Great hosting rarely starts at the table – it starts on the bookshelf. For Service95’s end-of-year Hosting Issue, we wanted to share the titles we’d never throw a dinner, brunch or impromptu gathering without. From entertaining bibles to specialist cookbooks and quiet nostalgic classics, these are the books that shape our menus, set our mood and remind us that welcoming people in is as much about joy as it is about good food. So, whether you’re orchestrating a long-table feast or having friends over for a casual midweek supper, consider this your line-up for being the host everyone remembers. We’ve even got one chef who’s so good that two of her books made the cut...
Bubala: Middle-Eastern Inspired Vegetarian Recipes To Share by Marc Summers
“This book is a joy to cook from. It captures the generous, communal spirit of the Bubala restaurants – vibrant, veg-led dishes meant to be shared – and brings them into your home. With 100 recipes, there’s everything from baba ganoush to friggitelli peppers with black garlic tahini and sesame crumb (as delicious as it sounds!). It’s playful, warm, and deeply flavourful without ever feeling fussy. Plus, the stories behind the dishes make me think of long evenings around a mezze table, and the pantry staples chapter has genuinely elevated how I cook every day” – Samantha De Haas, Creative Production Manager
MEZCLA by Ixta Belfrage
“Ixta Belfrge’s MEZCLA is a total go-to when I’m hosting – a glorious mash-up of heritages, cooking styles and big, bold flavours that feel joyful, playful and totally Ixta. Everything I’ve made from it goes down a treat in my house, instantly becoming part of the regular rotation. And her Piri Piri Tofu Over Crispy Crispy Orzo? Genuinely the only way I’ll eat tofu – it’s that good.” – Olivia Thompson, Head Of Marketing & Events
East by Meera Sodha
“I can never pick a favourite Asian cuisine – Indian, Thai, Vietnamese... they all deliver. So a book that brings together vegan and vegetarian recipes from across Asia? Instant win. Meera Sodha’s recipes are big on flavour but blissfully unfussy, serving up vibrant, hearty dishes without the hours of kitchen stress. Think ramen, katsu curry, bibimbap, chilli tofu, black dal. Special shout out to the side dishes – the roasted broccoli with tahini sauce has become an absolute staple in our house.” Maria Padget, Book Club Director
Cooking With Scorcese – The Cookbook
“This may not be a conventional cookbook – or the obvious choice for planning an elaborate six-course dinner party – but it satisfies a different kind of hunger; the craving only cinema can create. Sometimes the dishes I’m most desperate to taste aren’t the ones I’ve tried at a restaurant or made at home, but the ones served up on the silver screen. There’s something about the way food exists in films that’s irresistible: the shared slice of pie in True Romance and the painstakingly precise ramen in Tampopo are meals that live rent-free in my mind, to name a couple. I love the way this cookbook interrogates that feeling, bringing together some of the biggest names in London’s restaurant scene and inviting them to create a dish of their own inspired by their favourite on-screen food moments. The resulting recipes are thoughtful, original and a reminder that a good story can season a dish almost as well as butter. Almost.” – Ella Marlow-Gilks, Social Media Manager
How To Be A Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson
“Is there any better home cooking inspiration than Nigella? I’ve been hooked on her TV shows since I was a teenager, and ever since I’ve been determined to become as glamorous as host as she is – still an ongoing process, until I can also afford a London townhouse with a giant kitchen. For now, my own tiny kitchen is stacked with her cookbooks, of which one is more well-thumbed than others: How to Be a Domestic Goddess. It’s packed with easy-to-make, impressive-to-serve, mainly sweet baking dishes that never fail to make your guests sigh with joy as you serve them, from her fluffy American-style pancakes for brunch gatherings to the gooey chocolate brownies I make whenever a friend is having a bad day. And it’s all written in Nigella’s signature, delicious prose – which is so absorbing, you could read it like a novel before bed. I often do!” – Olivia McCrea-Hedley, Copy & Production Editor
Be-Ro Home Baked Recipes (41st Edition)
“Be-Ro, a classic British baking brand best known for its ‘little flour recipe book’ first published more than 100 years ago, shaped so much of my early love of baking. My grandmother’s 1960s copy has been a source of nostalgic joy throughout my whole life. I’m not much of a cook with savoury dishes, but baking sweet treats has always felt like magic. As a child, I’d perch on a stool to reach her kitchen worktops, following the Be-Ro’s easy step-by-steps: helping to sift flour, crack eggs and whisk mixtures for Victoria sponges, or messily ice deliciously imperfect cupcakes and biscuits. My mother still uses the book too, and growing up our home often smelled of lemon drizzle or banana bread. This little treasure is speckled with decades of buttery stains, each one a little memory of the kitchens it has passed through. I still thank the Be-Ro book for my enduring sweet tooth: give me anything chocolatey, and I’m happy.” – Annie Le Santo, Digital Marketing Manager
Fresh India by Meera Sodha
“Mine is also a Meera special – and she genuinely deserves two spots on this list. As someone who doesn’t love following instructions (I’m more of a throw-it-together-and-see-what-happens kind of cook), this is the only book I regularly return to for crazy-delicious recipes using ingredients you’ll actually find in your local shop. Some of my favourites are ridiculously simple to make (spinach, tomato and chickpea curry, chana chaat, Bombay potatoes and yeast-free naan), but they really pack in flavour thanks to Meera’s genius with spice blends. But don’t just take my word for it: this book’s got a seal of approval from my Indian mother-in-law.” – Katie Teehan, Editorial Director
Recipes from Tender Friends by Tenderbooks
“A playful, generous and quietly brilliant community cookbook, this is an edible snapshot of 24 cooks from different geographies and generations, all bound by the simple joy of cooking for others. With delightfully offbeat titles like ‘Infinite (14) Recipes for a Fish Finger Sandwich’ and ‘The Wandering In A Foggy Morning Mushroom Soup’, it feels like being welcomed into a long, joyful dinner with people you’ve only just met – yet instantly adore. Commissioned by Tenderbooks Imprint and beautifully designed by Duo Impair, it’s one of the most special and heartwarming collections on my shelf (and yes, I might be a little biased – there’s a recipe from yours truly tucked inside!)” – Ella Marlow-Gilks, Social Media Manager
