Are you one of those people with a ludicrous amount of fancy cookbooks yet you’ve never actually cooked anything from them? Me too! But I do love reading them and looking at the fancy pictures. Here are my six faves from 2017…

Claridge’s The Cookbook
Amazon.co.uk
This is a super swanky cookbook from a super swanky hotel. Definitely one for the coffee table. Author Meredith Erickson and the Exec Chef of Claridge’s, Martyn Nail, have included the hotel’s typically flamboyant and indulgent recipes from Venison Wellingtons to Sourdough Doughnuts. The photography, by John Carey, are stunning too.

Caravan Dining All Day
Amazon.co.uk
Champions of brunch, Caravan, have released their first cookbook which actually offers more just AM-friendly dishes and focuses on all day dining. The afternoon tea section is the most intriguing with rosemary, jamon and cheddar scones and sweet potato and cinnamon tea cakes sounding rather tasty indeed.

Hawksmoor Restaurants & Recipes
Amazon.co.uk
We all love a good steak right? This thick hardback is filled with mouth watering pictures of giant slabs of meat but also some seafood for something a little lighter. The anecdotes from owners Will and Hugh about how they started this hugely successful steakhouse make for a great bedtime read. There are also some very handy tips on how to cook the perfect steak at home.

Orange Blossom & Honey
Amazon.co.uk
Why pay to travel the world when food writer John Gregory-Smith can do it for you and tell you all about in his numerous cookbooks. “Magical Moroccan recipes from the Souks to the Sahara” is what it says on the front of this one. It’s nice to see some unusual dishes like bastilles, rfissa, beghrir pancakes and mrouzia using ingredients you’ve never heard of.

Salted Caramel Dreams
Amazon.co.uk
Chloe Timms knows a thing or three about sweet treats as you’ll know if you’ve ever been to her stall, Fatties, on Druid Street Market. This cute little book is filled with 70 recipes that involve the world’s nicest thing: salted caramel. Salted caramel peanut butter looks the one for me.

Brasserie Zédel Traditions & Recipes from a Grand Brasserie 
Amazon.co.uk
This unusually rectangular cookbook features the Corbin and King brasserie’s most loved dishes. Believe it or not I actually cooked one of the recipes from this one: poulet au Champagne and although it took a little longer than the 20 minute cooking time (testament to my terrible cooking skills), it was ruddy LUSH. It’s also written by the late A.A. Gill.

There are obviously a thousand more brilliant cookbooks out there so do let me know your faves @samphiresalsify