Jake Hodges

History and Food, my two favourite subjects. Recipes found in records of the Inquisition trails against Sephardic Jews. Fascinating and wonderful recipes full of aubergines, chickpeas, saffron, mace, ginger and cinnamon.

Anyone with the balls to write a book about bread and oil (ok, tomato and garlic feature heavily too) gets my vote. With tomato these are the holy trinity of much of the Mediterranean, but this book is based on Majorca and captivates.

Very much a first catch, gut and skin your hare first book. Unashamedly male writing, dedicated to his second wife ‘Slosh’. In the event of an apocalypse keep this book close as it will show you how to get from live beast to meal.

I love Rowley Leigh, he just gives it as it is. No short cuts, no how to cook for ten in half an hour. Classic food described beautifully and no twists.

He used to have a restaurant near where I lived in Maida Vale and the food was so good, a hard thing then for South East Asian food then and indeed now. The book reflects this.

I bought this in the 80’s when I was living in Sydney where I was first exposed to South East Asian food. It has been a bible ever since. If you want to make Pho or Laksa this is it.

A curiosity. Montalban wrote a series of crime novels mostly set in Barcelona in which the protagonist was called Pepe Carvalho. He is a gastronome and in most the novels he or his friend Biscuter cook meals. This is a collection of extracts involving these and recipes to follow if needed. Brilliant. Not in English unfortunately.

Meades writes “an anti-cookbook” “an explicit paean to the avoidance of culinary originality (should such a thing exist)” “in the kitchen there is nothing new and nor can there be anything new. It’s all, theft” SAY NO MORE.

Or any Time-Life cookery book – for the photos.

Or any of David's other books – for the writing.