I often tell people that I learned to cook because I was hungry. As a latchkey kid, there wasn’t anyone waiting at home to make dinner. If I wanted to eat, I had to learn to cook for myself. If memory serves me, my first dish was scrambled eggs with cheese.
Looking back over forty years, I can trace almost everything I know back to a handful of cookbooks. Some taught me techniques. Others introduced me to entirely new cuisines. Together they changed the way I think about food.
People often ask me how many cookbooks I own, and I have to laugh and say, “Only about 350.”
I’m not joking. I collect essential cookbooks and I also collect historical cookbooks. I find that the comparison between an original cookbook and the edited one can be pretty drastic. It reflects where people were at that time and what ingredients were available.
In this digital age, I know a lot of people may feel that cookbooks are redundant, but I would have to disagree. There is something about sitting down and paging through a cookbook with hundreds of recipes. It immerses you in a cuisine and for me gives me ideas for things that I want to cook. I read cookbooks like other people read novels.
So I am often asked what were the seminal cookbooks that truly changed the way I looked at food and the way I cook. So I thought I would share them with you and why they had such an impact on me.
These aren’t ranked from best to worst. They’re simply the books that had the greatest influence on the way I cook and the way I think about food.
Clearly there are so many cookbooks out there now, but these were the ones grounded me early on and helped me truly under understand these cuisines and why authentic ingredients and techniques were important.
Where it all began:
If you really want to know where it started for me as a young boy and sparked my lifelong interest in cooking, it began here.
The Food of the World – Time Life Cookbook Series. It was a subscription series and each month you got a hardback book with wonderful pictures and descriptions of food and dishes and then you got a spiral bound recipe book. This is where I first learned to cook.
We have so many excellent chefs around the world, and food scholars that have given us the authentic dishes just as they’re made in country. and the perfect example would be Fuchsia Dunlop. If you want to understand authentic Sichuan cooking, few writers have influenced me more than Fuchsia Dunlop. Her books taught me not only recipes, but how to think about Chinese regional cuisine.
Just as Marcella Hazan taught me, Italian, Fuchsia Dunlop taught me Chinese. And David Thompson taught me Thai.
My goal isn’t to recreate every regional variation perfectly. It’s to help home cooks make dishes that capture the flavors they love using ingredients they can actually find. Sometimes that means a traditional recipe. Sometimes it means the version that made Chinese takeout famous in North America. If it tastes wonderful and teaches a useful technique, it’s worth making.
Explore by cuisine:
Italian
Marcella Hazan- The Essentials of Italian Cooking
Before Marcella, I thought Italian cooking was about recipes. She taught me that great Italian food is really about restraint, technique, and buying the very best ingredients you can afford. Her tomato sauce with butter and onion remains one of the finest examples of culinary simplicity I’ve ever cooked. Here’s that amazing dish, Marcella Hazan’s Tomato Sauce with Onion and Butter
Giuliano Bugialli – The Art of Italian Cooking
Oddly, Marcella Hazan isn’t very well known within Italy, probably because she focused on teaching non Italian’s to cook authentically, but Giuliano certainly is well known and his recipes are excellent and written for a different audience, one who is familiar with Italian cuisine.
The Art of Italian Cooking, Maria Lo Pinto (1948)
This cookbook is cozy, approachable, and very much rooted in mid-century Italian-American family tradition. Maria Lo Pinto gathered recipes passed down from her own family to create a practical guide for the everyday American cook. It focuses on homey, accessible dishes. Really a favorite of mine.
The Talisman Italian Cook Book by Ada Boni (1950 American Edition / Originally 1929)
This is essentially the Joy of Cooking or Fannie Farmer of Italy. Written by Ada Boni, a legend in Roman culinary journalism, Il Talismano della Felicità was the comprehensive culinary bible gifted to generations of Italian brides. While translated and adapted for American kitchens in this edition, it maintains an authoritative, reference-book feel designed to teach you the proper technique behind hundreds of classic dishes. This is well worth having in your collection.
