Deborah Madison was a pioneer of meat-free menus. David Tanis recalls the pleasures of her San Francisco restaurant’s cookbook

The Walnut Tree restaurant opened in Wales in 1963. Its cookbook, published three decades later, transported Italian food from curiosity into the British mainstream

Nathan Outlaw pays tribute to the 1998 book that he borrowed from Rick Stein’s restaurant (and never gave back). Plus five brilliant recipes

Where it all began: Nigel Slater celebrates the 20th anniversary of Nigella Lawson’s first cookbook. Plus six brilliant recipes

Chef Margot Henderson says Elizabeth David’s words are wise and clear – and this book, a collection of recipes and robust opinions, is an essential read

Nigella Lawson swoons over a collection of recipes that’s been her standby for 20 years. Plus six essential dishes from the book, including roast lamb with anchovy, saffron mash and passion fruit bavarois

Yan-kit So’s Classic Chinese Cookbook is a perfect gateway to the country’s cooking. Here, food writer Fuchsia Dunlop recalls her friendship with its author. Plus five brilliant recipes

Lindsey Bareham recalls one of Jane Grigson’s finest works, a 1971 collection of early columns for the Observer colour magazine. Plus six of our favourite recipes from the book

Claudia Roden’s Book of Middle Eastern Food is as much an evocative set of stories as a list of great recipes. Yotam Ottolenghi introduces the cookbook that never fails to inspire him

Marcella Hazan was responsible for bringing authentic Italian cooking to the British and American public. Here, St John’s Fergus Henderson introduces favourite recipes from her 1973 Classic Italian Cookbook

In 1994, revered food writer Richard Olney gathered recipes from his favourite cook. The result, Lulu’s Provençal Table, is timeless, says Simon Hopkinson

In the second of our series celebrating vintage books from our kitchen shelves, Jeremy Lee shares his love for Honey From a Weed

In the first of a new series celebrating vintage books from our kitchen shelves, Nigel Slater introduces his favourite cookbook