Rachel McCormack

Encompasses the food and culture of an entire people. What they eat, why they eat it, how and when. The recipes work and her knowledge and research is unparalleled

A pioneering figure in the world of ices, Agnes Marshall was the first person to suggest using nitrogen as a freezing technique in the late 1800s. Unjustly ignored in favour of Mrs Beeton, Marshall's book gives you a plethora of workable ideas for making sorbets and ice creams that seem very modern and unusual

There are thousands of Italian cookbooks in English. This was one of the first and still has some of the best recipes and the most thorough research

Continuously in print since 1929, McNeill is not a household name in Scotland, but she should be. The recipes are great, the writing sparkles and anyone aspiring to write about food should read it and learn.

Having spent more than 20 years living in French and being one of France's culinary icons, Trish Deseine's book is a masterclass in French home cooking and thinking. She almost converted me from Hispanophile to French lover. Almost

The best guide to preserving written for home cooks as opposed to chefs with sheds. Clear instructions, joyful knowledge. Full of the joy of food.

After making some of the food from this book for Spanish friends they still talk about it 15 years later. Beautiful writing, purenpleasure to read and cook from

The book of Maricel's life, full of recipes from her travels all over Latin America as well as insights due to her training as a historian. If Claudia Roden had written about Latin America instead of the Jews, she would have written this.

The drawings, the maleness, the sex appeal. The fact the recipes work. The fact it screams sexy. Have I mentioned it's sexy?

The very first book I, and many cooks of my generation, cooked from. I learned all the basics of naming and roasting from Delia and while I no longer use it, it has had a lasting impact on my life.