Asked to name their favourite non-cookbook food books, leading chefs nominated:
- Blue Trout and Black Truffles: The Peregrinations of an Epicure – Joseph Wechsberg
- The Art of Eating – M. F. K. Fisher
- Between Meals: An Appetite for Paris – A. J. Liebling
- The Horse of Pride: Life in a Breton Village – Pierre-Jakez Helias
- The Food of Italy and The Food of France – Waverley Root
- Giving Good Weight – John McPhee
- The Perfectionist: Life and Death in Haute Cuisine – Rudolph Chelminski
- The Gumbo Tales – Sara Roahen
The first two would appear high on my list but I would also add:
- Kitchen Confidential – Anthony Bourdain
- The Perfect Egg – Aldo Buzzi
- On Food And Cooking – Harold McGee
- The Man Who Ate Everything – Jeffrey Steingarten
- Comfort Me With Apples – Ruth Reichl
- Where shall we go for dinner? – Tamasin Day-Lewis
- Sushi and Beyond – Michael Booth