Aneesh Popat

I am fascinated by how vast a cuisine can be both mainly being vegetarian and from the desert. Rajasthan is the land of the Rajas, the Kings and this is a brilliant book containing recipes from the provinces.

This is a collection of signature recipes from the brilliant chefs of Taj Hotel Group. There is both opulence in use of ingredients and style of presentation - something you only will see in 5* India.

For anybody aspiring to become a chocolatier or fascinated with the art of chocolate making, this book has it all. From pralines and ganaches to decorations and molding.

Everybody will have heard of Mumbai but few of Mahrashtra. This is the state within which Mumbai reigns. Its cuisine is almost hidden, overshadowed by Mumbai street food but is super comforting for the soul. Village cuisine is the best as it has come from generations of mothers and grandmothers passing it down by touch and by sense and you can really taste the love of these generations in the food of the Marathi folk. The cuisine is simple in its base of ingredients but full of stomach satisfying dishes.

This book is all about our footprint. The footprint we leave on our bodies, the footprint we leave in the world and the footprint we leave in our spiritual selves due to the food we eat and the intention with which we eat it. If you are both a philosopher and a foodie then you will love the ethics of this book. Irrespective of belief systems and moral compass - the recipes are fresh and very modern.

There are many versions of this book, each year a new edition is made with a range of new findings from Europe. If you are into fine dining and love your desserts then this book is for you. It is challenging in technique and methodology but will guarantee to teach you enough about desserts to always surprise yourself and dinner guests. All the top pastry chefs have contributed to this book - enough said!

This is a collection of recipes from the War. As a chef, I found this particularly interesting as these recipes were written during a period when there was rationing - ie limited ingredients. To create a recipe is a feat in itself but to do so with limited ingredients takes a whole new skill. When reading these recipes, a conscious reader will look at the method and try to understand why the ingredients added have been used and look at how they have been used, as after all cooking in many ways is a form of Chemistry.

The bakes and cakes in this book are all gluten free and vegan and if that's not enough, most of them are also sugar free! So what must they taste like? Well according to Martha Stewart, conducted from a blind taste test, these guys make the 2nd best cupcakes in the whole of NYC. Need I say more to convince? Gluten free diets are increasingly becoming more common and let's face it - if we could enjoy our food as much as we do today without gluten and sugar, why would we not do it? There is enough evidence to prove longevity and physical wellbeing increase as we reduce these two ingredients, so definitely give this book a go.

I will be honest, I did not understand most of this book as it is in French I do not speak it. However, Patrick Roger is simply a chocolate master... even a chocolate genius. Simply by the images of his chocolate creations can you learn how to present and finish chocolates. The book is like taking step into Alice in Wonderland. The pages are full of bright and brilliant images set on black backgrounds and other images contrast where you have to look twice just to understand exactly what and how he has made these chocolates. I got it just for the pictures!

Vegan - a word that turns many away. If you really want milk just sub in the nut or soya milk for real milk but do not let the word vegan stop you from looking at this book. The recipes are perfect - they have never failed me and I make them every year for all the birthdays in our home. If you also love the science of baking its a good book as you can see all the tricks used to replicate the same chemistry as dairy and eggs. I would happily throw out all my baking books and just keep this.