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Francis Percival
Food Editor, The World of Fine Wine and co-founder and convenor of the London Gastronomy Seminars
https://www.wineexpo.caBiography
Francis is food editor and columnist for The World of Fine Wine. His work has been shortlisted at the Louis Roederer International Wine Writers’ Awards for the last five years, winning Best International Wine Columnist in 2013 and Pio Cesare Food & Wine Writer of the Year in 2015. Apart from The World of Fine Wine, his work has appeared in Decanter and the Financial Times in the UK and Culture, Saveur, and Gourmet in the US. Besides writing, Francis is a co-founder and convenor of the London Gastronomy Seminars. Francis also teaches wine and cheese classes for Neal’s Yard Dairy.
Read MoreFrancis's recommendations
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Roast Chicken & Other Stories
More than anyone else, Simon Hopkinson captured and synthesised the spirit of the Elizabeth David generation, but repackaged it into expertly-crafted and thoroughly reliable recipes. I bought a copy of this with some prize money that I won at University when I was twenty years old and it changed my life.
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Tartine Bread
The single greatest manual on sourdough baking in any language. It still amazes me that they managed to publish a full book where there are really only two basic recipes--although many embellishments and some other dishes at the end of the book--for an excellent high-hydration sourdough and great baguette.
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Tartine Book No. 3
The Tartine approach applied to whole grains. Everything that I learned about sprouting grains and porridge breads came from this book.
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The Essential Cuisines of Mexico
I married a Californian, so learning about Mexican food was an absolute necessity. A definitive guide.
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Cuisine Gourmande
This - together with the Caroline Conran translation into English - exactly captures thrilling modernity of the 1970s generation of nouvelle cuisine. It still feels fresh, even when so many of the ideas have entered the vernacular.
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Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking
Every Anglo-Saxon's introduction to Italian cooking. Still a go-to reference work.
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Ice Creams, Sorbets and Gelati: The Definitive Guide
A thoroughly systematic introduction to frozen desserts, that gives the reader the tools to understand the textures that will be achieved with any given recipe.
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The Book of Jewish Food
Showcasing the recipe book as social history.
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Simple French Food
Elizabeth David was the better prose stylist, but I have always found Richard Olney's recipes easier to follow...
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River Cottage Meat Book
An eminently sensible guide to meat cookery that also presents the philosophical and environmental argument for eating meat.
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What's playing in Francis's kitchen?
Brahms symphonies and chamber music