Best Cookbooks of 2012

… and the winner is Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi.

After last year’s tie for first place, this year we have a very clear winner. For the second year running Yotam Ottolenghi takes the crown, this time with his restaurant partner Sami Tamimi.

We amalgamated 215 Best Cookbooks of 2012 lists from TV, Radio, Newspapers, Magazines, Websites, Blogs and Booksellers across the world (there are links to all of them below) to come up with the definitive guide to the best books on food and drink.

For those of you interested in data:

From 215 lists there were 2,136 votes
651 different cookbooks made the list
343 cookbooks had only one vote

Check out the Best cookbooks of 2011, Best cookbooks of 2010 and Best cookbooks of 2009 lists.

1. Jerusalem by Yotam Ottolenghi and Sami Tamimi

This is the third year in a row in the top 10 for Yotam Ottolenghi – last year he was also #1 with Plenty. Obviously he earns top place by producing stellar cookbooks, but also because his books appeal to reviewers all across the USA, Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand.

2. The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook by Deb Perelman

Deb is a home cook in a tiny New York kitchen who has built a wildly successful blog, indexed here on EYB, and now has an equally popular cookbook. We expect even more success from Deb in coming years.

3. Bouchon Bakery by Thomas Keller and Sebastien Rouxel

Meticulous instructions from master bakers and chefs teach you how to achieve perfection in your baking.

4. Gran Cocina Latina by Maricel E. Presilla

It’s a mammoth task to take on the cuisine of an entire continent, but Maricel has spent 30 years visiting every country in the region, and she seems to have succeeded with this book.

5. Modernist Cuisine at Home by Nathan Myhrvold and Maxime Bilet

Having wowed the professionals last year with the massive, and massively expensive Modernist Cuisine, this more approachable version for home cooks has proved equally popular with EYB members and reviewers.

6. Canal House Cooks Every Day by Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer

Seasonal recipes for home cooks – a wonderful compilation from the two women behind the Canal House series of books.

7. Roots by Diane Morgan

Taking what may seem the least glamorous of vegetables, Diane has crafted a wonderful collection of recipes for familiar and less well known root vegetables.

8. Barefoot Contessa Foolproof by Ina Garten

Ina keeps producing reliable, well-produced books that her fans love and this one was no exception.

9. Burma: Rivers of Flavor by Naomi Duguid

Naomi has made many trips to this fascinating but little-known land and she generously shares her knowledge of its cuisine and people.

=10. Fäviken by Magnus Nilsson

One of those restaurant cookbooks for which we had to add a huge number of new ingredients to our database, which probably means you will find many hard to source. Beautiful to look at though!

=10. Vietnamese Home Cooking by Charles Phan

The award winning chef from San Francisco’s Slanted Door restaurant, Phan wants Vietnamese cooking to become as understandable to home cooks as Italian or American cooking.