Dinner, by Melissa Clark (Clarkson Potter)
We are devotees of Melissa’s food films for the New York Times, the most superbly conceived and executed food stories found in any media. So, it’s no surprise that the same wit, acumen and polish is fully present and correct in Dinner, a landmark book that every home needs. Every recipe we have tried works, and every recipe over-delivers: last night it was the Turkish lamb chops for dinner, and they were perfect. A beautiful production seals the deal: Dinner is the sort of book that makes you hungry.
Healthy Baking, by Jordan Bourke (Orion)
The title sounds slightly foreboding, but don’t be misled: Jordan Bourke’s food is lush, rich and wildly imaginative, and you can get lost in this book and cook from it for weeks.
Sweet, by Helen Goh and Yotam Ottolenghi (Ebury)
A beautiful, and quite brilliant, dissertation on sweetness, in all its forms. A definitive work. Read our review...
Coming To My Senses, by Alice Waters (Hardie Grant)
You can’t be a great restaurateur if you don’t have a great culture and philosophy, which you then express through that cooking. Alice Waters’ autobiography explains how one of the world’s most important chefs, the creator of Chez Panisse, constructed that culture and that philosophy, and the sub-title says it all: The Making of a Counterculture Cook. Alice is out there. Way, way out there. Read our review...
