Kathy Snowball favourite Cookbooks  Books on the Menu

We are so lucky to have gourmet food doyenne Kathy Snowball in our midst. She contributes regularly to publications including the Taste O feature in the local paper. And thanks for mentioning the Library last week. Out of all our visiting home chefs we have had the most requests for the books mentioned by Kathy as she spoke of her career change from merchant banking to packing up and heading off to culinary school in England to follow her dreams of working in the food industry.
Here is the list of books that have inspired Kathy and note the Harold McGee book which she said helped explain your cooking disasters:
A Book of Mediterranean Food, Elizabeth David (plus any other books by Elizabeth David);
On Food and Cooking, Harold McGee (the technical one);
Roast Chicken and Other Stories, Simon Hopkinson;
A New Book of Middle Eastern Food, Claudia Roden; and
Where the Heart Is, Karen Martini.
Kathy said the best cookbooks were the ones covered in cooking splatters and well thumbed and used and much loved (see Geoff  your book was a real gem). Spare the library cookbooks though. It is a radical change of view from the fabulously presented glossy colour photographs of today's celebrity chef cookbooks (pictured). Kathy shared with us a story of cooking for Elizabeth David and having her personal copy signed by Elizabeth (pictured). Kathy also praised current popular chef Karen Martini who she said is doing wonderful things with food. Thank you Kathy. Bon Appetit!