Listmania!
Food writing to fire you up!
An Omelette and a Glass of Wine (Cook's Classic Library)An Omelette and a Glass of Wine (Cook's Classic Library) by Elizabeth David
Buy used from: £7.17
Simply the most evocative collection of food writing of the 20th Century. Nigel Slater clearly had some great sources.
Appetite: So What Do You Want to Eat Today?Appetite: So What Do You Want to Eat Today? by Nigel Slater
Buy new: £14.49 / Used from: £10.77
I want to eat NOW Nigel - chop to it with your ideas. Just reading the line about how he refuses to teach any reader how to cook a steak well done is enough to get my interest.
Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Paperback Cookery)Roast Chicken and Other Stories (Ebury Paperback Cookery) by Simon Hopkinson
Buy new: £7.30 / Used from: £1.16
Whimsical and delightful - written in handy bite-sized segments if you're busy.
The River Cottage Fish BookThe River Cottage Fish Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Buy new: £21.49 / Used from: £10.99
The title tells the story. So much love, devotion, time, energy and fun has clearly gone into compiling this tome. No wonder it won a Food Writers Guild Award.
Planet Chicken: The Shameful Story of the Bird on Your PlatePlanet Chicken: The Shameful Story of the Bird on Your Plate by Hattie Ellis
Buy new: £14.24 / Used from: £0.01
Modern food comes with a hidden cost. Hattie, with a little nudge from HFW gives us the grisly detail. Reading this is akin to cleaning out the hamster's cage - when it died in there months ago.
Delia's How to Cook Book OneDelia's How to Cook Book One by Delia Smith
Buy new: £12.98 / Used from: £0.01
Much as I loved Rory Bremner's send-up of these books, I can't help but have some quiet respect for the great lady. She recognised the same trend which lead to Jamie's ministry of food a decade early.
The Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the KitchenThe Kitchen Diaries: A Year in the Kitchen by Nigel Slater
Buy new: £11.02 / Used from: £10.13
I know it's Nigel again but this is the man who taught me to throw caution to the wind, roll-up my sleeves and know how and when to put in 'enough'.
Grub On A GrantGrub On A Grant by Clarke
Buy used from: £0.01
Its recipes read somewhat simply (and a bit skanky) to me now but at the time, having something so compact and discreet to tell me how to knock-together those early sauces was a godsend., Thanks mum.
The Silver SpoonThe Silver Spoon
Buy new: £21.21 / Used from: £14.18
Bellissima! (Sorry). It may be short on imagery and fluffy description but its size, weight and sheet breadth of recipes which have kept the Italians going always helps out with obscure ingredients.
Further Adventures in Search of PerfectionFurther Adventures in Search of Perfection by Heston Blumenthal
Buy new: £12.98 / Used from: £3.15
His recipe for a burger runs to about seven pages but you don't have to actually cook it! It's how he gets there which makes for fascinating reading - and handy tips for when you're in NY.