The New Classics: Five cookbooks that deserve a home on your shelf

Amateur baker David Parker reviews a cookbook each fortnight from a practical perspective in his column Cook the Books. After nearly a year of reviewing, here are his favourite five...

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5. Prune by Gabrielle Hamilton. Hardie Grant Books. RRP $69.99
This is one of the most interesting and unique cookbooks I've ever read. Before coming across this book for the column, I was unaware of Gabrielle Hamilton and her devoted international following, nor her first book, New York Times bestseller Blood, Bones and Butter. She takes a no-bullshit approach to instructing the reader on what and (more frequently) what not to do in the kitchen. Before you know it, you feel like you're working in her fast-paced New York restaurant, and that feels kind of fun! Read the full review. 

4. Depot: Biography of a Restaurant (with recipes) by Al Brown and Kyle Street. Random House NZ, RRP $70
I'm not the biggest fan of the first half of this book; the story behind Depot. I'm sure if you're a fan of the restaurant it's great, but I just wanted to skip to the food! The Harissa Lamb Ribs came out so well and I'm still baffled at how something as simple as the Turbot Sliders could be so delicious. The back section, full of little recipes for sauces and components of the main recipes, is so useful, and that harissa...

Read the full review here.

3. Kenko Kitchen by Kate Bradley, Hardie Grant AU, RRP $40.00
It's a good sign that I've reached for the first cookbook of food blogger Kate Bradley time and time again since reviewing it. I've made the Pop Tarts (DELICIOUS), the corn fritters and a couple of other dishes. I don't avoid sugar, gluten, egg or dairy, infact I usually seek them out and embrace them, but it's so handy having a book full of ideas for when you have to cook for someone who needs to avoid them. Read the full story here. 

2. Plenty More by Yotam Ottolenghi, RRP $69.00
I feel like of all of the books I have reviewed so far, this one is the most useable. It's food I'd eat every day, with beautiful pictures and clear descriptions. If someone were to describe this book to me (as the blurb does) as one that 'expands into a world of vegetables, grains and legumes', I doubt I'd be that excited, but photos of mountainous salads and beautifully colourful dishes tell a different story, one I want to eat. Read the full review. 

1. Saison: A year at the French Cafe by Simon Wright, RRP $95.00.
You'd think the search for freeze dried blueberries, tapioca maltodextrin and the hours spent in the kitchen would have put me off, but honestly this was one of the most fulfilling cooking/baking experiences of my life. It was a lot of work but I enjoyed every step of recreating Simon Wright's deconstructed lemon meringue (except the cleaning) and it tasted and looked amazing. When I am in book shops I look at it lustfully. I've made a few other elements from the dishes in Saison and every single one has been excellent. I'd love to have more time to cook from it. Read the full review.