What's Your Favorite Cooking Book?

Apart from your own, which is your most well-thumbed cookery book? That's a tricky question. I love getting at the technique and understanding the why as opposed to just following them. The one thing I can't handle is nursery rhymes. Nobody else would pick that. For me, the music should represent, often represents the mood I'm getting into. If I'm having dinner party in Italian, there'll be Andrea Bocelli in the background in Pavarotti. It's great to unwind too.