Let’s face it: until a few decades ago British cuisine wasn’t considered to be at the top of the world’s culinary chain.
Some new interesting personalities were needed to bring it to a new level and reveal it in full extent both to us Brits and other nations. So it’s a great thing that people like Jamie Oliver or Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall showed up on TV to show to everyone that our cuisine is surely more than your ordinary pub grub. All the culinary celebrities had their own influences though – highly esteemed chefs like Fergus Henderson and Rose Gray.
So together with TV shows where everything happens too quickly and online recipe websites where there’s just too much of everything, now we can choose from an enormous range of amazing cookbooks from exciting personalities.
I really love TV shows such as 15-Minute Meals for example, but I still must have everything written down on paper (preferably with some mouth watering photos) to bring myself to actually cook some of those yummy recipes.
That’s why I have quite a handful of great British cookbooks in my kitchen – some I bought myself, some I got as gifts, but all of them have something tasty and unique in them. So here are three of my current favourites.
Jamie’s Great Britain by Jamie Oliver
available on Amazon here
I really admire Jamie for his constant effort to get small, independent food and drink retailers on the map for all of us as it reminds me a little of our own business.
High quality doesn’t have to come with a high price tag and Jamie demonstrates it perfectly in this book, where he delivers an enormous variety of recipes ranging from some 100% British ones to others which have foreign influences, such as my favourite Empire roast chicken.
The New English Table by Rose Prince
Available on Amazon here
This one might be a little more serious than Jamie’s, but it contains hundreds of useful advice on sourcing and cooking quality seasonal ingredients.
The recipes don’t contain any elements which might cost too much to actually consider, but all of the results are truly delicious.
Most of the recipes have a classic vibe around them, urging to buy something that will last for a long time – quality over quantity, that is.
Kitchen Memories by Lucy Boyd
available on Amazon here
This book is one of the latest additions to my collection and is written by Lucy Boyd, daughter of the great Rose Gray of The River Cafe fame.
Her collection of recipes combines perfect seasonal ingredients and simple cooking to produce a handful of scrumptious meals.
Quality is also #1 here so the end result always depends on what kind of meat, vegetables and other ingredients you choose to use – if you pick the right ones, the meals turn out simply fantastic.
There are plenty of other amazing cookbooks that didn’t make my list and I am sure there are even more that I’ve never even heard of.
So what are your personal favourites?