Book List: Food glorious food

The Guardian reprints a list of the top ten cook books – in order, no less – from Waitrose Food Illustrated. The list includes some classics, as well as some tasty-looking obscurities. These would look so nice on that shelf in my kitchen:

1. Roast Chicken and Other Stories by Simon Hopkinson with Lindsey Bareham (“its diminutive size belies its incredible value”)
2. Delia’s Complete Cookery Course by Delia Smith (beloved in Britain)
3. Real Fast Food by Nigel Slater (the ultimate book for quick cooking)
4. The River Cottage Meat Book by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall (my favorite book title, author name and book cover art on this list)
5. A New Book of Middle Eastern Food by Claudia Roden (in 1968, this book helped bring Middle Eastern food into the mainstream)
6. Leith’s Techniques Bible by Susan Spaull and Lucinda Bruce-Gardyne (a cooking textbook of sorts)
7. Elizabeth David Classics by Elizabeth David (has been called “the best food writer of her time” by The Times Literary Supplement)
8. Rick Stein’s Seafood School Cookbook by Rick Stein (proprietor of the Seafood Restaurant and the Padstow Seafood School, also a TV chef in England)
9. Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook by Alice Waters (an American classic)
10. The Cook’s Companion by Stephanie Alexander (of Australia)