Chinese
Fuschia Dunlop – Every Grain of Rice
If you want to understand authentic Sichuan cooking, few writers have influenced me more than Fuchsia Dunlop. Her books taught me not only recipes, but how to think about Chinese regional cuisine. I can’t recommend her highly enough. All of her cookbooks are amazing. One of my favorites, Shrimp Stir-Fry Noodles with Spring Onion Oil
Grace Young- The Breath of a Wok
Known for her structured approach to traditional Chinese cooking, Grace gave me a solid grounding in wok hei—the “breath of a wok.” She taught me how to properly season my wok and was my go-to for authentic Cantonese flavor.
Joyce Chen – Joyce Chen Cook Book
Joyce Chen introduced me to Chinese cooking long before authentic regional Chinese ingredients were widely available. Her recipes made Chinese food approachable for American home cooks, and decades later I still return to her work. Here’s her famous, Twice-Cooked Pork: From Joyce Chen’s 1961 Kitchen to Today’s Sichuan Pantry
Mrs Chiang’s Szechwan Cookbook (1976)
Considered to be one of the very first Szechuan cookbooks, Mrs. Chiang’s stands apart. With its focus on uncompromised home cooking. It was among the first American books to meticulously translate traditional, authentic Szechwan techniques, capturing the zhēn wèi (“true taste”) of the region long before regional Chinese cooking gained mainstream culinary coverage in the West. I particularly like her version of MaPo Tofu. I hope to include it in a future post.
Thai
The Original Thai Cookbook – Jennifer Brennan
Jennifer Brennan was my first real introduction to Thai cooking. Her cookbook opened an entirely new world for me and eventually led me to David Thompson and years of studying authentic Thai cuisine. This is a link to her wonderful Chicken with Ginger, Thai Ginger Chicken- Gai Pad King
David Thompson- Thai Food
Eating in Darley Street Thai in Sydney was life changing for me. David was uncompromising in his approach to Thai cuisine. It was “real” Thai food, not some watered down version for Westerners. If you want a solid grounding in Thai cuisine, his cookbook is the one.
Indian
Madhur Jaffreys- An Invitation to Indian Cooking
What Julia Child did for French cooking. Madhur Jaffreys did for Indian cooking. She made it approachable and understandable. This classic cookbook is the one that started it all. Easy to follow recipes, but authentic and a great place to start.
Pat Chapman- 250 Favorite Curries
I first found out about Pat Chapman and his Curry Club when I was living in the UK and found his cookbook to be very helpful in creating a multitude of different curries. Even though he was not Indian by birth, his authenticity and focus on the correct ingredients was on the mark.
French
Julia Child- Mastering the Art of French Cooking
It’s hard to even know what to say about a cookbook of this magnitude in the change that it created for American cooks, wanting to learn to cook authentic French food. After Julia was posted in France, she began to study and eventually took on the huge task of creating this cookbook which is in two volumes. It should be added that Simone Beck was hugely influential and was a major part of this book coming to print.
Anthony Bourdan – Les Halles Cookbook
This is the classic cookbook to learn French bistro cooking. As the head chef of Les Halles in New York City, Anthony Bourdain gives you a no nonsense straightforward approach to doing basically anything you need to produce fantastic bistro food. This is my go to when I want to get a step-by-step on how to do some of the more challenging things like making demi-glace. It’s an excellent cookbook, not fussy, humorous in places, and pure Bourdain. It’s a joy to read.
The Balthazar Cookbook
What can you say about this iconic French brasserie in SoHo that has been in business since 1997. Founded by Keith McNally, it never fails to please.
Balthazar has always reminded me that you don’t need a hundred dishes to build a great restaurant. Execute classic French brasserie cooking exceptionally well, day after day, and people will keep coming back.
This cookbook is a gold mine of classic bistro/brasserie recipes. While its hard to choose just one, this is one of my favorites, Perfectly Cooked Steak au Poivre Recipe
American
Edna Lewis -The Taste of Country Cooking
Edna Lewis is an icon in the culinary world. Part anthropologist and part food historian, she showed the world that there was much more to southern cooking than greasy fried chicken. Her approach was straightforward but uncompromising. I can highly recommend her sweet potato casserole or her corn pudding. Both are outstanding.
