Since 1935, Penguin has been publishing books that have influenced all aspects of our lives – from how we read, to how we understand the world around us, and even how we cook.
In the 1950s, The Penguin Cookery Book, penned by hugely influential food writer Bee Nilson, helped millions of home cooks navigate a changing world as Britain emerged from post-war austerity and rationing, while Elizabeth David’s extensively researched A Book of Mediterranean Food turned a nation to cooking with olive oil (which, at the time, was only stocked in small vials in pharmacies to treat earwax). Actor and writer Madhur Jaffrey similarly made her mark from the 1970s onwards with books that demystified Indian cuisine and cooking techniques for a whole new audience, with accompanying TV programmes that became appointment viewing.
Fast-forward to the late 1990s, the world of cookery got a Cool Britannia makeover with the emergence of a young new chef called Jamie Oliver, whose debut cookbook The Naked Chef stripped restaurant-quality cooking down to the bare essentials and inspired a new generation to get excited about food. Meanwhile, the delicious prose and covetable recipes of domestic goddess Nigella Lawson ushered in a new era of food writing that was unapologetically sensual, rich and comforting. And since the 2000s, Ottolenghi’s signature style of vegetable-forward cooking with bold, complex flavours and Middle Eastern ingredients has influenced head chefs and home cooks alike.
These are just some of the ways that Penguin’s cookery publishing has shaped trends, reflected social and cultural shifts, and highlighted the food traditions and staple ingredients of cuisines the world over. In celebration of Penguin’s 90th birthday, we asked some of our best-loved authors to share their own stories about the Penguin cookbooks that inspired and influenced them, as well as one recipe from the book that everyone should try.
It’s got to be the original River Cafe Cookbook for me, which also happens to be the first cookbook I ever bought. Flicking through its pages, I’m instantly transported back to my days at the cafe, where under Rose and Ruthie’s magnificently matriarchal tutorage, I was lucky enough to develop my kitchen skills and where, ultimately, I caught my lucky break. I was captivated by Rose and Ruth’s unapologetic desire to source and celebrate the best in seasonal produce, and their love and respect for simple Italian food just built on everything I’d learnt with Gennaro in the years before. It was published back in 1996, but the recipes still feel ever so relevant, and I believe it will stand the test of time, encapsulating so beautifully the very essence of everything the cafe stands for. And it’s a good-looking book, too!
I bought Elizabeth David’s A Book of Mediterranean Food in 1954 when I came to London to study art after school in Paris and was enthralled to find recipes from my world. In Egypt I had never seen a cookbook nor any recipe in print. Recipes were passed down in families. I was sharing a flat with my two brothers and cooking for them and our friends. In 1956, when the Jews left Egypt and my parents arrived as refugees, I started collecting recipes from the people leaving and went on to research the cuisines of the Middle East.
A Book of Mediterranean Food inspired me to eventually put it all in a book and was a model of how to write a cookbook. I learnt from it how to plan chapters, how to set up recipes and to say “fry the garlic ‘until the aroma rises’”.
I hadn’t cooked gefilte fish until I was 28; I just didn’t grow up with it. When I finally did need to make it, I knew where to go: Claudia Roden’s The Book of Jewish Food, which has been a constant in my life since its publication. Claudia doesn’t just offer recipes; she gives context, memory and meaning. Her talent for storytelling stems from her insatiable curiosity. You can just hear the voices of the people she gathers around her table, voices she weaves beautifully into stories. This book, as well as so many of her other tomes, is an essential part of my library and an enduring source of inspiration.
The Seafood Restaurant opened in 1975 and even at that stage I had a copy of Jane Grigson’s Fish Cookery, first published in 1973, and revised in 1993 with the title Jane Grigson’s Fish Book – it was my bible. It’s as relevant today as it was then because not only does it cover recipes for every fish and shellfish that you are likely to buy in the UK, it’s filled with information, anecdotes and even poetry about them all. It’s hard to produce an entertaining book, I think, when you are so knowledgeable about a subject, but Jane Grigson did just that. There is always a sense of her almost being in the kitchen and chatting to you. I met her a few times – she was funny and understated. You knew she knew everything there was to know about fish, but she wasn’t going to intimidate you with it.
