for lunch or dinner and yet wants half an hour of peace,” says the author.
40 PLENTY Yotam Ottolenghi
(Ebury, 2010)
From pear crostini to scrambled smoky duck eggs on sourdough this meat-free collection of seductive recipes brings vegetarian consuming bang up to date.
39 ON FOOD AND COOKING Harold McGee
(Simon & Schuster, 1984)
An entertaining, thorough examination of the science of cooking – not surprisingly Heston Blumenthal’s choice of book on Desert Island Discs.
38 THE INDEPENDENT COOK Jeremy Round
(Barrie & Jenkins, 1988)
The Independent writer who tragically died aged 32. Round wrote beautifully and passionately about British seasonal cookery and was feted by food lovers from Elizabeth David to Marco Pierre White.
37 MEDITERRANEAN SEAFOOD Alan Davidson
(Penguin, 1972)
The very first book by the brilliant British diplomat and chronicler of all things food-related whose writing was discovered by Elizabeth David when he documented how to cook the fish he saw on the Tunis dockside.
36 PLATS DU JOUR Patience Gray and Primrose Boyd
(Penguin, 1957)
Published when pasta still considered outlandish, with illustrations by the great David Gentleman. 1 of Jane Grigson’s favourites.
35 THE RIVER COTTAGE MEAT BOOK Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
(Hodder & Stoughton, 2004)
Will restart your relationship with your nearby butcher – every thing you require and really should know about the slaughter, preparation and cooking of animals.
34 LA CUISINE GOURMANDE Michel Guérard
(Macmillan, 1978)
A favourite of Simon Hopkinson – who raves about Guérard’s beef stew flavoured with orange peel. Out of print, but you will locate secondhand copies on-line.
33 JAPANESE COOKING Shizuo Tsuji
(Kodansha International, 1980)
The fundamentals of Japanese food – including 16 pages on preparing sashimi – from a man who ran the country’s largest cookery school and owned one of the world’s largest private collections of Bach recordings.
32 THE GREENS COOKBOOK Deborah Madison and Edward Espe Brown
(Broadway, 1987)
Revolutionised vegetarian cooking. Madison is a Californian graduate of Alice Waters’s Chez Panisse, a champion of neighborhood food and student of Zen Buddhism. Key dish: black bean chili.
31 THE COOK’S COMPANION Stephanie Alexander
(Viking, 1996)
Passionate, meticulous 1,000-page encyclopaedia from Australia’s 1-woman answer to Delia, Jamie and Hugh. Includes her well-known take on Queen of Puddings.
30 PORK AND SONS Stéphane Reynaud
(Phaidon, 2007)
A celebration of all things pig, rooted in Reynaud’s upbringing in the Ardeche. Starts with a slaughter – the author attended his 1st at the age of seven – which puts the cute illustrations in their proper context.
29 Maintain IT Easy Alastair Small
(Conran Octopus, 1993)
Accurately subtitled “a fresh look at classic cooking” the clear, concise recipes show why Small is still lovingly referenced as the godfather of modern day British cooking.
28 MORO: THE COOKBOOK Sam and Sam Clark
(Ebury 2001)
Classic Mediterranean cooking from husband and wife team behind award-winning east London restaurant. Full of valuable touches, such as an index of suppliers.
27 LES SECRETS DE LA MèRE BRAZIER Roger Moreau, Roger Garnier, Jacott Brazier, Paul Bocuse
(Solar, 1977)
Revered by Bill Buford, Eugenie Brazier was the very first woman chef to win 3 Michelin stars and the 1st to win two sets of three. The most considerable “mères” of French cooking.” Signature dish: gratinée Lyonnaise.
26 CLASSIC CHINESE COOKBOOK Yan-kit So
(Dorling Kindersley, 1984)
Born in Guangdong province but raised in Hong Kong, prior to living in India and then London, the late Yan Kit-So was as a lot cultural historian as cook – she was involved in the oriental antiquities department of the British Museum. This was her initial book, an award-winning run by means of the essentials of authentic Chinese cookery that still stands these days.
25 Traditional SPANISH COOKING Janet Mendel
(Garnet Publishing, 1996)
Journalist Mendel is an American who has lived in southern Spain for more than 30 years, immersing herself in the country’s culture and cooking. This is an authoritative blend of both, with small asides – crema catalana is the Father’s Day dessert of selection, apparently – producing it far more than just a thorough compendium of recipes.
24 THE Total GUIDE TO THE ART OF Contemporary COOKERY Auguste Escoffier
(John Wiley & Sons, 1983)
Exhaustive, 5,000-recipe guide from the father of French food, whose translators, suitably sufficient, met while working at the Savoy itself, where Escoffier, head of restaurant services, invented the peach melba. Every little thing is here, from sauces to game, salads to jam, but it is not for novices, and is as a lot reference book as cookbook.
23 NOSE TO TAIL Eating: A Type OF BRITISH COOKING Fergus Henderson
(Bloomsbury, 1999)
The book that took Henderson’s waste-absolutely nothing take on meat-eating worldwide. The philosophy is simple – “If you’re going to kill the animal it seems only polite to use the entire thing” – but has proved revolutionary, introducing a generation to rough but lovely cuts they’d in no way previously considered, or might even have been a little scared of. Start off with the roast bone marrow and parsley salad.
