Best Cookbooks of All Time: 10 Must Have Cookbooks

The beauty of the internet and (amazing) websites like New Idea Food is that we have access to thousands of recipes at the click of a couple of buttons. There isn’t inspiration quite like flicking through a colourful cookbook with a cup of tea and salivating over new and exciting recipes. Here is a round-up of the best cookbooks of all time. Everything from baking to Italian and French cuisine or if you’re just looking for a cookbook to help you with mid-week dinners.

1. Ottolenghi SIMPLE, Yotam Ottolenghi

4.31/5

SIMPLE is the result of combining 120 of award-winning chef Yotam Ottolenghi most famous recipes. Using a clever labelling system readers can choose if they want to make meals in less than 30 mins, with 10 ingredients or less, make-ahead, pantry, lazy or that is easier than you think.

2. The Cook’s Companion, Stephanie Alexander

4.41/5

The Cook’s Companion is every Australians food bible. Laid out by food there’s a recipe for just about everything from Rhubarb Crumble to Rabbit Stew. First published in 1996 it is now used in over 300,000 homes around the country.

3. Encyclopedia of Food and Cookery, Margaret Fulton

With just about every solution for any food, you’ll find in the supermarket Margaret Fulton’s Encyclopedia is one not to be missed. With over 1000 entries and 1500 recipes, it is one of nine of Fulton’s best-selling cookbooks.

4. Surfing the Menu, Curtis Stone

3.93/5

Curtis Stone is one of Australia’s most famous chefs and his first book Surfing The Menu is an Australian classic. Featuring true-blue recipes from land and sea hero-ing local produce its the perfect cookbook for beginners to get into cooking.

5. Larousse Gastronomique

4.61/5

4.61/5If French cuisine is something you fancy then Larousse Gastronomique is the perfect addition to your collection. With many revised editions experts recommend hunting around for a first or second-hand edition as they’re more purely French.

6. 30-Minute Meals, Jamie Oliver

4.03/5

With his Italian flair and simple recipes, you can’t go past Jamie’s best-selling cookbook 30-Minute Meals. The book broke records in 2010 selling 735,000 copies in 10 weeks to become the UK’s fastest selling non-fiction title of all time.

7. The River Cafe Cookbook, Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers

4.06/5

From traditional roast lamb and rosemary to pork loin cooked in milk with sage and lemon The River Cafe Cookbook has something for every household. Their recipes specialise in Australian recipes using fresh Australian ingredients, what could possible go wrong?

8. 28 Days In Provence

3.42/5

Famous Australian chef Shannon Bennet’s first (of eight to date) cookbooks, 28 Days In Provence is the perfect addition to your shelf. Sharing traditional local dishes from the heart of France there’s something poetic about these recipes that has your transported to France.

9. Farmacy Kitchen, Camilla Faved

3.75/5

One of the most famous vegan and vegetarian cookbooks on the market. Farmacy Kitchen teaches readers about living and eating in a more conscious way.

10. How to be a domestic goddess, Nigella Lawson

3.96/5

No cookbook collection would be complete without one of Nigella Lawson’s recipe books. Our favourite part of How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking is the delectable desserts and sweets. Oozing with flavour you’ll be salivating over the Nigella’s recipe lists alone.

Lottie Dalziel

Lottie Dalziel is a 4AM riser and coffee-addict who lives and breathes the Better Homes and Gardens brand. When she isn't reading up on the latest trends in sustainability or discovering ways to upcycle almost anything, you can find her by the beach, cooking up a storm or adding to her abundant (some would say out of control) plant collection.