The Silver Palate
This cook book was essential reading in the 80’s. It’s hard to emphasize how much Shelia Lukens and Julee Rosso changed America’s cooking and mine. Their focus on fresh pure ingredients resonated with me and their focus on elegant but attainable recipes was a game changer. They began as a small gourmet takeout shop in New York City before becoming one of the most influential cookbook brands of the 1980s. Chicken Marbella is a personal favorite, Chicken Marbella-Classic Silver Palate Chicken Dish Unveiled
The Joy of Cooking
After the Time Life books, this was probably the cookbook I turned to most often when I was trying to make a new dish. It’s an absolute encyclopedia and frankly is still as meaningful today as it was the day it was first published. I think every serious home cook should have a copy somewhere on their bookshelf.
Craig Claiborne – The New York Times Cookbook
This is another classic and a little more highbrow than the Joy of Cooking. It’s a fantastic collection of recipes that Craig Claiborne archived for the New York Times. Some recipes are Craig Claiborne’s own, while others faithfully adapt dishes from chefs around the world. Every one I’ve cooked has been well researched, reliable, and easy to follow.
Martha Stewart -The Martha Stewart Cookbook: Collected Recipes for Every Day
This is one of my favorite all-around cookbooks. It centers around entertaining and creating food that is appetizing, but also appealing to look at. It’s vintage Martha and is exactly what you would expect. Attention to detail, lots of tips and wisdom from her years of catering. An excellent reference cookbook.
The Picayune Creole Cookbook, 1938
If I had to choose one Creole/Cajun cookbook, this would probably be it. This is the real deal. The recipes are straightforward, uncompromising and a real history lesson on this excellent cuisine. the funny part is, I actually have a copy from the early 1900s and it’s almost word for word the same as this version. I enjoy that kind of continuity. I’m sure there’s a newer version but I like the feel of the old one.
Dookie Chase Cookbook- Leah Chase
Known as the lady that fed the civil rights movement, Leah Chase was an absolute icon and a very good cook. I say cook, because Leah herself never referred to herself as a chef. She said I just try to cook good food that people like to eat. These are some very straightforward Creole/Cajun dishes that would be great in anyone’s cookbook collection. Her Red Beans and Rice are legendary.
Emeril Lagasse- Louisiana Real and Rustic
When I was working at the Parker House in Boston in the early 1980s, Emeril was a sous chef working under Jasper White and Lydia Shire. I remember him but lost track of him until he became famous with his TV show. Even then he struck me as completely dedicated to his craft. For a guy who was born in Fall River, Massachusetts, he’s come quite a long way. This cookbook is a very focused view of true Cajun and Creole food. It’s not fussy. It’s very straightforward and it’s very good. I can highly recommend the jambalaya the gumbo and the remoulade sauce is the best I’ve ever had.
Middle Eastern
Claudia Roden -Arabesque
Claudia Roden taught me how to cook a variety of Middle Eastern cuisines. She made me realize that there were so many wonderful dishes that I had never even considered. Flavors that I would’ve never thought to mix together and gave me an appreciation of slow cooking and proper use of spice. By far my favorite recipe in this book is the Chicken with Honey and Almonds. Delicious Moroccan Chicken with Honey and Almonds
Yotam Ottolenghi – The Cookbook
Yotam Ottolenghi is a master of Middle Eastern cuisines. He has a particular way with vegetables and salads. At his wonderful restaurant Nopi in London, the food is piled in huge bowls and plates and it is served out of those and brought directly to your table. Honestly, some of the best food I’ve ever tasted in my life. One of my favorite is his Shrimp with Blood Orange salad. Refreshing Prawn Salad with Blood Oranges
This isn’t a list of the “best” cookbooks ever written. It’s the collection of books that most influenced the way I cook, teach, and think about food over the past forty years. I’ll continue adding to this page as new books earn a permanent place on my shelf.