How to Eat was a revelation. I read it at 16 as if it were a work of anthropology – kitchen suppers, cooking whole poussins for children, knocking out a tray of chocolate puddings within minutes of coming home from work – all with an effortless joy. It was the sort of life I wanted, with an unashamed love of food at the centre, and almost certainly led me down the cookery-as-career path. I’m not sure how many times we made the chocolate raspberry cake in our university flat, but Nigella’s books were at the core of our first adventures in dinner parties, from Domestic Goddess to Feast and Nigella Bites. But How to Eat – which feels bang-on contemporary every time I read it – is my favourite. My children have yet to dissect their own mini-chickens at the table, but I still make the Chocolate Raspberry Pudding Cake on repeat.
Claudia Roden is one of my food heroes. I love all of her books, and in particular, The Food of Spain is a rich, soulful journey through Spain’s diverse culinary heritage. Claudia’s storytelling brings recipes to life, weaving history, tradition and regional identity into every dish.
My favourite recipe from the book is the Scrambled Eggs with Asparagus and Prawns. I was instantly drawn to it. Not just for its simplicity and elegance, but because it reminded me so much of how we prepare eggs and asparagus in Palestine. The soft curds of egg mingling with tender green spears, elevated by the sweetness of prawns, bring a feeling of utter comfort. It’s a dish that speaks across borders, quietly linking kitchens through shared ingredients and techniques.
Roden’s book doesn’t just celebrate Spanish food; it evokes memories and emotions that span the Mediterranean, making it a deeply personal and nostalgic experience every time I cook from it.
This book inspired me when I was younger and desperate to get into the world of baking and cooking. I had always loved baking, but this book has so many delicious recipes that I kept going back to it to learn more and become more inspired. The reason I adore baking is the retro classic of Butterfly Cakes that I grew up loving, and even though it’s quite basic, it fills me with nostalgia. This particular book is one of the few I have gone to over the years again and again, and the one I pass on to people to own for a delicious book of bakes.
It would be useful, for my own cook’s origin story, if I could claim that I was all over Roast Chicken and Other Stories by Simon Hopkinson with Lindsey Bareham when it first came out in 1994. I wasn’t. I didn’t get a copy until 2005, when a panel of chefs and writers voted it the most useful cookbook of all time. Is it the ‘most useful’? I’ve no idea, but it proved hugely useful to me, because it reassured me about something fundamental: skills are important in the kitchen, but appetite and taste are just as vital. In a food world infested by a hunger for quirky twists, here was a book that revelled in the classics on every page: leeks vinaigrette and good roast potatoes, omelette Arnold Bennett and of course the Roast Chicken of the title, slathered in butter, which really is a must-try. And all of it written as if it’s a love letter – which, in a way, it is.
I absolutely adore Ixta Belfrage’s Mezcla. It came out not long before I started writing my own debut cookery book, and I had an embargo on reading any cookery books until I had finished writing, to avoid being influenced. Ixta’s snuck through on account of how exciting I had found her work from following her for a few years prior on socials. What both Mezcla and Ixta do is excite. She’s effortlessly herself, and that uniqueness allowed me to believe in my own work and vision for it. I adore the Curried Cornbread, because I could eat it 1,000 times over, and the Prawn Lasagne, simply because how could you not? It’s iconic!
I’m nominating Jamie Oliver’s book 5 Ingredients, I love all Jamie’s books, so it was very hard to choose, but I think this might just be my favourite. The simplicity and ease of the recipes makes it the perfect book to grab when you want something delicious and simple for a midweek meal, or even a weekend dinner with friends. I love that the recipes use everyday ingredients that most of us have, so you aren’t having to buy hundreds of ingredients that will stay in the back of the cupboard! I also adore the photography of the 5 ingredients down the side of the page, it’s such a great way to show how few ingredients you need to make a delicious meal!
Growing up, I loved reading books published by Penguin, and I never imagined that a kid from Northern Ireland would one day become an author published by one of the best in the business.
One book that really shaped how I cook is ONE by Jamie Oliver. It helped me ditch complicated recipes and focus on food that’s simple, tasty, and easy to make — just like what I aim for in my air fryer and slow cooker cookbooks.
A huge thank you to Penguin and The Happy Foodie for believing in me and inspiring people not just to read, but to learn and create in the kitchen.
