Another year, another smorgasbord of delectable tomes. But these seven are no mere faddy, transient texts, rather titles that will eternally endure.
A Long And Messy Business
Rowley Leigh
(Unbound £25)
Leigh’s second book is well worth the wait. Beautifully written, splendidly opinionated and sensible, its erudition is lightly worn. The chapters move from January to December, and you’ll want to cook everything, from winter broth through to roast goose. A modern kitchen classic, and my book of the year.
Classic recipe: belly pork with fennel
Leigh’s second book is well worth the wait. Beautifully written, splendidly opinionated and sensible, its erudition is lightly worn
How To Eat A Peach
Diana Henry
(Mitchell Beazley £25)
You can always rely on Diana Henry. Her prose is elegant and evocative, her recipes pure and delectably international. This is perhaps her best yet, based on a book of menus she has kept since the age of 16, taking us from Brittany and Bordeaux to Oaxaca and San Francisco. ‘There is poetry in menus,’ she writes. And poetry in this book too.
Classic recipe: leeks with Breton vinaigrette
You can always rely on Diana Henry. Her prose is elegant and evocative, her recipes pure and delectably international
Asma’s Indian Kitchen
Asma Khan
(Pavilion £20)
From supper club via pop-up to much-adored permanent restaurant, Asma Khan’s Darjeeling Kitchen serves up some of the country’s finest Indian food. This book does her proud. Recipes from family and friends are intertwined with tales of growing up in Calcutta, then moving to Cambridge. And they range across the sub-continent, from the regal to the resolutely street. Worth buying for the section on frying onions alone.
Classic recipe: masoor dahl
From supper club via pop-up to much-adored permanent restaurant, Asma Khan’s Darjeeling Kitchen serves up some of the country’s finest Indian food
The Food Of Northern Thailand
Austin Bush
(Crown Publications £30)
As much a work of culinary scholarship as it is recipe-filled tome, this really is the last word on the cooking of northern Thailand. Bush is a true expert, a good writer, and fantastic photographer too. For anyone with even the merest interest in the regional food of Thailand, this is totally and utterly essential.
Classic recipe: khao soi naam naa (rice noodles in pork broth)
As much a work of culinary scholarship as it is recipe-filled tome, this really is the last word on the cooking of northern Thailand
The Ritz London: The Cookbook
John Williams
(Mitchell Beazley £30)
As sumptuous as Williams’s exquisite cooking, this is a magnificent volume. And a fitting tribute to one of the world’s great restaurants. The recipes aren’t simple but this is one of those books to immerse yourself in. Five-star brilliance.
Classic recipe: salt-baked celeriac
As sumptuous as Williams’s exquisite cooking, this is a magnificent volume. And a fitting tribute to one of the world’s great restaurants
Japan: The Cookbook
Nancy Singleton Hachisu (Phaidon £29.95)
The German Cookbook
Alfons Schuhbeck (Phaidon £29.95)
Two more additions to Phaidon’s brilliant collection of national cook books, they’re beautifully designed, lavishly photographed, well written and pretty exhaustive too. You get a true insight into both countries’ food, with history, culture and regional recipes all mixed in. My favourite culinary series.
Classic recipe: one-pot chicken with udon
Two more additions to Phaidon’s brilliant collection of national cook books, they’re beautifully designed, lavishly photographed, well written and pretty exhaustive too