The Best Cookbooks to Buy Now

Eat Better Forever

Looking to eat better this year but fed up of gimmicky quick fixes? Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall is here to help with Eat Better Forever, which offers seven simple strategies to transform your diet alongside 100 of his healthiest recipes yet. Starting with the simple message that we all need to Go Whole, Hugh’s recipes are based around real, nourishing foods: think flavoursome Asian hot pots, mushroom chachoukas and Moroccan-spiced lamb steaks. £24.18, uk.bookshop.org

From Beder’s Kitchen

A charity cookbook with all proceeds going to Beder, a mental health and suicide prevention charity, From Beder’s Kitchen comprises a collection of recipes from 90 world-famous chefs, best-selling authors, TV personalities and more. With recipes from Gordan Ramsay, Romy Gill and Liz Earle, the cookbook features delicious recipes for brunch, healthy and nutritious meals and a selection of mouth-watering sweet treats – something for everyone. From Beder’s Kitchen, £22, beder.org.uk

Deliciously Ella: Quick & Easy Plant-Based Recipes

From the author of the fastest selling vegan cookbook, Ella Mills – better known as ‘Deliciously Ella’ – comes this brand new collection of ‘fuss-free’ plant based recipes spanning breakfast, batch-cooking, 10-Minute meals and more. Ideal for those who wish to follow a vegan diet but are restricted for time, the book features the likes of speedy pasta dishes, veggie bowls and easily transportable flapjacks. Yellow Kite, £16.21, amazon.co.uk

The Borough Market Cookbook

If you’re a fan of Borough Market, then you’ll love this recipe book from food writer Ed Smith, ‘inspired by a year at the Market’. Comprising over 100 recipes – Autumn Panzanella, Roast Plum Pavlova and the Borough Market Toastie, to name but a few – as well as tales of life at the market and trader profiles, the book celebrates everything the illustrious Southwark hall has to offer; sustainability, delicious seasonal produce, and accomplished and passionate artisans. Hodder & Stoughton, £26, waterstones.com

7 Days of Sourdough

If you haven’t exhausted your appetite for baking bread throughout lockdown, this book will most definitely delight. The latest publication from renowned London bakery Bread Ahead, 7 Days of Sourdough will teach you all you need to know about baking the popular loaf, including seven easy-to-follow recipes, from ‘No Knead Sourdough’ to the ‘World’s Best Cheese Toastie’. What’s more, the e-book is free to download and was published in support of NHS workers during the pandemic – donations to Meals for the NHS are encouraged. breadahead.com

One Tin Bakes: Sweet and Simple Traybakes, Pies, Bars and Bun

If you’re an avid baker but are strapped for time and kitchen space, this ingenious recipe book from Edd Kimber won’t disappoint. Dazzle guests with an array of simple one-dish bakes, including Peanut Butter Brookies and a show-stopping Praline Meringue Cake. You’ll be bowled over by the enticing photography just as much as the deliciously easy bakes. Kyle Books, £8, amazon.co.uk

The Happy Pear: the Essentials of Vegan Cooking for Everyone

If you’ve ever considered a plant-based diet, this recipe book is sure to get you hooked. Written by The Happy Pear founders Dave and Steve Flynn, this joyful cooking companion – the fourth in their much-loved collection of cookbooks – draws on the brothers’ 20 years experience of creating and serving up tasty vegan dishes, filled with over 200 recipes and expert guidance. Penguin Books, £20, waterstones.com

A Table for Friends: The Art of Cooking for Two Or Twenty

Dreaming of all those post-lockdown dinner parties you’re yet to host? Put on a show-stopping spread with the help of this new cookery book from food writer, author and Sunday Times columnist Skye McAlpine. However many you’re catering for, be that two or twenty, you’ll find  a whole host of table inspiration and recipes – from ‘Stars’ to ‘Sides’, ‘Sweets’ and ‘Extras’ – in this beautifully detailed, friendly and informative cookbook. Bloomsbury Publishing, £22.99, waterstones.com

5 Ingredients: Quick & Easy Food

As cookbooks go, it doesn’t get much simpler than Jamie Oliver’s 5 Ingredients. Crammed with over 130 delicious yet simple recipes, each dish only takes five ingredients to make, be that a spicy nduja vongole, messy meatball buns, or walnut-whip affogato. If you’re looking to knock up an array of impressive dishes on a low budget and in a short amount of time, this is your go-to. Penguin, £15.99, amazon.co.uk

The Island Kitchen: Recipes from Mauritius and the Indian Ocean

A beautiful cookery book capturing the flavours of East Africa’s Mauritius, The Island Kitchen comprises 80 easy-to-follow recipes and captivating food photography inspired by the paradisal island. Written by Mauritian food aficionado and chef Selina Periampillai, you’ll find an array of exotic and enticing recipes, from a Maldivian tuna curry to Pineapple upside-down cake with cardamom cream. Bloomsbury Publishing, £26, waterstones.com

Table Manners: The Cookbook

From hosts of the Table Manners podcast, mother and daughter Lennie and Jessie Ware, comes this fun and family-friendly cookbook featuring some of their signature recipes: the Sausage and Bean Casserole they served to Ed Sheeran, and Lennie’s Chicken Soup & Matzo Balls, loved by celebrity guests and listeners alike. If you love the podcast, you’ll love this gem of a cookbook. Ebury Publishing, £14.99, amazon.co.uk

Table Manners Recipe: Lennie Ware’s Chicken Soup & Matzo Balls

Dishoom: The First Ever Cookbook from the Much-loved Indian Restaurant

Londoner’s treasured Indian restaurant Dishoom finally released its first cookbook in 2019, an aesthetic collection of the restaurant’s best-loved dishes and illustrated tour of Mumbai. Branded ‘a love letter to the very best in Indian comfort food’, this is the only tool you’ll need to put together a moreish Indian feast. Bloomsbury Publishing, £22.99, waterstones.com

Wild Recipes

If you’re looking to both better your diet and the plant, Emma Sawko’s compilation of plant-based, organic and gluten-free recipes is a great place to start. The Wild & The Moon founder and health food advocate presents over 120 delicious yet nutritious and planet-loving recipes in this brand-new cookbook, from ‘Better than Botox’ Juice to Pink Hummus, Avocado Gazpacho and Chia Pudding, matched with beauty and health benefits and delicious food photography from Greta Rybus. Editions Flammarion, £25, waterstones.com