Stuck for a last-minute Christmas present? You can’t beat a cookbook

For the TikTok foodie in your life whose mealtimes depend on dreadful how-to online clips, there’s an inspiring recipe collection who will become a friend for life, says Flic Everett

The first cookery book I ever bought, in my teens, was the Hamlyn All Colour Cookbook, featuring pies, pasta and puddings rendered in 80s Technicolor, alongside simple recipes. It was no Ottolenghi ingredients bingo, but it gave me a basic confidence that if I followed the steps, the recipe would work.

In adulthood, I moved on to Nigel Slater, Nigella Lawson and Gordon Ramsay for my early-Noughties dinner parties – though I couldn’t be doing with Jamie Oliver and his “bish-bash-bosh”, “pukka” this and “jubbly” that. I needed calm, grown-up cooks to tell me exactly what to do, with foolproof recipes I could return to and clear photographs of what the final dish should look like.

But, according to a report from Waitrose, the era of the gravy-stained, trusted cookbook is on its way out. And yet I couldn’t think of a better last-minute stocking-filler this Christmas. Giving a cookbook can’t be beaten.

Younger people are apparently forgoing traditional, tried-and-tested recipes and going “freestyle”, inspired by TikTok influencers who use culinary hacks and “easy wins” to create dishes. There’s no meticulous weighing or spice-blending; it’s all about speed and flavour, whacking a lump of feta in with a bunch of tomatoes and pasta water, or chucking ready-marinated tofu into a stir-fry.

Keen TikTok cooks can attempt “French onion soup potatoes” or “KitKat cheesecake”. A quick scroll through the less popular recipes suggests an AI bot has been set free in Tesco, with instructions to do its worst. Dishes are sprinkled with crushed tortilla chips, or drowned in plastic cheese, or rely on startle value – “pineapple toast”, “pizza soup”.

And while some recipes are undoubtedly easy and tasty, the OMG-viral stuff tends to resemble something Elf would create to woo Zooey Deschanel’s character.

It’s cooking for people who don’t read books, and who definitely don’t have a canon of classic cookery techniques lodged in their brains thanks to Mary Berry and Delia Smith; the patient aunts of the domestic oven.

Of course, “cooking from scratch” is always to be applauded, and TikTok’s tsunami of ideas includes plenty which are healthy, if uninspired. But I have two issues with this top-speed democratisation of cookery.

Firstly, fast video recipes are very difficult to follow if you’re over 35, and I don’t have the capacity to keep up with a gabbling Californian 19-year-old as she throws avocados about and points at captions. I miss the cooking shows I grew up with, which gave viewers time to find a pen and laboriously write things down as Fanny Craddock gazed imperiously into a bubbling pan.

I also truly enjoy cooking – and I want to take my time making something fabulous. Food is one of life’s great joys, and there’s nothing more disappointing than a poor meal.

Over the years, I’ve gathered so many cookbooks from charity shops, I now have an entire Ikea Billy bookcase overflowing with them – with dog-eared volumes from the 50s jostling with Ottolenghi, Rick Stein and Meera Sodha. I often google a certain process, but for the recipe itself, I’ll always turn to books. Many of my favourites have my own scribbles decorating the pages, sums where I’ve had to halve or quarter the ingredients, and withered Post-It notes bristling from the pages.

I never truly know what I want to eat until I’ve read a delicious-sounding recipe title, or been inspired by a glorious image. Sometimes, nowadays, I write my own recipes and take photos for the food pages of magazines – I couldn’t have done that without decades of learning from the masters.

I know online recipes can be great, I understand that not everyone wants to faff about with juniper berries and pine nuts after a long day at work. But for me, the faff makes the resulting food all the more delicious.

I feel sad for the generations who rely on viral clips – because they’ll never know the joy of a beloved cookbook. And, worse still, they might find themselves having to eat pizza soup.

My cookbook recommendations this Christmas

The Christmas Chronicles, Nigel Slater

The Christmas Chronicles, Nigel Slater (HarperCollins Publishers UK)

Gorgeous, wintry recipes, and lyrical reminiscences. His best book. Fourth Estate, £28

From the Oven to the Table, Diana Henry

From the Oven to the Table, Diana Henry (Hachete UK)

The queen of simple, delicious comfort food is at her greatest in the warming collection. Mitchell Beazley, £26

Mary’s Foolproof Dinners, Mary Berry

Mary’s Foolproof Dinners, Mary Berry (BBC Books)

Every Mary recipe is genuinely foolproof, and if you follow her instructions, you cannot fail.BBC Books, £28

Rick Stein’s Simple Suppers, Rick Stein

Rick Stein’s Simple Suppers, Rick Stein (BBC Books)

Each recipe is inspiring, quick and an absolute banger. One of the best cookery books in years. BBC Books, £28

The Roasting Tin, Rukmini Iyer

The Roasting Tin, Rukmini Iyer (Vintage)

The whole “roasting tin” series is superb – put everything in a tin and stick in the oven for perfect flavours every time. Square Peg, £20