Top cookbooks take a bow

Edouard Cointreau, Gourmand International founder

Plates that are meat-plus-vegetables, fish-plus-vegetables, cheese-plus-vegetables and carbohydrates-plus vegetables are healthier choices, easier to digest, have a slimming effect, and result in eating more vegetables and fewer "unhealthy fast carbohydrates" like pasta and potatoes. Lots and lots of recipes include salmon with thyme crust, tomatoes and green asparagus in the oven; spinach with tomato, turmeric and feta; and cooked pumpkin with bacon.

Two books tied for third place, each with a good story behind it. The Nobel Prize Cookbook, a joint project from Sweden, is devoted to the recipes that have been served at the Nobel Prize banquet and written by the best chefs in the country. Now available in Swedish, it will be translated into English soon, according to publisher Max Strong. Grandma Cooks Gourmet, a collection of Holocaust-survivors' recipes from Israel re-created by the country's master chefs, is also now being translated into English.

Gourmand International says all four of the top winners can claim the title "best in the world", and retail copies will bear the award label.

Many of the winning cookbooks, including those published in English, Chinese and other languages, will be featured at the Beijing International Book Fair in August.