Chef’s Favourites

Guide

No. 40 • January 2026

If they’re not in their own kitchens, where — and what — do chefs most like to eat? What do they read, watch and listen to? For our ‘Cooking is Caring’ issue, we asked chefs and other familiar names from the culinary world to share a personal favourite – a book, film, track, artwork, restaurant or recipe. Something that inspires them in the kitchen, or has become a cherished ritual beyond it.

Fig 1. Couscous fritters

Anna Jones

Cookbook: Home Cooking, Laurie Colwin

Cookbook: Home Cooking, Laurie Colwin

Anna Jones, Chef and cookbook author: ‘I came to this book quite late on. Colwin wrote it in 1987 but I only heard about her as recently as ten years ago. Laurie Colwin has such a friendly way of writing – I feel like I know her. In the preface, she talks about the delight of eating with friends, and second to that is the delight of talking about eating. The unsurpassed double whammy, she then says, is talking about eating while you’re eating with friends. Which basically sums up what I like to do most in the world.’

Tip: discover Anna Jones’ latest book Easy Wins, or subscribe to her substack for more recipes.

DOMINIQUE ANSEL

DOMINIQUE ANSEL

Restaurant: Main Street Imperial Taiwanese, New York City

Dominique Ansel, Pastry chef and owner of Dominique Ansel Bakery and creator of the Cronut: ‘This is a wonderful Taiwanese restaurant in Flushing, Queens. It’s my go-to for the most authentic Taiwanese dishes in the city. My wife is Taiwanese, so our kids are Taiwanese and French, and we love to head there on the weekends. As the kids (now 2 and 5) are growing up, it’s been fun watching them learn about their roots and trying all the traditional foods. We always make sure to order the flies’ head (a traditional stir-fry dish with tiny fermented black beans, which resemble flies’ heads), clams & loofah, sesame oil pork kidneys, three cup tofu and Hakka stir-fry, with Chinese celery, pork, and dried squid.’

Tip: follow Dominique Ansel on Instagram and discover his new sweet inventions.

SAMI TAMIMI

Recipe: Couscous Fritters

Recipe: Couscous Fritters

Sami Tamimi, Chef, cookbook author and co-founder of the Ottolenghi restaurants: ‘These golden couscous fritters are a reimagining of a humble Palestinian staple: couscous with tomato and onion. Once a childhood meal of simplicity and survival, it carries stories of home, love and endurance. Here, the same ingredients are transformed into crisp, tender patties – light, fragrant, and deeply comforting. Served with a pungent preserved lemon yoghurt brightened by dill and capers, the dish bridges past and present, honouring the tradition of Palestinian kitchens while offering a modern twist.’

Tip: read Sami Tamimi’s latest book Boustany for more Palestinian recipes.

RICHARD HART

RICHARD HART

Album: Ghosteen, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds

Richard Hart, Baker, author, chef and owner of Hart Bageri and Green Rhino: ‘I am always on the go, I have a really busy head and often lie awake at night next to my beautiful sleeping wife. After a while I start to feel anxious that I won’t sleep and I play the album Ghosteen by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. I love this piece of music; it’s deep and soothing and it’s really a love letter to everyone and the world at large. Some of the songs I feel express my own experiences with my wife. It’s deeply personal and yet universal.’

Tip: check out Richard Hart’s book Bread: Intuitive Sourdough Baking.

ISABELLA POTÌ

Film: The Taste of Things, 2023

Film: The Taste of Things, 2023

Isabella Potì, Chef and co-owner of BROS’ restaurant at Villa San Martino: ‘In this film with Juliette Binoche, every culinary gesture becomes an act of love, a language of care and intimacy. Food is never just nourishment – it is memory, connection, emotion. Watching it, I recognised myself in the way time, attention, and details are transformed into pure feeling. This film reminds me that cooking is never only about creating dishes, but about caring for others with the same intensity with which we love.’

Tip: read more about the film The Taste of Things and follow Isabella Potì on Instagram.

AVA MEES LIST

AVA MEES LIST

Book: The One-Straw Revolution, Masanobu Fukuoka

Ava Mees List, Head sommelier at Noma in Copenhagen: ‘Written by a rice and citrus farmer in Japan in 1978, this short book is a manifesto for ‘do-nothing’ farming: no chemicals, no ploughing, and mixed cropping in the same field to maintain soil health. I work with so many vignerons, tea farmers and sake brewers who have been hugely influenced by this work. Reading it myself, it had a profound impact – not only for its farming principles, but for everything: how to live intentionally and make time for creative thought. I had the fantastic opportunity to visit the farm in Shikoku, which was like a dream pilgrimage. In the forest stood Fukuoka’s house, overgrown and returned to nature.’

Tip: read more about Masanobu Fukuoka and his mission, and follow Ava Mees List on Instagram.

NAIARA SABANDAR

Restaurant: Sidrería Bergiristain, Legorreta

Restaurant: Sidrería Bergiristain, Legorreta

Naiara Sabandar, Chef and co-owner of Oficina in Amsterdam: ‘This has always been one of my favourite places to return to whenever I’m in the Basque Country. Since I was young, it’s been a family ritual to go every winter during the holidays, when the cider houses open for the season. The menu is always the same: cod tortilla, bacalao al pil-pil (salted cod in a garlic emulsion), chorizo, chuletón (a large ribeye steak), and cheese with membrillo and walnuts. You pour your own cider straight from the barrel as many times as you like. Everything is shared, and the more people you go with, the better it gets.’

Tip: subscribe to Naiara Sabandar’s substack for more tips and recipes.

Leonor Espinosa

Leonor Espinosa

Artwork: Pozo Azul, Nohemí Pérez

Leonor Espinosa, Chef and founder of Restaurante Leo in Bogotá, artist and founder of FUNLEO foundation: ‘There would be no Restaurante Leo without art. In this work, Nohemí Pérez evokes the innocence of childhood through children bathing in a pool like those of her youth in Colombia’s Catatumbo region, only to disturb the purity of the blue water with a dark oil stain – a stark symbol of the violence and extraction that have scarred this land. The pool, still used by families seeking brief moments of calm despite fear, is also a site of oil spills from attacks on the Caño Limón-Coveñas pipeline; each time it is stained with blood or oil, the community cleans it, a simple yet heroic act of resistance and restoration.’

Tip: read more about the works of Nohemí Pérez and follow Leonor Espinosa on Instagram.

Discover more stories on food and art in our latest issue, See All This #40: Cooking is Caring.