Featuring the latest offerings from some of the world’s best chefs and food writers, this curated cookbook edit has everything you need for family get-togethers, slow weekends, cosy dinners and festive gatherings. Highlighting both British and international authors, these essential titles make ideal last-minute presents – or are equally good for self-gifting.

The Christmas Companion by Skye McAlpine

The Christmas Companion by cookery writer and Sunday Times Magazine columnist Skye McAlpine is an indispensable guide to creating a cosy, relaxed and memorable Christmas, whether that’s for nearest and dearest or extended friends and family. Packed with ideas for crafts and step-by-step guides for everything from advent calendars to handmade crackers, it also had tips and timelines to help prepare for the big day, inspiration for decorating, edible gift ideas and hosting checklists. Festive recipes include cocktails and nibbles such as Chestnut Martinis and Pistachio & Parmesan Cantucci, centrepiece mains like Pomegranate Glazed Turkey and Ginger & Apricot Ham, and indulgent treats and puddings such as Flourless Chocolate Orange Cake, Salted Caramel Pecan Pie and Gingery Christmas Cake. From mapping out menus to make-ahead dishes and organising hosting duties, this guide takes the stress out of the season.

Stay for Supper: Laid-back Vegetarian Food to Share by Xanthe Ross

Xanthe Ross is a cook and supper club host whose laid-back style of cooking centres around the idea that every meal should be a celebration of food and a chance to enjoy the people you’re eating with. Stay for Supper is a collection of vegetarian dishes with recipes that can be scaled up or down, depending on how many people are being fed. Simple dishes like White Miso Butter Beans, Eggs and Soldiers with Asparagus, Crunchy Bean and Summer Veg Salad or Chocolate Chip and Almond Butter Cookies are presented alongside recipes such as New Potato Frittata with a Fresh Herb Salad, Tomato, Aubergine and Mozzarella Lasagne, and Xanthe’s iconic Meringue Tower. With pairing ideas for every recipe and four menus to use as inspiration, there are also ideas about how to cook with what’s in season and to fill a table with nourishing, plentiful and delicious dishes.

Winter in the Highlands: Eating, Drinking and Celebrating in Scotland by Flora Shedden

In this eagerly anticipated fourth book, food writer, acclaimed bakery owner and Great British Bake Off semi-finalist Flora Shedden invites readers on a joyous, heart-warming journey through the enchanting winter season in Scotland, celebrating the region’s rich and distinctive culinary heritage and cherished festive traditions. Offering creative, do-able savoury and sweet recipes, Winter in the Highlands includes a mix of both traditional dishes and modern alternatives, as well as tips to get ahead for Christmas, Hogmanay and Burns Night. Set against the backdrop of Scotland’s dramatic landscapes and picture-post­card wintertime charm, it is a stunning culinary adventure that is nothing short of magical.

Padella: The Secret to Cooking Iconic Pasta at Home by Tim Siadatan

Padella is one of London’s most iconic fresh pasta restaurants. When it opened in Borough Market in 2016, it put sensational pasta outside of Italy on the map thanks to dishes like Beef Shin Ragu and Pici Cacio e Pepe. These delicious recipes, paired with a buzzy ambience and stylish aesthetic saw queues around the block. Padella: Iconic Pasta at Homes – Waterstone’s gift of the year – brings the magic of the restaurant to home cooking. Including best loved recipes such as Tagliarini with Crab, Chilli, Lemon & Parsley, and Fettuccine with Nduja, Lemon & Mascarpone, simple weeknight store-cupboard pastas like Spaghetti with Garlic and Capers & Black Pepper, and many off-menu favourites shared for the first time, there are recipes for mastering fresh pasta from scratch as well as tips for teaching home cooks how to take pasta to the next level.

Rick Stein’s Christmas: Recipes, Memories & Stories for the Festive Season by Rick Stein

Rick Stein is one of the nation’s most-loved chefs, and this book reflects not only his incredible culinary career but also special memories, times with family and festivities that he has enjoyed over the years.  From well-loved classics to fresh new dishes, Rick Stein’s Christmas features more than 100 recipes for the festive season, including roast goose, glazed ham, mince pies, spicier dishes inspired by his travels, and the best. ways to make magic with leftovers. Rick also shares stories of what makes Christmas special to him and how food plays such an important part in our celebrations, no matter what traditions we follow. For family feasts, candlelit suppers and everything in between, Rick Stein’s Christmas is a fabulous festive cooking companion.

