This unique oral history builds to a comprehensive portrait and an important emotional and psychological biography. Recipes include chocolate orange hearts, mince pies, white chocolate brownies and spiced apple muffins. James, restaurateur and TV personality, says, ‘Larousse Gastronomique was a bible for me 20 years ago, and even today, it is still such a source of inspiration’.

A fun read for children and adults alike, this delightful tome takes readers on a culinary journey around the world, learning about a variety of food and dishes from baguettes to biryani, and everything in between. Cut the carrots into fine dice, peel and finely chop the garlic and the chillies (discard the seeds if you wish), then add all to the softening onions and continue cooking for another 10 minutes, until the onion is pale gold and translucent. Featuring 70 recipes, many of which have long defined Hunan’s menu, you’ll learn the secret to cooking everything from prawn dumplings and lettuce wraps to double cooked pork. The spectacle of mealtimes at The Ritz is just that: a carefully choreographed monument to “haute cuisine” (its executive chef since 2004, John Williams MBE, rightly deplores the term for extravagance masquerading as excellence – “fine dining”). The fifth book in her Roasting Tin series, is true to form; the recipes – such as the chocolate salted caramel muffins – are delicious yet unfussy with minimal washing up.Richard, baker, author and owner of The Bertinet Kitchen cookery school in Bath, says, ‘Poilâne’s descriptions of the history and work in his bakery has always reminded me of how I felt when I started baking, and provided me with inspiration along the way. Full of vibrant recipes from rice dishes and dumplings to currys and pastas, Parwana is a true journey through the flavours of Afghan cooking.

More than 50 years after her groundbreaking, genre-defining A Book of Middle Eastern Food, Claudia Roden has produced another triumph that this time travels around the Mediterranean. With a photo for every recipe, this book features fan-favourites such as Honey Chilli Beef and Cream Egg Croissant Balls as well as brand new recipes such as Sweet Potato Katsu Curry, Fish Tacos and Buffalo Chicken and Cheese Taquitos. Food is our greatest ally for good health, but the question of what to eat has never seemed so complicated.Cooking is about making yourself something to eat and sharing food with others but is also about the quiet moments of joy to be had along the way. Peel and roughly chop the onions, then cook them in the oil in a deep pan over a moderate heat for 15 minutes, stirring from time to time. With details on the science behind each step of the process, you’ll be ready to take on everything from kneading and feeding to actually baking.