Some findings from this survey are noteworthy. Firstly, with the exception of Jamie Oliver, there aren’t any celebrity chefs featured. Secondly the books feature a variety of cuisines, and thirdly that out of six sites featuring numerous books, there were only seven recommended by more than one site. This leads me to conclude there’s so much diversity when it comes to cookbooks, for example, in cuisine, course, culture, not to mention culinary fashions, fads and trends (which come and go as often as royal scandals), it’s impossible to pick winners. 

It should be possible to pick quality however, which means there must be unique criteria that apply to cookbooks, as opposed to other books.

An article called “Judging the Top 100 Cookbooks” in Cooking Light magazine proposes that “… a winning book needs to clearly state and deliver on its mission. And recipes have to work. Most important rule: no tinkering with the recipes—they need to stand or fall on their own merits. Also important: The author’s voice needs to persist throughout, like the main flavor of a dish. We were interested in accuracy and appeal to the current cook …”

Sarah Bir sets out some criteria in “What Makes an Award-Winning Cookbook” (a guest post on the website of Dianne Jacob, a food writer of some repute), as follows:

1. Decide whom your book is for and know why it needs to exist.
2. It’s not about you. (a rule of life)
3. Voice matters more than anything.
4. You can’t write great recipes alone.
5. Tiny oversights make a big difference. (another rule of life).

Amanda McInerney, on her enduring and consistently engaging food blog Lambs Ears & Honey, proposes these criteria:

1. Presentation – a good cookbook needs to be well laid out and to tempt the reader. It needs to be an invitation and an inspiration to cook.
2. Clear, concise instructions set out in an easy-to-follow procedure. 
3. Recipes that actually work.
   
   

Helen Rosner, in an article in the December 21 edition of “The New Yorker”called “The Best Cookbooks of the Year” notes she’s most impressed by cookbooks that inspire her to actually cook from them. She says ” … I’ve found myself most drawn to cookbooks that are written more as conversations than as instruction manuals—those that speak in clear, intimate voices, telling personal stories with openness and grace, with recipes full of generous guidance.” Hear hear!!

I’d like to add one more – originality of title. I don’t know about you but all those “best of” books tend to bring out the subversive in me. Like best according to who? And compared to what? One person’s best might well be another person’s “yucko”. It’s refreshing then to come across an attention-grabbing title. 

Out of the selections I surveyed, I’d have to give these titles gold stars for catchy, engaging titles.