Francis Percival

More than anyone else, Simon Hopkinson captured and synthesised the spirit of the Elizabeth David generation, but repackaged it into expertly-crafted and thoroughly reliable recipes. I bought a copy of this with some prize money that I won at University when I was twenty years old and it changed my life.

The single greatest manual on sourdough baking in any language. It still amazes me that they managed to publish a full book where there are really only two basic recipes--although many embellishments and some other dishes at the end of the book--for an excellent high-hydration sourdough and great baguette.

The Tartine approach applied to whole grains. Everything that I learned about sprouting grains and porridge breads came from this book.

I married a Californian, so learning about Mexican food was an absolute necessity. A definitive guide.

This - together with the Caroline Conran translation into English - exactly captures thrilling modernity of the 1970s generation of nouvelle cuisine. It still feels fresh, even when so many of the ideas have entered the vernacular.

Every Anglo-Saxon's introduction to Italian cooking. Still a go-to reference work.

A thoroughly systematic introduction to frozen desserts, that gives the reader the tools to understand the textures that will be achieved with any given recipe.

Showcasing the recipe book as social history.

Elizabeth David was the better prose stylist, but I have always found Richard Olney's recipes easier to follow...

An eminently sensible guide to meat cookery that also presents the philosophical and environmental argument for eating meat.