Food & Cooking

Every year, the Fortnum & Mason Food and Drink Awards celebrate the best books across a range of food, cookery and drink categories. Here British food writer Clare Finney, one of the judges for this year's awards, talks us through the fabulous books that made the 2023 shortlists—and shows how they are about much more than just delicious food.

All you need to make bread is flour, water and salt. It's knowledge, skill and time that turns those basic ingredients into the delicious staple we call bread. Chris Young, coordinator of the UK's Real Bread Campaign and editor of True Loaf magazine, recommends the best books for baking bread—and explains why 'real bread' is the only bread we should be eating. 

Matt Garcia, Professor of Latin American, Latino & Caribbean Studies & History at Dartmouth College, discusses the production of primary foods in the United States and globally—a field that has often been ignored by historians and by society. He recommends five books to learn more about food studies, with particular attention to agricultural workers, often among the most marginalized and least protected members of the US labor force.

Taking in cuisines from Israel to Vietnam and India, Becky Krystal, lead writer of the Washington Post's Voraciously, recommends some of her favourite cookbooks of 2019. These books stand out for their originality, the accessibility of their recipes and their literary and aesthetic qualities.

Food is an affirmation of who we are. Paul Rozin, food psychologist at the University of Pennsylvania, deconstructs the cheeseburger and busts myths about food consumption: not only is our food budget controlling what we eat, but also the expensive organic foods we're pressured to buy may not even be healthier—let alone better-tasting—than their alternatives.

America's master griller chooses books on the world's oldest cooking method. He discusses why brown tastes better, and how our primal urge to play with fire helped us evolve.

Reading about wine may not be quite as fun as drinking it, but can help open up a world of history, geography, science and culture. The Financial Times's wine critic and daily writer on JancisRobinson.com, Jancis Robinson, picks the best books on wine.

The authors of Prospero’s Kitchen take us on a culinary tour of Greece and explain how the country’s history has influenced its cuisine in sometimes surprising ways

Claire Ptak, owner of the Violet Bakery in London and former pastry chef at Chez Panisse, recommends some of her own favourite cookbooks. [Since speaking to us in 2015, Claire Ptak has subsequently designed Harry and Meghan's wedding cake]

In this interview two celebrated chefs discuss the best books to help you capture the complex flavours and colours of Persian food. Along the way they describe their favourite Persian treats, including mouth-watering lattice window syrup cakes and rice with saffron and morello cherries.