Kitchen Table: Simple Things Made Well by Emily Cuddeford and Rachel Morgan

Pioneering bakers Emily Cuddeford and Rachel Morgan met while working at Edinburgh bakery Lovecrumbs back in 2011, and went on to open their own bakery venture, Twelve Triangles, in 2015. Kitchen Table: Simple Things Made Well brings together recipes and stories inspired by their cookery journey, relationships with producers and communities, and their love of food since they were small. Lovingly compiled, there are over 90 sweet and savoury recipes, all of which are accessible for the home cook. Structured around key ingredients and techniques, recipes include Brown Butter Apple Buns, Dauphinoise Pie, Focaccia, Whey Brined Roast Chicken, Honey Tart with Apricot Jam, Kimchi, Tiramisu, Cocoa Roasted Squash, Pickles, Burnt Honey Custard, Salsa Verde, Fresh Peas, Broad Beans, Almonds & Ricotta, Coffee & Cardamom loaf cake and many more.

How I Cook: A Chef’s Guide to Really Good Home Cooking by Ben Lippet

In his debut title, British chef, food writer, recipe developer, and social media personality Ben Lippett shares his years of experience as a professional chef turned home cook, including the hows and whys behind everything we do in the kitchen. “One of the most important things you can do whilst cooking is ask why?” he says. “Why am I adding salt now and not later? Why has my chocolate mousse split? Why does this taste so good?!” With over 100 recipes, as well as invaluable tips and tricks to master techniques and grow culinary confidence, How I Cook is a trusty kitchen companion, that will teach anyone to be a better home cook, one recipe at a time.

Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from My Palestine by Sami Tamimi

A homage to Palestinian food and culture, Boustany, is the first solo cookbook from Ottolenghi co-founder and champion of Palestinian food and culture, Sami Tamimi.

Boustany translates from Arabic as ‘My Garden’, and the down-to-earth, relaxed recipes are reflective of Sami’s approach to food. With flavour-packed, colourful and simple vegetable and grain-led dishes, this book showcases dishes that its author grew up eating, including platters of aubergine and chickpeas with a spicy green lemon sauce and fragrant lentil fatteh that always tasted better the next day. These are the dishes he has known, loved, cooked and shared with friends, and with over 100 recipes, he offers recipes for breakfast, sharing plates, big celebrations, simple breads, sweet treats, easy dinners and more.

Baking and the Meaning of Life: How to Find Joy in 100 Recipes by Helen Goh

In her debut solo cookbook, Ottolenghi pastry chef Helen Goh shares 100 favourite recipes that showcase the many ways baking brings joy to our lives. As a co-author of bestselling books Sweet and Comfort, a food columnist for the Good Weekend, The Guardian and Observer, Helen draws on her upbringing in Malaysia and Australia, her work with Ottolenghi and her psychology training to share her distinctive approach to baking with delicious sweet and savoury bakes such as Chocolate Tahini Cake with Sesame Brittle, Plum and Pistachio Bars, Pandan and Coconut Chiffon Cake, Puttanesca Galette with Lemon Ricotta, Potato, Garlic and Rosemary Focaccia and many other shareable treats. This book is a celebration of community, connection and pleasure through baking, and her recipes are ways to celebrate milestones and connect with family and friends. With inventive flavour combinations, a wealth of road-tested bakes, and reflections on living and baking well, this book is a companion bakers will return to again and again.

Something from Nothing: A Cookbook by Alison Roman

In Something from Nothing, American food writer, author, and internet personality Alison Roman offers a collection of over 100 simple, smart and timeless recipes that rely on a home cook’s best kept secret: a well-stocked pantry. Making the most of shelf-stable bottles, bags, jars and cans, she demonstrates how to cook as she does – loosely, intuitively, and with maximum flavour. Each recipe highlights the magic of pantry cooking, using flavourful, hardworking ingredients. Sections include Snacks and Things to Start With, Soups and Stews, Vegetables and How to Make Them Taste Even Better,

Pasta and Noodles, Beans and Grains, and Meats and Some Fishes. Whether you’re feeding yourself on a busy weeknight or hosting a last-minute dinner party, Something from Nothing shows how to turn every bag of beans, tin of anchovies and jar of olives into a meal worth celebrating.

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We hope The House Directory‘s cookbook edit has provided inspiration, either for gifting loved ones or for hosting yourself. For more festive ideas, decorating tips and expert advice, check out our previous Christmas-themed blogs here.