book of the year
bitter sweet stephanie danler one world, £12.99 a coming-of-age novel that’s so much about falling in love with the restaurant industry. The protagonist, Tess, is a waitress in New York. danler worked at union square cafe for a while and was clearly taking excellent mental notes.
buy it for: turns of phrase: salt is “flakes of brittany, liquefied on contact”.
You are reading: Best food books 2016
the best of the rest
land of fish and rice fuchsia dunlop bloomsbury, £26an introduction to the food of shanghai and the lower yangtze region presented by a talented scholar and recipe writer. beautifully written, brilliantly curated, a perfect gift for an adventurous cook eager to expand his recipe repertoire.
scandinavian comfort food trine hahnemann gang, £25 Continuing our love affair with Scandinavian food and lifestyle, here is food as a loving expression of hygge, the Danish art of relaxation and welcome. comforting in the best way, with updated classics and a modern sensibility. Buy it for: Chowder and rye bread.
les dîners de gala salvador dalítaschen, £44.99 lavishly published taschen reissue of the artist’s 1973 cookbook, with recipes from maxim, la tour d’argent and other restaurants of the time, with (of course) erotic prints, paintings, photos, and a chapter on aphrodisiacs.shop it for: a look into a lost gastronomic world.
the 24-hour wine expert jancis robinsonpenguin, £4.99, a brief, concise and demystifying deconstruction of the world of wine. if you are not an expert after reading, you are certainly better informed. you’ll likely save the £4.99 price of admission just with the wine pairing tips and special occasions. shop it for: 10 ways to choose the right bottle.
koffmann classic pierre koffmann jacqui small, £30, the life’s work of the winner of the 2016 ofm lifetime achievement award, a celebration of 50 extraordinary years in the kitchen. here are signature dishes from perhaps the most influential chef in the country, with insights from his protégés.buy it for: the handyman (of course).
la mére brazier eugénie brazier modern books, £25first woman to have three michelin stars, then six (her second place had no gas or electricity). Eugénie Brazier died in 1977, two years after starting this collection of recipes and her memoirs, which have been translated into English for the first time.shop it by: the woodcock and eggs recipe scrambled.
ottolenghi: the cookbook yotam ottolenghi and sami tamimi ebury, £27the book that left us ottolenghies, the first in a sumac-infused series that perhaps more than any other changed the way we we eat. remodeled, repackaged, rewritten intros (if not retconned: yotam and sami look so young).buy it for: the rotisserie chickens.
salt is essential shaun hill kyle’s books, £25 from another 50 year veteran in the kitchen – hill is head chef at the walnut in abergavenny – this is packed with delicious recipes and leavened with concise commentary a world of good food from sweden’s jansson temptation to kerala’s fish curry.
basque josé pizarro hardie grant, £25a tribute to the basque country by an exiled resident of london from extremadura. written with love and the blessing of juan mari arzak, godfather of the region’s culinary revolution. a recipe book to have in the kitchen and maybe splash with squid ink.buy it for: hake with green sauce.
food for all seasons oliver rowe faber, £20 a hymn to seasonality and locality from the former cook of moor and river café. a year in the life of the food cycle that feels like a labor of love. good writing, recipes, and well-chosen poetry. buy it for: herrings and porridge and milton’s song on may morning.
the new vegetarian square peg alice hart, £25 with chapters titled from herding to foraging and from breakfast to desserts, alice hart has scoured the day for hungry moments and the world for interesting responses (it’s particularly strong on Asian-inspired recipes). elegant and modern.
Buy it for: Spiced turmeric broth with roasted vegetables.
nordic cuisine claus meyer mitchell beazley, £27 accessible seasonal recipes from noma co-founder and business guru of the new nordic manifesto. ramsons, nettles, chanterelles all show up, though meyer isn’t looking for redzepi food. strong on fish and vegetables, perhaps stronger in fall and winter. Buy it for: Fried flounder with braised escarole.
See Also: Show, Don&39t Tell: Tips and Examples of The Golden Rule
symmetrical breakfastmichael zeebantam press, £14.99the power of two in one mirror image meal. zee became an instagram sensation by photographing the symmetrical breakfasts she prepared for him and his partner. His book features selections from around the world, from green shakshuka to fish noodle soup.buy it for: the marriage proposal.
duck soup cookbook clare lattin and tom hill square glue, £25 five years of soho duck soup restaurant inspiration brought together in a book that is almost radical in its simplicity , with influences from Scandinavia, Japan and the Mediterranean. buy it for:pork belly with pickled rhubarb.
dovemar mitchell beazley readers best restaurant 2015 for £25 cookbook won us over with its family atmosphere and unbridled sense of fun as well as tomer amedis brilliant southern mediterranean cuisine . all of which translates to her first cookbook.shop it for: the scallop carpaccio with thai-bouleh.
cook for syria clerkenwell boy and serena guen suitcase media, £25unicef nextgen fundraising campaign book went to print fast for christmas. a celebration of Syrian food with recipes and family stories. Contributors include Angela Hartnett and Jamie Oliver.Buy It: Because 100% of profits go to children affected by conflict.
gather gill meller quadrille, £25 one of the most low-key cookbooks of the year from the chef at the river cottage. Reverence for the countryside and its bounties is evident here, though Meller also knows how to write a great recipe. strong>
savor peter gordonjacqui small, £25 a decade ago, the kiwi chef wrote a cookbook advocating salads as a main dish. this excellent volume updates the argument, giving way to goat curd, beet-cured salmon, and umeboshi, without overcomplicating it.buy it for: the simple salad section up front.
on the unbound nicholas lander menu, £30 per lander, menus are “the quickest way to travel” and “less a record of what you ate, but more of a conduit for the overall experience.” This collection of menus from some of the world’s best restaurants offers an inside look at how those places work.Buy it to: Make a list of dream dining destinations.
See Also: I Read Odd Books – Odd Things Considered