The 9 best cookbooks our food team are loving right now - and why they deserve a spot on your bookshelf

"Emma Petersen has been churning out some gorgeous food on her Instagram at @thefitlondoner for years so I was really excited to finally see her cookbook come out. It's filled with recipes you'll actually want to make, with a slightly healthier approach. The granola cookies, protein pancakes and preppable lunches have been a dream to cook", says our Senior Food & Drink Writer, Mel Giandzi.

“My mind often wonders to Greece and the wonderful holidays I’ve had there, wishing I was enjoying a gyros in the shade of an olive tree, admiring the view of white and blue rooftops spanning into the distance. Then a bus drives by, splashing me with a dirty puddle, in the freezing cold, and I’m brought right back to reality.

Sadly, I won’t be making it to Greece this year, so the next best thing is cooking from this beautiful cookbook, chowing down on some Astakomakaronada (lobster spaghetti) or barbecue pork souvlaki, dreaming of my return to Santorini someday. So, if you too often find yourself reminiscing about Greek holidays of yesteryear, then do yourself a favour buy this fab cookbook”, says our Senior Cookery Writer, Grace Evans.

Our Senior Food & Drinks Writer, Mel Giandzi says that this book has helped her to understanding the science of freezer cocktails. "It isn't just simply making your favourite cocktail and freezing it. This book cleverly (and easily) uncovers the science behind freezing temperatures of certain alcohols and mixers and ways around it. Once you're past the science bit, there are some exceptional cocktails to try - namely the Tahini Martini that I made and absolutely fell in love with. Nutty, slightly sweet and very well balanced. I can't wait to make more."

"I'm back in my breadmaking era, and this book has quickly become my bible. Richard imparts boundless knowledge on every page, and you really feel like you are learning from a master of their craft. He encourages the reader to use their intuitions and not just rely on the recipe, which I think is so important in breadmaking. Each recipe comes with baker's percentages, as well as traditional measures, so you can scale up or down as needed. I'm looking forward to making the Perfect Sandwich Bread", says our Senior Cookery Writer, Alice Shields.

Our Homes Director, Sarah Akhurst says she "Love, love, loves this book. Ixta worked with Ottolenghi for 5 years at his restaurant Nopi and in the famous Ottolenghi Test Kitchen and her recipes are very in keeping with his style of expertly blending ingredients. Brought up in Italy with a Brazilian mother and Mexican father, the recipes in Mezcla lean into all of these different cultures. Hard to pick my favourite recipes but the prawn lasagne with habanero oil, giant cheese on toast with spring onion, honey and urfa butter and mole short ribs com agriao are probably my top choices."

Senior Cookery Writer, Alice Shields says "I've had this book for almost 15 years and I still go back to it regularly, mostly for the banana bread recipe. It's one of the only banana breads I'll bake, partly because it's so easy and all mixed in one bowl, and partly because it's so adaptable. Sophie suggests using spelt flour, which gives the bake a lovely toasty nutty flavour, but plain flour also works well. I quite often add chunks of dark chocolate and a pinch of flaky sea salt, for an indulgent twist."

Our Senior Cookery Writer Grace Evans loves that this cookbook doesn’t shy away from rethinking classic recipes. "Sausage rolls? Make them lamb curry style. Tacos? Turn them as dessert instead, crammed full of ice cream and roasted peanuts. But, my personal favourite recipe is the ‘Lolo Buns’; pillowy coconut dinner rolls with custardy bottoms and caramelised tops.

The beautiful imagery in this book will take on a journey through Justin’s Fijian-Indian heritage and you’ll struggle to stop at making just one of the intoxicatingly enticing recipes. Soon, every night of the week will be filled with an ‘Everything Is Indian’ inspired meal. You just won’t be able to help yourself!”

Our Homes Director, Sarah Akhurst says that Mandy’s recipes "are absolutely phenomenal, blending influences from her unique heritage (born in Taiwan, raised in Vancouver and then resident in New York before moving to Beijing). She writes exquisitely about the kitchen being her refuge. This is proper investment cooking and her recipes need quite a lot of heavy duty ingredient sourcing and advance prep but they are 1000% worth every single second of that time! Favourite recipes include Tom Yum margherita pizza, naked Thai duck dogs and the crackling studded pork belly burger with marinated shiso leaves."

We couldn't let our most recent cookbook launch go unnoticed and we've jumped on the air fryer trend as its popularity is showing no signs of slowing down. It's a digital-only cookbook available to Apple News subscribers but you can also get it on our membership app if you sign up here.