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Chef's Favorite Cookbooks
25
items After over 20 years cooking professionally these are some of my favorite cookbooks. The list is always evolving and always growing.
Sections
5
Regional American Cookbooks
The Classics
The Basics
International Cuisines
Masters of their Craft
Regional American Cookbooks
A landmark work of culinary storytelling with 250 recipes celebrating the flavors of North Carolina's coastal plain by Vivian Howard, star of PBS's A Chef's Life and Somewhere South. Organized by ingredient with dishes suited to every skill level, fr...
Deep Run Roots: Stories & Recipes from South
A deeply personal love letter to Southern foodways. Heritage blends heirloom ingredients, regional traditions, and thoughtful storytelling with recipes that honor the past while elevating it—essential reading for anyone who believes great cooking sta...
Heritage: Sean Brock
The Barbuto Cookbook is a masterclass in honest, ingredient-driven Italian cooking. Rooted in Jonathan Waxman’s legendary New York restaurant, it celebrates rustic flavors, seasonal produce, and simple techniques that let great ingredients shine. The...
The Barbuto Cookbook: California-Italian Cooking
Parm to Table is a love letter to Italian-American cooking—bold, comforting, and meant to be shared. It celebrates the journey from pantry to plate with approachable recipes that honor tradition while embracing modern home cooking. Expect crave-worth...
Parm to Table: Italian American Recipes from Ponza
Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis is a love letter to Southern food in its purest form—quiet, seasonal, and deeply soulful. The flavors are unhurried and honest, built on fresh vegetables, careful technique, and the kind of balance that comes fr...
The Taste of Country Cooking: 30th Edition
Smoky, earthy, fruity, and spicy, the flavors of the Southwest have intrigued Bobby Flay ever since he was a young chef, eventually serving as the inspiration for the menu at his first restaurant, Mesa Grill. This cookbook is packed with the chef’s i...
Bobby Flay's Mesa Grill Cookbook: Explosive Flavors
The Classics
Often considered the gold standard for classical technique. This deep-dive into French cooking teaches methods from the basics to complex dishes, helping you understand cooking from the ground up.
Mastering the Art of French Cooking Vol 1
Modern Cookery wouldn't exist without Auguste Escoffier. This book laid the groundwork todays cuisine. Over a century after is original publication this book remains a classic reference for culinary professionals and culinary enthusiasts alike. Featu...
Escoffier - Le Guide Culinaire: First English Translation
The Basics
This book is a flavor encyclopedia. Looking for ubique flavor combinations this is your go to reference for experimenting.
The Flavor Bible: Essential Culinary Guide
This book gets you thinking about balance in your food. By balancing these 4 simple elements you will see your food and cooking drastically improve.
SALT FAT ACID HEAT
This classic cookbook is beloved for its minimalist style. The recipes are simple and focus on nailing the basics. Great for the novice cook.
How to Cook Everything: 2000 Simple Recipes
The penultimate encyclopedia for everything food related.
The New Food Lover's Companion
An amazing resource for preserving and canning including some great recipes that I find myself using over and over again.
Ball Complete Book of Home Preserving
International Cuisines
A love letter to pasta from one of Italian cuisine’s most trusted voices. This book balances classic techniques with approachable recipes that feel like they were passed down from a Nonna who wants you to win. From shaping fresh dough by hand to craf...
Lidia's The Art of Pasta: An Italian Cookbook
Nuevo Latino reimagines traditional dishes with modern culinary technique and vibrant, unexpected twists. Douglas Rodriguez—often called the “Godfather of Nuevo Latino Cuisine”—brings bold spices, tropical ingredients, and refined plating together in...
Nuevo Latino: Recipes Celebrating New Latin Cuisine
A vibrant celebration of Latin, Caribbean, and Floridian flavors, this book is where tradition meets innovation. Norman Van Aken blends tropical ingredients with modern technique, creating dishes that feel both soulful and chef-driven. It’s packed wi...
New World Kitchen: Latin American & Caribbean
This book is a compilation of recipes from the Youtube Channel that features traditional recipes and stories from Italian Nonnas.
Pasta Grannies: Official Cookbook - Italy's Best
A tribute to Peruvian cuisine from the country’s most iconic chef. This book is packed with vibrant recipes that celebrate Peru’s coastal seafood, high-altitude comfort foods, and bold street flavors—from classic ceviches and anticuchos to lesser-kno...
Peru: The Cookbook
A vibrant love letter to one of Mexico’s most soulful culinary regions. Bricia Lopez brings the flavors of her Oaxacan upbringing to life through family recipes, smoky moles, masa traditions, and mezcal culture. It’s equal parts cookbook and a cultur...
Oaxaca: Home Cooking from the Heart of Mexico
This cookbook blends tradition with innovation, showcasing tapas, paellas, and iconic regional dishes alongside Andrés’ creative twists and chef-driven techniques. It’s vibrant, approachable, and deeply rooted in culture—perfect for home cooks who wa...
Spain My Way: Eat, Drink, and Cook Like a Spaniard
A comprehensive collection of recipes from the vast culinary landscape of the Latin world, from Mexico to Argentina and all the Spanish-speaking countries of the Caribbean.
Gran Cocina Latina: The Food of Latin America
Masters of their Craft
The art of pasta making from visionary chef Evan Funke.
American Sfoglino: Master Class in Handmade Pasta
Alinea is more than a cookbook—it’s a window into Grant Achatz’s groundbreaking, avant-garde world of modern gastronomy. Equal parts art book and culinary manifesto, it breaks down the philosophy and techniques behind the iconic Chicago restaurant, f...
Alinea: Achatz, Grant
A masterclass in precision and elegance, this cookbook pulls back the curtain on one of America’s most celebrated restaurants. The recipes are ambitious, but even if you never plate a dish exactly as he does, you’ll walk away a better cook—with a dee...
The French Laundry Cookbook by Keller & Jones
Seafood Simple teaches readers how to master core skills, from poaching and deep frying to filleting a fish and shucking an oyster. These techniques are then applied to eighty-five straightforward, delicious recipes, many of which include substitutio...
Seafood Simple: A Cookbook: Ripert, Eric