Books for cooks: our reviewers' favourite reads for Father's Day

There are countless books out there for food and wine lovers to pore over and obsess about. We asked our team of roving restaurant reviewers to list some of their favourites.

Anthony Huckstep

National restaurant reviewer

Beyond Nose to Tail: A Kind of British Cooking: Part II
by Fergus Henderson & Justin Piers Gellatly

I met Fergus many years ago to interview him, and finally got to St. John this year. He’s a culinary god in my eyes. A real cook that respects the animal and knows how to cook every last bit – even the earlobes, noses and eyebrows.

Table Talk: Sweet and Sour, Salt and Bitter and Pour Me: A Life

by A. A. Gill

I’m cheating here and picking two A. A. Gill books. I’ve always been a left-of-centre food writer. I listen to Napalm Death, which is about as far removed from fine dining as opera is from rugby league, but my poor taste in music doesn’t mean I have poor taste in food. I love A. A. Gill’s penmanship and ability to tell a yarn. He inspired me to write what needs to be written, not what you think an editor may want. Leave the editing to them. Just be yourself when you write.

The Silver Spoon
by Phaidon Press

I’ve always loved Italian food. It’s so different from region to region, but the principle of simplicity, honesty and abundance is the foundation of all of it. Silver Spoon is an epic collection of Italian dishes. It should be in every kitchen.

India: The Cookbook
by Pushpesh Pant

It depends on my mood, but Indian would definitely be in my top three cuisines. I love cooking it, I love eating it, and I’m obsessed the innate understanding of spices and array of vegetable dishes, too. With over 1000 recipes from all over India, this book’s about the food, not some celebrity chef. Plus, who doesn’t love eating with their hands? It’s always a much more tactile visceral experience.

Australian Fish and Seafood Cookbook: The Ultimate Kitchen Companion
by John Susman, Anthony Huckstep, Sarah Swan & Stephen Hodges

Okay, so I have to disclose that I co-wrote this book – which is out October 1! – but we spent two years on it and I’ve chosen it because I learnt so much writing it and continue to absorb information to this day. No one has profiled the seafood endemic to our waters, let alone included information on how to cook it, what vegetables go with what fish, and a swag of recipes and masterclasses to boot. It’s something we’re very proud of and we hope people eat more fish and celebrate our incredible seafood because of it.

Dan Stock

Victoria restaurant reviewer

The River Café Cookbook
by Ruth Rogers and Rose Grey

From the best-ever carbonarra through best ever balsamic roasted potatoes through pork cooked in milk that is game-changingly good, Rose Gray and Ruth Rogers’ take on Italian remains completely brilliant more than two decades on.

The Fat Duck Cookbook
by Heston Blumenthal

Of course this isn’t a cook book in the I’ll-cook-something-for-dinner-tonight mould of cookbooks – it’s Heston, after all. But this colourful, playful, gloriously shot and illustrated tome is a genre-busting classic that’s a joy to delve in and out of.

The Oxford Companion to Wine
by Jancis Robinson

Jancis Robinson is the best in the business, and while this is mind-bogglingly comprehensive, it remains accessible and Robinson’s passion for all things grape truly shines off the page.

1000 Best Ever Recipes from AWW
by Australian Women’s Weekly

No frills, bells, whistles or even pictures, just jam-packed with timeless classics, including a brownie recipe that is indeed the best ever. It’s a grounding in basics with recipes that work.

Max Brearley

Western Australia restaurant reviewer

The Kitchen Diaries
by Nigel Slater

I feel like Nigel Slater is my generation’s Elizabeth David. This isn’t simply an instructional cookbook for the kitchen shelf. This is food writing at it’s best and deserves a place on the nightstand. When I read it, I hear Nigel’s soft Brummie twang in my head.

Jerusalem
by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

While Ottolenghi gets the limelight, it’s his partnership with Tamimi that’s so interesting. Two chefs from across divides, who together meld the shared and separate cultures of Israel and Palestine. As with the best cookery books, this is immensely usable, while also being writing you can come back to time and time again.

The Future Makers
by Max Allen

The book to launch you into contemporary Aussie wine. Allen is readable, unpretentious and passionate.

A Book of Mediterranean Food
by Elizabeth David

Anything by Elizabeth David floats my boat, but the combination of David’s rigour and John Minton’s illustrations make this special for me. An op-shop find has pride of place on my bookshelf.

Action Cook Book
by Len Deighton

Yes, that’s Deighton of Ipcress File fame. Another original op-shop find. His Guardian cookstrips of the 60s are a lesson in how simple, instructional words and illustration can inspire. Also see Ou est le Garlic?