8 of the best cookbooks for the perfect festive gift

This was a bumper year for cookbooks and with the festive period on the way, we've chosen the cream of the crop to make shopping for the foodie in your life easy. From José Andrés to Mark Moriarty, Eleven Madison Park to Arielle Johnson, these are collections of recipes, experiences, and reflections from some of the best chefs in the world, and some other interesting folks too.

Eleven Madison Park: The Plant-Based Chapter

Swiss chef Daniel Humm shares his plant-based knowledge and the recipes that have made the former best restaurant in the world the first plant-based restaurant to be awarded three Michelin stars. New York’s Eleven Madison Park has operated at the pinnacle of global fine dining and with the decision to stop serving meat or fish and go fully plant-based, a brave and risky choice, the chef challenged himself to push the limits of fine dining, creating a new chapter in the history of the illustrious restaurant and for high-end dining in general.

This cookbook from the Michelin–starred restaurant, by chef Nick Curtola, LCD Soundsystem frontman James Murphy, the late James Beard Award-winning wine director Justin Chearno, and co-author Gabe Ulla, traces the decade-long story of four friends starting a restaurant with virtually no experience. In it, readers are taken inside the Brooklyn eatery, and with more than 100 recipes, where simplicity, seasonality, and warmth are the main ingredients, this is a high-quality cookbook that is accessible to all.

This book takes you inside the smoky atmosphere of Dave Pynt's iconic Singapore restaurant introducing us to the people behind the scenes and sharing incredible recipes from the hearth of his fire-based kitchen. There is no need for the type of custom-built fire grill that inhabits Burnt Ends as these recipes are designed to be cooked at home on the barbecue.

Arielle Johnson is a flavor scientist with a PhD, who helps chefs unravel the mysteries of flavor, and is the woman behind Noma's fermentation lab. With Flavorama, Johnson brings her knowledge to home cooks, blending fun and intellect equally. She explores the fascinating interplay of chemistry, sensory perception, and culinary craftsmanship, breaking down what flavor truly is (and showing how to harness it through pattern recognition and creative rule-breaking—all in an engaging, accessible guide.

A brave move by Danilo Cortellini who risks the wrath of Italians by upgrading traditional Italian homecooked comfort food with creative modern twists. With a decade of experience as the head chef at the Italian embassy, Cortellini is well versed in the excellence of Italian tradition. Rather than riding roughshod over Italian food culture, he brings thoughtful and considered additions to the great recipes of Italy for something that is familiar and yet feels very different.

Following on from his hugely successful Flavour cookbook, chef Moriarty establishes himself as a food writer and cookbook author who writes books you will actually use, often. With an emphasis on seasonality and with tips on what and how to cook according to the rhythm of nature, this is the type of cookbook that will season on the shelf in the kitchen, acquiring stains and becoming dog eared from years of use.

Step into the vibrant world of Zaytinya and chef José Andrés’ creative adaptations of the classic dishes of Greece, Turkey, and Lebanon. Fresh, vibrant, rich, and flavorful, there is something for everyone from fried vegetables to pita and kebab. Meals for every occasion and importantly, these are recipes from cuisines with sharing and conviviality at their heart.

One of the UK's best-known chefs, Paul Ainsworth shares recipes from a lifetime working in the country’s best Michelin-starred restaurants. Classic and timeless, these recipes are bolstered by Ainsworth’s passion for good food, its origins and the people who work so hard to produce the best ingredients in Britain.