Asked to name their favourite non-cookbook food books, leading chefs nominated:

1. Blue Trout and Black Truffles: The Peregrinations of an Epicure – Joseph Wechsberg
2. The Art of Eating – M. F. K. Fisher
3. Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris – A. J. Liebling
4. The Horse of Pride: Life in a Breton Village – Pierre-Jakez Helias
5. The Food of Italy and The Food of France – Waverley Root
6. Giving Good Weight – John McPhee
7. The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine – Rudolph Chelminski
8. The Gumbo Tales – Sara Roahen

The first two would appear high on my list but I would also add:

1. Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain
2. The Perfect Egg – Aldo Buzzi
3. On Food And Cooking – Harold McGee
4. The Man Who Ate Everything – Jeffrey Steingarten
5. Comfort Me With Apples – Ruth Reichl
6. Where shall we go for dinner? – Tamasin Day-Lewis
7. Sushi and Beyond – Michael Booth