"I wanted to create a food 'bible' to celebrate some of the world’s great classic dishes and to share what I have learned working with incredible chefs, creating truly outstanding recipes. These are the recipes that have stood the test of time, and will continue to do so. Some are beautifully simplistic, while others are complex and creative and will challenge the cook – but they all have one thing in common – they are timeless" Josh Emett

Internationally acclaimed, michelin starred chef Josh Emett has selected the most beloved and iconic dishes from the past fifty years to create the ultimate cooking companion for the home cook. And he shoulder tapped many of the best chefs in the world to contribute.

Emett describes the experience as a rollercoaster ride, as he approached chefs and cooks from every corner of the globe asking them to participate. He then had the logistical challenge of finding the perfect balance of recipes to provide a wide selection of true classics and modern interpretations of traditional dishes.

The recipes were photographed in Josh’s own kitchen and plated on dishes handmade for him to ensure a unique style ran throughout the book. Simple elegant photos were needed and Kieran wanted no interference with props and unnecessary garnish or accompaniments with the food.

The book is divided into nine recipe sections: Soups, Staples, Salads & Vegetables, Seafood, Poultry, Meat & Offal, Baking, Desserts & Sweets, and Basics. In the process of re-creating the recipes, Josh has added an at-a-glance guide to each for complexity, prep time, cook time, and servings, along with additional notes and tips to aid in perfecting the dish.

The Basics section housed at the back of the book features eighty-four of the most essential stocks, sauces, dressings, condiments, pickles, doughs, pastries, fillings and more that a number of recipes throughout the book call for, and that home chefs will likely need to master at some point in their cooking journey.

Over three hundred time-honoured and modern classic recipes from one hundred and fifty of the world's finest chefs and cooks – Elena & Juan Mari Arzak, David Chang, Al Brown, Jacques Pepin, Guy Savoy, Gordon Ramsay, Ruth Rogers, Rick Stein, Nancy Silverton, Daniel Humm, Marco Pierre White, Nobu Matsuhisa, Michael Caines, Skye Gyngell, Angela Hartnett, Jason Atherton, Bo Songvisava and Dylan Jones, Ben Shewry, Alia Wolf-Tasker, Anne-Sophie Pic, Peter Gordon, Peter Gilmore, Colin Fassnidge and many more – are painstakingly recreated by Emett and beautifully photographed by multi award-winning photographer, Kieran E. Scott.

Critically acclaimed chef Josh Emett worked with Gordon Ramsay for over 10 years, including as head chef at London’s Savoy Grill (one Michelin star) under Marcus Wareing and opening Ramsay restaurants in New York (two Michelin stars), Los Angeles (one Michelin star) and Melbourne. Emett has appeared in the US edition of Hell’s Kitchen as a guest judge, and competed in the Food Network’s Chopped, which he won convincingly against three other New York chefs. He owns a number of highly acclaimed restaurants in NZ including Rātā, Madam Woo and Hawker & Roll and is a MasterChef NZ judge.