Top 10 Cookbooks for Gifting 2017
By Rachel Davies
My cookbook shelves are groaning under the weight of all the books – the ones that seduced me with stunning photography, the scent of foreign spices, the promise of amazing meals, or a memories of a wonderful evening in a restaurant.
I treasure my collection, and always learn something, or find inspiration in each and every book. And yet there are always more cookbooks on my wish list that I can’t wait to flick through, cook from, and see what they have to share.
Following from a previous post a few years ago, here are 5 cookbooks I love, and 5 more that I want to own (I have been restrained here, both lists are forever growing!).
If you’re putting together a wish list or looking for some gift ideas for a keen cook, I hope this helps.
Enjoy and happy cooking!
Books I love:
1. Sweet, Yotam Ottolenghi and Helen Goh
The latest book from the Ottolenghi empire. The detail is remarkable, with precise quantities, instructions, make ahead/freezing information and much more. The recipes are, as you’d expect, far from simple, but trustworthy and wonderful.
2. I am such a fan of Diana Henry, from her writing style to her beautiful recipes and exciting ingredients. This book is wonderfully straightforward cooking with plenty of inspiration.
3. Momofuku, David Chang and Peter Meehan
This book left me craving ramen for months. It’s the story of how David Chang became one of New York’s foremost chefs, and includes recipes from his restaurants as well as some that didn’t make it onto the menus but can make it at your table. This is Asian fusion food American style – big, bold and delicious.
4. The Palomar Cookbook, Modern Israeli Cuisine
If you haven’t eaten at the Palomar, then you should, and if you can’t, then isn’t it lucky that they brought out this cookbook?! This is Israeli food mixed with a bit of everything, and it’s delicious, generous and fun. Like most restaurant cookbooks, some recipes are quite involved and you’ll wish you had a sous chef, but some are simple, and all look worth the effort.
5. Honey and Co., The Baking Book, Sarit Packer and Itamar Srulovich
How amazing to be able to make the Honey and Co. baked goods at home?! There is nothing that I don’t want to make here. The recipes are precise and full of spices and flavour. Highly recommended.
And on my wish list:
6. Not a recipe book but ‘a love letter to the knife’, looking at different types of knives, their history and the relationship between cooks and their knives.
7. The Food Lab: Better Home Cooking Through Science, J. Kenji Lopez-Alt
Serious Eats is a website to be trusted, and Kenji is the chief culinary consultant. This book won a James Beard award and other accolades, and I’d expect lots of research and great recipes.
8. Brand new; Jose Pizarro knows great Spanish food.
9. Under Pressure: Cooking Sous Vide, Thomas Keller
An oldie but a weighty tome dedicated to sous vide cooking from one of its pioneers.
10. Zuni Café Cookbook, Judy Rodgers
A classic from the San Francisco restaurant. Zuni recipes are referenced often by great cooks – this is a piece of food history.
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