Culinary Gentleman Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan Marcella Hazan is the Julia Child for Italian Cooking - she brought traditional Italian cooking outside of Italy. There is no better start to cooking Italian than this book. Yet again another lady who was not a Chef but a Cook, and that sense of practical reality runs through here.
Great Dishes of the World by Robert Carrier The effervescent Carrier was another of those people who fell into cooking but excelled. His tome of recipes from around the world is a great gateway into different cultures.
Kitchen Diaries by Nigel Slater One of the 2 modern cookbooks in this list, it is about simple food done well. Nigel Slater looks at food in a delightful and clean way that makes you wish to be eating whilst reading.
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