Skip to content
Open menu Close menu

Feed your appetite for cooking with Penguin’s expert authors

penguin logo

The best cookbooks for restaurant lovers

by Malou Herkes

published on 1 January 2024

Are you a fan of a Hawksmoor steak? Love Ottolenghi’s restaurants but not sure how to recreate those flavours at home? We’ve rounded up our favourite cookbooks from the UK’s best restaurants and Michelin-starred chefs for anyone wanting to recreate restaurant-style food at home. From show-stopper dishes to simple throw-it-together recipes that champion humble ingredients, there’s a cookbook for all occasions. 

Ottolenghi: The Cookbook

by Yotam Ottolenghi, Sami Tamimi

This is honest, healthy, bold cooking presented with flair, style and substance. Whether you’re a regular at Ottolenghi’s restaurants and want to discover his secrets or you’re an Ottolenghi fan seeking to recreate his signature flavour and ingredient combos, this cookbook is for you.

Hawksmoor at Home

by Huw Gott, Will Beckett, Richard Turner, Dan Lepard, Hawksmoor

From the guys behind the UK’s best steakhouse, Hawksmoor at Home is a practical cookbook that shows you how to buy and cook restaurant standard food at home. From the perfect beef steak to the best beef roast to beef-dripping chips, plus recipes on how to cook seafood and mix cocktails. This is a must for serious carnivores. 

Caravan

by Laura Harper-Hinton, Miles Kirby, Chris Ammermann

The Caravan cookbook has every element of the day covered, from brunch to lunch to dinner with truly inventive flavour combinations that will impress your loved ones. Try the Sweet Potato & Chorizo Croquettes.   

Trullo

by Tim Siadatan

From the man behind London’s Trullo and Padella restaurants, this cookbook will show you how to rustle up rustic Italian-inspired dishes with a British twist. 

The Ethicurean Cookbook

by The Ethicurean

“Recipes, food and spirituous liquors from our bounteous walled garden in the several seasons of the year” is how The Ethicurean describes its cookbook celebrating home-grown and foraged ingredients. Think, confit rabbit paired with lovage breadcrumbs, cured roe deer with wood sorrel, foraged nettle soup, pork and juniper pie and Eccles cakes with Dorset Blue Vinny. 

Sabor

by Nieves Barragán Mohacho

From the acclaimed chef and owner of London’s Sabor and ex-executive chef at London’s Michelin-starred Barrafina Frith Street, Sabor is a celebration of Nieves’ Basque origins. Despite her cheffing background, this is a cookbook that celebrates the more humble cooking of her upbringing: recipes for sharing, from comforting family cooking to light bites.

Ducksoup Cookbook

by Clare Lattin and Tom Hill

Simple cooking really is the foundation of Soho institution Ducksoup and of their beautiful cookbook, which is inspired by the authors’ travels around the Middle East, Italy and Scandinavia. With a focus on quality ingredients, recipes are all about simple techniques to elevate dishes into something extra special.

River Café 30

by Rose Gray, Ruth Rogers, Sian Wyn Owen, Joseph Trivelli

Marking iconic London restaurant, The River Cafe’s momentous 30th birthday, ,i>River Cafe 30 brings together three decades of exceptional Italian cooking. You’ll find The River Cafe’s best loved recipes with lots of stories and tips from Rose Rodgers throughout.

Mother India at Home: Recipes Pictures Stories

Mother India at Home

by Monir Mohammed, Martin Gray

From the award-winning Mother India restaurant at Westminster Terrace in Glasgow, this cookbook will teach you how to recreate authentic Indian cooking at home. Tracing Monir’s culinary journey as owner of one of the world’s greatest Indian restaurants, you’ll find a photo essay and history of this legendary institution and signature recipes too.  

Michael Caines At Home

Michael Caines is the original Michelin-starred British chef behind Gidleigh Park in Devon and now Lympstone Manor in Exeter. Michael Caines at Home is his first book with 100 exciting, delicious recipes that you can recreate easily at home. 

Berber & Q

by Josh Katz

From the man behind London’s trendy grill restaurant Berber & Q, this cookbook will show you how to cook everything from meat to vegetables over live fire. Including signature dishes, from Saffron Buttermilk-fried Chicken and Honeyed Pork Belly to Cauliflower Shawarma, as well as punchy pickles, fiery sauces, creamy dips and fresh salads. This is BBQ food like you’ve never had it before.

Moro: The Cookbook

Moro: The Cookbook

A fantastic fusion of Spanish, North African and Eastern Mediterranean cooking, this acclaimed, award-winning cookbook comes from the brains behind much-loved London small plates restaurant, Moro. 

The Gilbert Scott Book of British Food

The Gilbert Scott Book of British Food

Here the menu pays tribute to the historic charm of the Renaissance Hotel where The Gilbert Scott restaurant is located. Rediscovered and re-imagined traditional British classics, from Yorkshire fishcakes to Dorset Jugged Steak to Cock-a-leekie Pie. 

Share

You might also like


View all

Book Collections

The ultimate guide to Ottolenghi cookbooks

From Plenty to COMFORT, find the best Ottolenghi cookbook for you with our handy guide.

Book Collections

The best cookbooks to give this Mother’s Day

It goes without saying that not all mums love cooking, but these cookbooks make the perfect gift if you are shopping for a foodie.

Book Collections

The best cookbooks coming out in 2024

Discover new releases by Bored of Lunch, Jamie Oliver, Ottolenghi, Nicola Lamb, The Batch Lady, and more.

newsletter

Subscribe to The Happy Foodie email newsletter

Get our latest recipes, features, book news and ebook deals straight to your inbox every week