Marisa Leaf

Beautifully written and evocative of France in the 1950s and 60s. We cook from this book all the time; daubes, coq au vin, leeks Provencale.

Lots of well-written, easy to follow, delicious recipes and great accompanying material on everything from provenance and seasonality to cooking times. Hugh's passage on the ethics of eating veal is especially eye opening.

Really well-written, simple recipes that turn out brilliantly and fascinating accompanying material on the different fish characteristics, sustainability and sourcing.

A gift from a dear friend, this book just has brilliant brilliant recipes. Makes it possible to recreate some of my favourite dishes at home.

A classic which is no longer in my possession and sadly out of print or I'd buy it again! Her fasolakia (Greek bean stew) is unbeatable.

A gift, this book is as much social history as it is recipe book. Packed full of the classic Jewish Ashkenazi recipes that remind me of my grandparents' cooking, and have delighted in discovering many less familiar Sephardi dishes too.

Always a brilliant source of inspiration when I'm feeding a crowd, especially at Christmas time. I love the tone of Nigella's books; personal, relaxed intimate, never intimidating.

Simple, well-chosen, beautifully photographed recipes.

Fantastic recipes, accompanied by fascinating anecdotes for context.

I love that it's organised by month; a great source of seasonal inspiration any time of year. Stand out dish: pork meatballs with lemon and anchovies.