22 THE FOUR SEASONS COOKERY BOOK Margaret Costa
(Thomas Nelson, 1970)
“A guiding light,” was how Nigel Slater described Costa in her obituary for the Guardian in 1999. She’d come to prominence by replacing Robert Carrier as the Sunday Times cookery writer, and despite the fact that this was her only substantial book, it is hugely influential. Divided by ingredients – unusual back in 1970 – it proved a key introduction to the now commonplace notion of the absolute importance of sourcing.
21 MASTERING THE ART OF FRENCH COOKING Julia Child, Simone Beck & Louise Bertholle
(Knopf, 1961)
Two volumes that revolutionised cooking in America, its influence extending into the digital age by inspiring the common food blog that ultimately led to Oscar-nominated Meryl Streep vehicle Julie and Julia. Maybe a bit dated – no one would recommend employing tinned salmon these days – and not as straightforward as Child’s profile as the American Delia might suggest.
20 Very good Issues IN ENGLAND Florence White
(Jonathan Cape, 1932)
Founder of the English Folk Cookery Association, White was one of the earliest British journalists to write about food. This pioneering collection of far more than 800 recipes, some dating as far back as the 14th century, is the finest expression of White’s passion for the nation’s cookery, which she believed was “the finest in the world”. A lost classic, it was finally republished by Persephone in 1999.
19 THE RICE BOOK Sri Owen
(Doubleday, 1993)
A labour of love and extensive study. Sumatran-born Owen, an authority on Indonesian food, visited a dozen rice growing countries whilst preparing the definitive volume on the versatile grain. Lovingly packaged, it is a mix of history – rice is component of the creation myth in Java, apparently – and 200 recipes drawn from Afghanistan to Korea.
18 AN INVITATION TO INDIAN COOKING Madhur Jaffrey
(HarperCollins, 1973)
Jaffrey remains synonymous with Indian food for any person who grew up in the 70s and 80s, her 1st book curing a nation of ignoramuses of the notion that what they washed down with lager on a Friday night was the identical as authentic cooking from the subcontinent.
17 A PLATTER OF FIGS AND OTHER RECIPES David Tanis
(Artisan, 2008)
A favourite of Bill Buford and Thomasina Miers. When he’s not head chef at Chez Panisse, Tanis lives in Paris, where he continues to cook, but the exact same way a lot of of us do, for tiny groups of buddies. These evenings provided the inspiration for the 24 menus here, but reveal some thing about the author too, taking in his travels to north Africa and the Pacific north-west of the United States.
16 ENGLISH SEAFOOD COOKERY Rick Stein
(Penguin, 1988)
A brief, rather slight-searching book that is a real boon when you uncover yourself unsure of what to do with fish or shellfish. The fish stew with saffron and cream, is suggested. Stein is also good on sauces and other accompaniments: hollandaise, buerre blanc, rouille, and flavoured butters.
15 JAMIE’S ITALY Jamie Oliver
(Michael Joseph, 2005)
He may well have expanded the nations palates, killed off the turkey twizzler and cried on Tv a lot, however Jamie Oliver’s initial love was Italian food, and with this book it shows. Assembled from his time haring round the Italian regions it is packed with hearty, flavoursome dishes which are hard to mess up.
14 THE CONSTANCE SPRY COOKERY BOOK Rosemary Hume and Constance Spry
(Dent, 1956)
Consists of the original recipe for coronation chicken, invented for Elizabeth’s ascent to the throne in 1953 (original domestic goddess Spry also did the flowers in Westminster Abbey). Hume and Spry opened the Domestic Science School in Cranbourne in 1946: the former had much more expertise in the kitchen, the latter much more celebrity cachet and their book will still help you deal with everything from breakfast to cocktail parties.
13 THE Complete ROBUCHON Joel Robuchon
(Grub St, 2008)
It is all here, every quirky piece of orthodox French methodology, mixed in with preparations that are distinctly Robuchon: those buttery mashed potatoes, madeleines that are the best in France and a boeuf à la Provencal that, made with cheeks poked with lardons and cooked atop a half-pound of pork rind, may be the only the meaty stew that by no means dries out.
12 DELIA’S Total HOW TO COOK Delia Smith
(BBC, 2009)
Such is the power of Delia that her How to Cook Tv show is credited with raising sales of cranberries by 200% following they were featured in 1 recipe on the programme. That widespread touch is carried over into her books and couple of do the basics better than this supremely useful 350-recipe, step-by-step guide. If you require something to hold you by the hand, this is it.
11 CHEZ PANISSE MENU COOKBOOK Alice Waters
(Random Home, 1982)
Chez Panisse in Berkeley, California was where Alice Waters, champion of all things neighborhood and organic, put her vision of seasonal, sustainable cooking into practice when it opened in 1971. The initial of a lot of books, this balances her ethos with 120 menus from the restaurant. An influential campaigner, Waters had lengthy been pushing for an organic vegetable garden in the White Home and got 1 in 2008, after writing to Michelle Obama.