Kavita Favelle

The book that helped a generation (or two) of home cooks learn the classics, myself and my husband included. We rarely refer to it these days but it earned its place on the shelf many years ago.

We own several titles in this prolific series of slim, postcard-sized books, most of them bought in souvenir shops. This one is my favourite because it set my husband on to the path of baking many years ago, something from which I still benefit! Purchased originally for the Aberdeen butteries recipe, we've made several treats from the book since then.

Several years ago, my husband and I attended a hugely helpful cookery class at the market's on-site cooking school, during which we learned how to scale, gut, skin and fillet different types of fish before cooking them. This book is a handy summary of the lessons we took home, and a great collection of fish recipes.

Although we also have Michel Roux's Eggs and Pastry books, it's the Sauces one that is grabbed off the shelf most often -- a straightforward and easy-to-follow guide to all the classic French sauces.

During the last few years I've developed an enormous enthusiasm for Japan and Japanese food and have bought several books. I dithered in my choice between this book and Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art by Shizuo Tsuji but in the end, this is the one I've cooked from more. It's a collection of simple Japanese recipes suitable for British home cooks and has lots of delicious ideas, most of which are quick enough for a weekday dinner.

There are so very many books out there on making jams and jellies that I can't claim this one as the best. But it's the one I looked to when the bug first bit me, and I found it an enormously helpful guide - liberally supplemented with recipes and guidelines handed down from my grandfather and mother.

It was a challenge to narrow down which of several books by Nigel Slater to highlight, but I plumped for this because it's another great resource for those keen to expand their repertoire, especially for weeknight cooking when time and energy are depleted. I appreciate how Nigel suggests multiple alternatives, with encouragement to freewheel.

A classic book for cake-lovers in particular, we've enjoyed several cakes from this book, though we are also fans of Feast: Food That Celebrates Life.

This book was the first time I came across the idea of revisiting classic recipes, assessing the many variations in ingredients and technique and coming up with an ultimate version and I loved reading about the process itself as well as trying the recipes.

Another "fifty recipes" book, and one we've cooked many recipes from and enjoyed every one. Charles Campion's banana cake remains my go to recipe to this day.