Maricel E Presilla
WW Norton & Co
With South American food on the rise, this ambitious project to cover the cooking of the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Americas is an encyclopedic journey into the continent that gave us beans, corn, potato and chocolate
Signature dish: Lima fish ceviche Photograph: PR
Laurie Colwin
Fig Tree
Colwin, an American novelist and home cook who died in the early 90s, instructs readers on dos and don’ts – essential equipment, trusted recipes, entertaining fussy eaters – all seasoned with dry wit
Signature dish: Fried chicken (“that makes people want to sing The Star Spangled Banner”) Photograph: PR
Andoni Luis Aduriz
Phaidon
Thoughtful, playful work with a deep sense of place (his hometown of San Sebastián) from the cook many regard as Ferran Adrià’s heir apparent and the man most likely to usurp René Redzepi’s crown as the world’s number one chef
Signature dish: Edible stones (they’re potatoes) Photograph: PR
Jay McInerney
Bloomsbury
McInerney’s essays for the Wall Street Journal, collected here, are love letters to wine. Chapters like His Magnum is Bigger than Yours will demystify wine for the aspirant connoisseur and delight the learned
Signature wine: Puligny-Montrachet (“a Grace Kelly of a wine”) Photograph: PR
Nicholas Lander
Phaidon
Dreaming of opening your own restaurant? Read this and see if you’re up to it. Lander, who writes the FT’s Insider column, speaks to the men who make the magic happen, from El Bulli’s Juli Soler to Polpo’s Russell Norman
Signature dish: Cheesy scrambled eggs at Untitled in New York Photograph: PR
Pierre Koffmann
Mitchell Beazley
An evocative homage to his maternal grandparents from many people’s choice for greatest French chef ever to work in the UK. Originally published in 1980, now lovingly reshot and redesigned
Signature dish: Stuffed pigs’ trotters with morels Photograph: PR
Todd Selby
Abrams
Selby shoots behind the scenes at some of the world’s best restaurants, shops and cafes. Which means small and beautiful, such as Violet Cakes in Hackney, as well as the elite such as Noma
Signature dish: Thai street food platter at Next in Chicago Photograph: PR
Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel
Artisan
American ingredients and French flair from the Michelin-starred Keller’s Bouchon bakeries, which are as renowned for their blueberry muffins as their macarons
Signature dish: Chocolate chunk and chip cookies Photograph: PR
Margot Henderson
Fig Tree
One of Britain’s best cooks finally steps out from under the shadow of her better known husband (St John’s sainted Fergus Henderson) to produce one of the year’s great cookbooks. An instant classic
Signature dish: Bacon and egg pie Photograph: PR
Magnus Nilsson
Phaidon
Less a cookbook (few will make pine-bark cake. “First step: chop down a pine tree”) than a manifesto from the charismatic long-haired Swedish prince of the locavore movement
Signature dish: Top blade from retired dairy cow, dry-aged for nine months Photograph: PR
Tony Conigliaro
Ebury
Much has been written about double OFM award-winner Conigliaro’s appliance of science to drinking, but it’s the flair that he’s retained from his art school background that really sets him apart
Signature drink: Vintage Manhattan Photograph: PR
Nigel Slater
Fourth Estate
Sequel to our favourite book from our favourite food writer (ranked four on OFM’s list of greatest cookbooks of all time). Beautifully produced (even the typeface gets a credit), it is all here: the growing, the cooking, the writing. A book to treasure for ever
Signature dish: Chocolate damson cake Photograph: PR
Ben Shewry
Murdoch Books
Lavish, lush debut from talented young New Zealander who is cooking at the brilliant Attica in Melbourne. “Cook from the heart – focus and give everything you have,” he writes
Signature dish: Abalone, seaweeds and salt from the same environment Photograph: PR
Christina Tosi
Absolute Press
Not for novices, but who said cooking some of the most famous desserts in New York, such as cereal milk ice cream or compost cookies, would be easy?
Signature dish: Crack pie (oat base with a dark, rich and addictive baked custard filling) Photograph: PR
April Bloomfield
Canongate
The simplicity of the recipes in Bloomfield’s first book belies their brilliance. She cooks at the Spotted Pig in New York and includes favourites such as “My Curry”, made with lamb and a dash of her home town, Birmingham
Signature dish: Bubble and squeak Photograph: PR
Claudia Roden
Michael Joseph
Five years in the making, this is the definitive book on Spanish food and its cultural history. You will cook from it, read it for pleasure and no doubt refer to it year after year
Signature dish: Arroz a la Marinera (seafood paella) Photograph: PR
Philip Howard
Absolute Press
Inspirational writing and recipes from a two-Michelin starred master, who writes: “Ingredients that are beautifully prepared and cooked with understanding can come together to deliver pleasure in a way that nothing else can.” A serious book for serious cooks
Signature dish: Lasagne of crab Photograph: PR
Paula Wolfert
Bloomsbury
Wolfert spent 40 years developing this beautiful book that’s part recipe collection, part photo gallery of Morocco itself. Everything’s here from harissa to Berber couscous
Signature dish: Lamb tagine with quinces and okra Photograph: PR
Alan Davidson
Prospect Books
Quixotic mix of anecdote, illustration, weird science and recipes by the author of the majestic Oxford Companion to Food. First published in 1979 when it won the André Simon and Glenfiddich awards
Signature dish: Royal Lamprey Pie (to serve the Queen, her Consort and 22 others) Photograph: PR
Yotam Ottolenghi & Sami Tamimi
Ebury
For his third book, Ottolenghi returns to his home city of Jerusalem, which he lovingly describes as a soup of cultures and inherited cooking traditions. Bright, fresh recipes and evocative photography
Signature dish: Maqluba (one-pot dish of rice, vegetables and meat turned on its head) Photograph: PR
