Hands up if you have an extensive cookbook collection (this is a safe space, our collection is getting slightly out of hand). To celebrate World Book Day, we have done a deep dive on the best Taste alum cookbooks. We guarantee you will want to immediately add these to your wish list and run to your nearest bookstore to purchase some for your collection. Don’t be afraid to investigate a new cuisine, you might find a new all-time fave recipe!

Check out our ultimate round-up of our fave cookbooks below:

 

Mezzogiorno: Southern Italian Cooking by Francesco Mazzei

Mezzogiorno is a wonderful collection of 80 authentic Italian recipes inspired by Francesco’s childhood featuring Calabrian ingredients such as the increasingly popular spicy sausage, n’duja. This is a good book for Italian food enthusiasts looking for authentic, impressive and out of the ordinary recipes for both entertaining and everyday inspiration.

Fire Feasts: The Awesome BBQ Book for Feasting with Friends and Family

DJ BBQ is BACK! This time with a feast of dishes for outdoor occasions – he wants YOU to get grilling for friends and family with a medley of new dishes that are perfect for sharing. This book provides a detailed introduction explaining the basics of setting up your grill, what fuel to use, and how to get the best from your cooking with hacks and tips for making the best fires, including “crazy mega awesome fires”. You’ll be “Grilling in the Name Of” in no time!

Ikoyi: A Journey Through Bold Heat by Jeremy Chan

The exciting debut cookbook from the acclaimed chef of the two-Michelin-starred London restaurant Ikoyi Ikoyi, named as one of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants in 2022, is one of the most original, flavor-driven restaurants of its time. Run by childhood-friend duo Iré Hassan-Odukale and chef Jeremy Chan, the innovative culinary mind behind the unique tasting menu, its menu is inspired by the spices of Sub-Saharan West Africa and produce from local farms and artisan producers.

The book includes narratives throughout illustrating Ikoyi’s inspiration and inception, as influenced by Chan’s experiences living, cooking, and traveling in Hong Kong, Canada, Sub-Saharan Africa, and Europe. Each recipe in this fascinating book features a story about how the dish was developed, plus the influences of seasonality and produce from local producers. This debut cookbook tells the compelling story and journey of Chan and Ikoyi, with 80 recipes that Chan has carefully developed to encapsulate bold his signature style.

Ammu: Indian Homecooking to Nourish Your Soul: Asma Khan

Asma Khan is chef and restaurateur of London’s acclaimed Darjeeling Express, which began as a supper club, then a pop-up, before settling in its permanent location to wide acclaim. Asma’s food is homage to her royal Mughlai ancestry and the busy streets of Calcutta, where she grew up. Ammu is a collection of recipes from Asma Khan’s childhood, her Indian family kitchen. It is a celebration of where she comes from, of home cooking, and the inextricable link between food and love. It is also a chance for Asma to honor her ammu—mother—and to share with us the recipes that made her and rooted her to home.

Big Zuu’s Big Eats: Delicious home cooking with West African and Middle Eastern vibes by Big Zuu

In Big Zuu’s Big Eats, Big Zuu is on a mission to help you discover the fun of cooking, whatever budget or kitchen skills you’re working with. Packed with his signature bold flavours and West African twists throughout, the 100 recipes in the cookbook to accompany the series are a mix of big hitters from the show and all-new favourites. Expect a fresh take on your go-to comfort food, crowd-pleasing flavour bombs, and recipes so easy they’ll lure you away from the takeaway menu and into the kitchen. It’s all about maximum pleasure, zero pressure.

This is a perfect cookbook for fans of Big Zuu’s Big Eats wanting to create their favourite food from the show at home. Reluctant cooks who need to be coaxed into cooking with the promise of unfussy recipes and guaranteed results.

One: Pot, Pan, Planet: A greener way to cook for you, your family and the planet by Anna Jones

In this exciting new collection of over 200 simple recipes, Anna Jones limits the pans and simplifies the ingredients for all-in-one dinners that keep things fast and easy. These super varied every night recipes celebrate vegetables and deliver knock-out flavour but without taking time and energy. One brings together a way of eating that is mindful of the planet. Anna gives you practical advice and shows how every small change in planning, shopping and reducing waste will make a difference. There are also 100 recipes for using up any amount of your most-eaten veg and ideas to help you use the foods that most often end up being thrown away.

Moorish: Vibrant recipes from the Mediterranean by Ben Tish

Fresh, fragrant, fruity, spicy, smoky, sweet, sour, and sharp. Discover how to cook these vibrant southern Mediterranean flavours at home with 100 wonderful recipes from Ben Tish.

The bold spices and sun-soaked exotic tastes of North Africa and the Arabic world collided with the characterful food of the Mediterranean when the Moors invaded. It was this glorious fusion of flavours that first seduced British chef, writer and restaurateur, Ben Tish, and sent his cooking on a new course. Moorish is a collection of authentic recipes inspired by Ben’s passion for the region, along with a few of his own twists and interpretations.

Feel Good: Quick and Easy Recipes for Comfort and Joy by Melissa Hemsley

Melissa celebrates joy of easy, affordable, and healthy food, as well as championing sustainable cooking and low-waste recipes.

Readers will find quick and easy midweek meals to soothe the soul after a long day, make-ahead lunches to set you up for the week, simple but satisfying snacks, and laid-back feasts to share with friends. Many of the recipes in Feel Good take less than half an hour to prepare, and all can be made using readily available ingredients. This is accessible, flexible cooking, perfectly suited to the modern kitchen.

Happy Vegan Food: Fast, Fresh, Simple Vegan by Bettina Campolucci Bordi

In Happy Vegan Food, Bettina Campolucci Bordi shares a collection of easy and delicious plant-based recipes that anyone can incorporate into their busy life. With recipes including Hearty Buckwheat Waffles, a tasty Korean Pancake, a delicious yet quick One Pot Curry in a Hurry, and the decadent Hazelnut Bites, Bettina proves that nutritious food doesn’t have to be restrictive. Happy Vegan Food is designed to take you through your busy day by including ideas for breakfast, lunch, dinner, meals for one, desserts and snacks, and will easily meet the needs of any modern household.