Dan Lepard

Baker and food writer

The bible of tattooed bearded geeky chefs the world over. Fergus Henderson, though self-described as a dutiful cook inspired by French bourgeois cooking, is known for rediscovering a kind of British cooking and returning vigour and boldness to modern kitchen menus. His restaurant St. John, a simple school dining hall configuration, coat-hooks and all, starkly painted white, became the meeting place for artists, writers and alternative cooks in London when it opened in 1994 and encouraged the eating of everything possible, from carrot tops to pigs tails. The book Nose to Tail Eating (1999), published five years after the restaurant opened, only added to it’s fame.

Tom Norrington-Davies

Chef

So, here is one of the other books many chefs of my era (yikes) were all inspired by. It was groundbreaking in terms of the style and recipes but it also has lots of humour. I wish I could write as concisively as Fergus but I'll always be a bit of a rattler. Incidentally, before the international fame of the restaurant and the Anthony Bourdain foreward etc...There is a wonderful early edition with the original colour pictures by Jason Lowe which I dont think the later version improved on. This was the book which made me want to work with Jason when I started writing myself some years later.

Christopher Archambault

Chef

The importance of this book and its corresponding London restaurant St. John cannot be overestimated. The seismic shift that occurred within the culinary world due to this Spartan tome still reverberates every time a chef puts roast bone marrow with parsley salad centre stage. Fergus Henderson reminded everyone it was time for a return to primacy. Heavy on offal, big on gp’s and wonderfully unique photography; Nose to Tail Eating and to a lesser extent its successor, Beyond Nose to Tail, will stand all tests of time as faffy trends come and go.

Tom Parker Bowles

Restaurant Critic, Food Writer and Broadcaster

If you're going to kill the animal it seems only polite to use the whole thing." Henderson is a modest master, and although the prose is as minamilist as the white walls of his Smithfield restaurant, they are filled with warmth and wit. Jason Lowe's photography is not only brilliant but quietly revolutionary too, showing hands, and half empty bowls. Then there are the recipes, for everything from bone marrow on toast to shrimps and cabbage to those magnficent madeleines. The book that put British cookery back on the world's table.

Kate Young

Blogger and cookbook author

The St John is my favourite London restaurant, and provider of my all-time favourite dish: bone marrow, sourdough and parsley salad. I bought this book expecting it to include recipes from the restaurant, but didn’t quite anticipate just how witty it would be. I’d happily include it in this list solely for the instruction to: “…cook for a further 2 hours, which gives you time for a bath and a couple of dry martinis”.

Chris Ying

Editor-in-Chief, Lucky Peach

Everybody wants to be the guy who taught modern diners how to eat hooves and snouts and balls, but Fergus is the true owner of that title. This book is the source text for so many other books, restaurants, and philosophies. It’s one of a small group of cookbooks that are important beyond their culinary value. Whole-animal cookery isn’t just tasty, it’s important culturally, environmentally, and economically.

Olivia Potts

Food writer

If I could work in any restaurant, it would be St John. I love everything about it: its approach to cooking and meat, its pastry department, its ethos, its humour, its menu, and its eccles cake that I inevitably take with me at the end of the meal, to brighten the following day. Its cookbook represents all of this on the page perfectly, and I could cook from it every day without getting bored.

Danny Kingston

Food blogger, writer and general witterer

For someone who continually harps on about offal all the time, this had to be included in my list. Not that this book is only about cooking the less delectable (but no less delicious) bits and pieces, Fergus Henderson's simple approach brings out the best in even the most mundane sounding of dishes, such as mince and tatties. Plus he stole my heart with that bone marrow and parsley salad.

Sally Vincent

Blogger at Raining Sideways

A classic, of course! Anthony Bourdain’s Introduction sums it up. I particularly like the notion that “ it would be disingenuous to the animal not to make the most of it” For several years I kept pigs and, with Fergus Henderson’s help, I have been lucky enough to learn from this wonderful book how to use absolutely all the deliciousness from nose to tail of the pork we produced!

Rachel Roddy

Food writer and blogger

The English cook book which is most at home in my Roman kitchen. I have made most things in it. Also his short, often witty head notes are constant source of inspiration as a writer.

Ivan Orkin

Chef

A real honest book when people still weren't speaking honestly about cooking. What he talks about is now common place but when the book came out it was fresh and still is.

Valentine Warner

Author and chef

Gutsy love, stand alone, funny in its brilliant 'no fluff' writing, simple , stylish, odd, timely. A landmark book from a wonderful man, great cook and bon viveur.

Henry Herbert

Retail Director, Hobbs House Bakery

This opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at food. I used to take girlfriends on dates to st John as a test to see if they appreciated food the right way.

Francisco Migoya

Head Chef at The Cooking Lab

Such a humble book, with mostly recipes and few photos. His writing is engaging and filled with clever / witty / funny remarks peppered throughout.

