Thomas Keller · 1999 The French Laundry Cookbook

When he’d introduce new menu items, his usually dismissive demeanor would dissipate with interjections of “that’s a Thomas Keller technique!” leaving him beaming for a moment like a burned-out cook at the sight of a pint after a 16-hour shift.

To this day, the TFL cookbook remains infinitely more than a piece of nostalgia (sous-chef Grant Achatz anyone?). It provides an earnest and immortalizing glimpse into the heart and soul of one of the most iconic restaurants to ever grace the New World.

The writing is pristine and soigné, just like Keller’s white truffle oil-infused custards set in eggshell and served with the absolute most perfect single potato chip (recipe included).

But most importantly, The French Laundry is a celebration of Napa’s rich terroir, a manifesto for the love of food and doing things right at all costs, a bible of elevated cooking techniques re-modernized by one of the greatest chefs of the century, and an absolute must for anyone claiming to be a “foodie” (whatever the fuck that means).

“When you acknowledge, as you must, that there is no such thing as perfect food, only the idea of it, then the real purpose of striving toward perfection becomes clear: to make people happy. That’s what cooking is all about.”