It’s almost impossible to conceive of the past 20 years of food renaissance without Anthony Bourdain’s brilliant writing and documentary making. Woolever collaborated on his books, was his lieutenant during the later years of his life and since his death in 2018 has compiled the stories of 90 of his friends, colleagues and family. This unique oral history builds to a comprehensive portrait and an important emotional and psychological biography. TH Thyme is the herb I use most often here. I stuff wisps of it deep into the chest cavity and squeeze a couple of sprigs into the pinch-point between leg and breast. Some cooks suggest pushing a herb or spice butter under the skin so the flesh is moistened continuously, and it is something well worth doing, but I am clumsy enough to tear the skin occasionally, which then shrinks and the naked flesh dries out as it cooks. Enter frozen puff pastry and tinned apricots. Commercial puff pastry is pretty good, especially (for which read “only”) if it is made with butter. Apricots survive the canning process better than most fruits – they can often be better than the fresh fruits you so carefully poach in sugar syrup. Tarts made using such everyday shortcuts still possess the crisp, buttery pastry and melting fruits you would get if you spent hours making your own puff pastry and preparing your own fruit. The word “crave” can carry the whiff of junk food devoured in times of stress or sadness. Ed Smith reframes it as the food our body – for any number of reasons – needs and wants. His introduction outlines six main “flavour profiles” we crave, including fresh and fragrant, chilli and heat, cheesy and creamy – and why. These flavour profiles become colour-coded chapters, their recipes precision engineered to hit their mark. Think three citrus salad; sriracha and lemon linguine with chilli pangrattato; cheesy polenta. CF If you don’t want a bland recipe book with nothing to hold your attention then Ma Gastronomie might have been written for you.

Peel the onion and cut into small dice. Remove the tentacles from one of the squid. Cut the body sac into small dice and set aside. Cut the second squid into wide strips, removing and reserving the tentacles as you go.Stir in the cornflour and salt, making sure it is thoroughly combined, then pour the mixture into the lined cake tin. Slide carefully into the oven, place on top of the hot stone or baking sheet and bake for 45 minutes, until the cake has risen a little and its surface is dark brown. The centre may quiver when shaken. A thoroughly good thing. Now turn off the heat and leave the cake to settle for a further 10 minutes. Remove the cake from the oven and leave to cool, then place, still in its tin, in the fridge. You can find Isa Does It: Amazingly Easy, Wildly Delicious Vegan Recipes for Every Day of the Weekby Isa Chandra Moskowitzonline. Rukmini Iyer’s mantra is “minimum effort, maximum return”. The fifth book in her Roasting Tin series, is true to form; the recipes – such as the chocolate salted caramel muffins – are delicious yet unfussy with minimal washing up. Helpfully, at the start of each chapter Iyer sets out a simple template that can be adjusted for the gluten-free, diabetic and vegan. Delicious, and accessible. MT-H Scott has had quite a year, cooking for world leaders at the G7 summit – Boris, Biden and co had roast turbot – opening an acclaimed new restaurant in Watergate Bay and publishing her first cookbook. Enthralled by Cornish landscape and its produce – there’s a section on beach cooking – Scott leads you through the seasons, her emphasis on ingredients over frippery lending itself to the home cook. GG

Buy it for the tamarind mung beans with turmeric oil; the coconut dream cake people go (coco)nuts for The rest, as they say, was history and the national palate has remained broad and interesting to this very day. But it’s impossible not to include the cookbook behind what was one of the world’s greatest ever restaurant ventures. Some will argue that this is too much a text for the professional chef to be included on our list; we argue that those people are dead wrong. The recipes specifically designed for today’s busy lifestyles to deliver a great cooked dinner with no fuss at all.There’snothing more American than barbecue and no-one should approach barbecue without a copy of this book in hand. The Vegetable Butcher: How to Select, Prep, Slice, Dice and Masterfully Cook Vegetables from Artichokes to Zucchini by Cara Mangini

It was a tough decision choosing the 40 best cookbooks of all time and there was some heated debate over some of the entries. If your favorite cookbook doesn’t appear on this list – we apologize in advance.Junior Bake Off judge and chef Ravneet Gill has come into her own with this bright and unabashed celebration of sugar. Recipes for “mistake” cake, apple and rosemary tarte tatin, and crunchy chocolate sandwich biscuits are interspersed with snips of useful advice and stories of the kitchens and people that shaped her, including her grandmother. MT-H In Dorie Greenspan’s Baking, the whole focus on baked desserts and we love each and every one of them and we think you will too.

Set the oven at 180C fan/gas mark 6. Scrub the potatoes and cut them in half lengthways, then into long wedges. Toss them in the groundnut oil, then place in a roasting tin in a single layer, with as much space as possible between them. Roast for about 45 minutes, turning them over halfway through. They should be crisp and deep gold.Break the eggs into a small bowl, add the extra yolk and beat lightly with a fork to combine the yolks and whites. Introduce the eggs to the cream cheese, beating at slow speed, then pour in the double and soured creams. Push the mixture down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula and briefly continue mixing. At this point it may look too liquid but worry not. El Bulli was an institution that defied convention and Ferran Adria’s work is innovative and sublime. Leaving the bird in the switched-off oven for 10-15 minutes with the door ajar is all the attention it needs, but if the roasties need a few minutes longer then I usually bring the meat out and let it snooze on a warm dish, hidden under a crinkly tent of foil. More than just an exploration of Israeli food; this is about the food created when cultures intermingle and sometimes clash. The Fundamental Techniques of Classic Pastry Artsby Judith Choate and The French Culinary Institute