Nigella Lawson

Author, journalist, broadcaster and television personality

Even if I didn’t adore this book for its brio and unpretentiously brilliant recipes, I’d have to nominate it for the beauty of Henderson’s writing.

Thom Eagle

Chef and writer

My most-used and -spattered book. Excellent on pastry, fish and vegetables as well as the obvious. Lovely prose, too.

PJ Kenny

General Manager, The Hoxton, London

You need to have the respect for what you are cooking this is like the farmer and butcher's guide to cooking!

Lizzie Kamenetzky

Food writer and food stylist

An ethos to live by. I love this ground breaking book for its honest truth, its humour and its respect.

Sandy Jarvis

Head Chef & partner at The Culpeper

The book that opened my eyes to the crucial need to respect a whole beast.

Richard Corrigan

Chef

Real unpretentious, plays to my love of using everything on an animal.

Julian Carter

Head Baker

This is how I like my food and Philosophy about food.

Fiona Beckett

Food and wine writer

Great read. Make the 'trotter gear'

Andy Ricker

Chef/Owner Pok Pok Restaurants

One of my culinary heroes.

Tony Singh

Chef and TV Presenter

A joy to read and to make.

Gill Meller

Chef

Incredibly inspiring.

Ed Smith

Food writer

Essential

Eric Treuille

Cookbook seller

Vivek Singh

Executive Chef & CEO: The Cinnamon Club, Cinnamon Kitchen & Cinnamon Soho

Bob Hart

Journalist

Daniel Doherty

Executive chef, Duck & Waffle

Tim Hayward

Writer and broadcaster

Richard H Turner

Group Executive Chef, Hawksmoor

Martin Benn

Chef

Barry Smith

Professor

Esther Walker

Journalist

John Quilter

Broadcaster and chef

Mark Diacono

Food Writer

Kim Woodward

Head Chef of Gordon Ramsay Group’s Savoy Grill

Bethany Kehdy

Cook, presenter and author

Brad McDonald

Chef

Chris Cosentino

Executive Chef/Co-Owner, Cockscomb and Co-owner/Partner, Boccalone Salumeria

Karima Moyer-Nocchi

Food historian and writer

Ursula Heinzelmann

Food and wine writer, Director of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery

Ben Milgate

Chef

Mitch Tonks

Chef

Bob Granleese

Food Editor, Guardian Weekend

Poonperm Paitayawat

Blogger

Al Brown

Chef

Killian Fox

Founder and editor of The Gannet

David McMillan

Chef/owner of Joe Beef

Bronwen Percival

Buyer

Rodney Dunn

Co-Founder of The Agrarian Kitchen

Sarah Wilson

Author and Blogger

Amanda Hesser

CEO & co-founder, Food52

Martin Boetz

Cooks Co-op

Charles Campion

Critic and Author

Tori Haschka

Author and writer

Jose Pizarro

Chef

Junya Yamasaki

Chef

Christopher Hirst

Food journalist and restaurant critic

James Lowe

Chef

Andrew Zimmern

Creator, executive producer and host of the Bizarre Foods franchise on Travel Channel

Anthony Power

Chef and author

Mark LaBrooy

Head Chef and Owner Three Blue Ducks (with co - Owner Darren Robertson)

Andrew McConnell

Executive Chef and Owner

Tom Conran

Restaurateur

Andrew Peters

Proprietor Green Park Brasserie, Bath Function Rooms, Green Park Express

Ian James

Co-founder of Melrose and Morgan

Ben Norum

Food and drink writer

Henrietta Green

Food Writer & Consultant

Mina Holland

Author and Editor

Harry Lester

Cook and restaurateur

Somer Sivrioglu

Chef

Nathan Outlaw

Chef/Restaurateur

Chris Young

Co-founder of ChefSteps and author

Justin Burdett

Executive Chef/Owner, Local Provisions

Justin Gellatly

Co founder and Master Baker at Bread Ahead

Paul Kahan

Executive Chef and Partner

Lucas Hollweg

Food writer

Clay Williams

Photographer and blogger

Julian Baggini

Freelance writer

Chris Fischer

Chef and farmer

Shuko Oda

Koya Bar Head Chef

Gabriel Rucker

Executive chef and co-owner, Le Pigeon and Little Bird

Ben Reade

Co-Owner/Chef at Edinburgh Food Studio

Donald Sloan

Head of the Oxford School of Hospitality Management and Founder of Oxford Gastronomica

Jacob Kenedy

Chef

Andrew Maxwell

MD and Principal, Tante Marie Culinary Academy

Adam Byatt

Chef

Tim Maddams

Chef and food writer

Sam Stern

Food writer

Tristram Stuart

Food waste activist

Daniel Klein

Chef and filmmaker

Jack Stein

Chef

Catherine Pantsios

Chef and culinary educator

Catherine Brown

Writer

Jay Rayner

Food writer and broadcaster

Blanche Vaughan

Food Editor, House & Garden