10 New Cookbooks To Inspire You This Autumn

As we start heading back into our warm, comforting kitchens this autumn, we’re craving fresh inspiration – nothing gets those creative culinary juices flowing like a brand-new cookbook. We’ve compiled a list of exemplary food and drink titles that will inspire you to cook more, and indulge better.

More Is More

Enough with the minimalism – it’s time to get bolder in the kitchen with Molly Baz. The food writer and former Bon Appétit Test Kitchen member translates her easygoing cooking style to the page in her latest book, More Is More. Maximum flavour, maximum fun: Baz’s signature use of boatloads of herbs, salt and heat, not to mention intuition and fun, results in dishes such as Drunken Cacio e Pepe, Dilly Beans & Burrata with Frizzled Shallots, and the Olive Oil-Drowned Potatoes with Lemony Onions and Herbs in the video below.

More is More: Get Loose in the Kitchen – Molly Baz 
Release Date: US 10 October; UK 12 October

The Encyclopedia of Cocktails

If you’re interested in learning more about cocktail culture, start here. While an ‘encyclopaedia’ might sound too daunting or dry, when New York Times drinks author Robert Simonson pens it, you can be sure it will have lightness and flair. Indeed, the book is refreshingly entertaining and informative from A to Z, featuring all the essential cocktail recipes, places and figures – with Ernest Hemingway crowned as the “unavoidable literary barfly of all time”. 

The Encyclopedia of Cocktails: The People, Bars & Drinks, with More Than 100 Recipes – Robert Simonson 
Release Date: 17 October

A Very Chinese Cookbook

Writer Kevin Pang and his dad, Jeffrey, are known for their America’s Test Kitchen series Hunger Pangs, in which they show viewers how to cook great Chinese food at home. Their book takes the same practical and cheery approach, interlacing personal stories with rigorously tested recipes, tips and tricks, plus a handy Chinatown shopping guide; choosing the right type of soy sauce or fresh noodles will no longer intimidate you. The book contains American-Chinese classics such as General Tso’s Chicken and American-style Egg Rolls, dim sum favourites, Sichuan street foods and Jeffrey’s all-time favourites, including his signature XO sauce.

A Very Chinese Cookbook: 100 Recipes from China and Not China (But Still Really Chinese) – Kevin Pang & Jeffrey Pang
Release Date: 24 October

Maman & Me

Another parent-and-child duo! While Middle Eastern and Iranian cookbooks are plentiful, Roya Shariat and her mother Gita Sadeh (“Maman”) have crafted a book that zeroes in on American-Iranian cuisine, showcasing the ways a cuisine can evolve across borders. Tahdig, the quintessential Iranian rice dish with a crisp crust, is a good example: the book includes a rice tahdig but also a tortilla one. The duo have a popular cooking TikTok, where followers have dubbed Sadeh the “CEO of tahdig”, so she clearly knows her stuff.

Maman and Me: Recipes from Our Iranian American Family – Roya Shariat and Gita Sadeh 
Release Date: US 24 October; UK 23 November

My Everyday Lagos

With an extensive culinary background and a deep-rooted love for her Nigerian heritage, Yewande Komolafe has emerged as a prominent voice in the world of food media. Komolafe grew up in Lagos and went to the US for college, where she worked in restaurant kitchens across the country. The New York Times contributor now presents My Everyday Lagos, a deeply personal cookbook celebrating the many cuisines found in Nigeria’s largest city. Recipes such as Jollof Rice, Groundnut Stew and Èkọ Tutu (steamed fermented corn pudding) are excellent introductions to the variety of textures and flavours present in Nigerian food.

My Everyday Lagos: Nigerian Cooking at Home and in the Diaspora – Yewande Komolafe 
Release Date: 24 October

Basics With Babish

We’ve followed YouTube channel Binging with Babish for years, along with millions of other viewers. Initially, host Andrew Rea focused on recreating (fictional) dishes from popular TV shows and movies, teaching viewers cooking skills along the way, but it eventually expanded into the Babish Culinary Universe, with the popular ‘Basics with Babish’ subseries where Rea explains everything from lasagna to fried rice. The recipes for these basics (and more) have now been compiled into a cookbook offering hundreds of step-by-step photos, tips and tricks – all imparted, of course, in Rea’s entertaining voice.

Basics with Babish: Recipes for Screwing Up, Trying Again, and Hitting It Out of the Park (A Cookbook) – Andrew Rea 
Release Date: US 24 October; UK 26 October

Veg-Table

We’re always looking for ways to get creative with vegetables and, ultimately, consume more of them. Leave it to cookbook author Nik Sharma to present fresh ideas for putting veggies centre-stage, often without necessarily being vegetarian. In the hands of Sharma, onions transform into Golden Za’atar Onion Rings (with a Buttermilk Caraway Dipping Sauce), Brussels sprouts become sweet and sticky, and parsnips get ‘hasselbacked’ with a pistachio pesto. Veg-Table is a highly cookable collection of recipes, complemented by Sharma’s stunning photography. Plus, his approachable scientific explanations always help you become a better cook.

Veg-Table: Recipes, Techniques, and Plant Science for Big-Flavored, Vegetable-Focused Meals – Nik Sharma 
Release Date: US 24 October; UK 26 October

Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook

Improving your cooking skills is the main premise for culinary creator Sohla El-Waylly’s Start Here, which Chef Samin Nosrat describes as “the book I wish someone had given me when I embarked on my own culinary journey,” in the foreword. If you’re just starting out in the kitchen, or really want to get better, this book is a must-have. In over 600 pages, organised according to fundamental techniques, you’ll master new skills and prepare mouthwatering dishes as you go, from Charred Lemon Risotto to ‘Future Brownies’.

Start Here: Instructions for Becoming a Better Cook – Sohla El-Waylly
Release Date: 2 November

The Cookie That Changed My Life

The title reveals you’re in for a treat: Nancy Silverton’s long-awaited baking bible is hitting the shelves this November. The renowned American chef, baker and cookbook author tasted an epiphanous peanut butter cookie and realised that all baked goods should taste this good. And so, Silverton set off to work, culminating in a book with more than 100 recipes for cookies, cakes, breads and breakfast pastries, some classical, some whimsical, such as the Chocolate Brandy Cake or Double-Decker Chocolate Cookies. 

The Cookie That Changed My Life: And More Than 100 Other Classic Cakes, Cookies, Muffins, and Pies That Will Change Yours – Nancy Silverton
Release Date: 14 November

Make It Fancy

Brandon Skier was working as a line chef when the pandemic hit and he lost his job, so he started posting cooking videos as Sad_Papi. Now, the social media sensation has turned his approachable teaching style into a book, showing you how you can transform your food into restaurant-quality dishes. The book is structured like a menu, so you can make a five- or six-course meal at home – most dishes aren’t quick and easy, but that’s why it’s all about “making it fancy”. The pantry section, on the other hand, is chock full of pickles, ferments and toppings you can throw on a dish last-minute for maximum oomph. 

Make It Fancy: Cooking at Home With Sad Papi – Brandon Skier 
Release Date: US 5 March; UK 14 March