FAQ

The TOP 1000 LIST

What is the status of the Top 1000 list?

We have so far compiled votes from more than 600 contributors across the globe, who between them have recommended well over 1000 books. We have released a snapshot of the current Top 50 books, and we are making the rest of the recommendations available to explore. In future we will be releasing updates to the ranking, defining a core collection of 1000 books and official rankings for a variety of sub-categories.

How is the authority, balance and fairness of the list ensured?

In selecting our contributors, we have been guided by our expert panel chairs. Each of the cookbook recommendations which contributes to the ranking is shown transparently on the profile page for the contributor. Contributors are not allowed to recommend their own books, or any books where they have a conflicting financial interest.

Why are some well known food books not listed?

1000 Cookbooks is seeking to identify the best "Cookbooks", defined as books that include a substantial number of recipes. We recognize the huge importance of non-recipe books, such as On Food and Cooking, The Flavour Thesaurus and The Flavour Bible to name but three. We will be releasing a ranking of non-recipe books at a future date.

Does the scope include foreign language works? 

The focus of 1000 Cookbooks at the present time is the English-speaking world, so our overall Top 1000 ranking will include works either written in English or that have been published in translation. However, contributors whose first language is not English have been allowed to include non-English works as part of their personal Top 10s, and in future we aim to create cookbook rankings for the many rich culinary literatures in languages other than English.

What about out-of-print titles?

Contributors can recommend books which are out-of-print – in fact one of our goals at 1000 Cookbooks is to increase access to these hard-to-find titles, in a way that will continue to generate revenue for their creators.

Is the order of books in a contributor's top 10 significant?

Most of our contributors advised us that it was difficult enough to pin down their favourite 10 books, without having to rank each of their "children" in order of preference, so in general no.

The list is great, but I think there are some areas you do not have good coverage. Can I suggest a book, recommend an additional contributor, or volunteer my expertise?

We're keen to hear from you! Please contact us.

I'm a contributor, and I have additional questions - where can I find answers?

See our contributor FAQ.