López-Alt explains the science behind why recipes work, covering technique, equipment and ingredients, in a listen that feels more like a deep-dive course than a list of recipes. Audible includes a PDF of the recipes. At over 21 hours it is a long one.

Nosrat teaches the four elements of good cooking in a warm, encouraging voice, and it feels like a masterclass from a great chef. The recipes and illustrations are in the print edition only. Rated 5 on Audible.

Ruhlman breaks cooking down into basic ratios, such as for bread, batter and sauces, so you can cook without leaning on a recipe. It suits a listener who wants to understand why things work.

Bourdain’s wild account of life in professional kitchens made him famous. It comes with an introduction by Irvine Welsh, and hearing Bourdain read it himself is the main draw. Rated 5 on Audible.

In this follow-up, Bourdain looks back at the food world he helped shape, with essays on chefs, restaurants and how the industry changed. Blunt, funny and read by the author. Rated 5 on Audible.

Hamilton, chef-owner of New York’s Prune, writes about a messy childhood, years of odd jobs and how she became a chef and restaurateur. It is literary and raw, and she reads it herself. Rated 4 on Audible.

Samuelsson tells of being adopted from Ethiopia by a Swedish family, becoming a chef and finding his place in New York’s restaurant world. He reads it himself. Rated 4 on Audible.

The founder of Momofuku writes candidly about his rise, his struggles with depression and his complicated relationship with food and work. It is fast-moving and honest, and he reads it himself. Rated 5 on Audible.

Julia Child’s story of falling in love with France and French cooking in the 1950s, written with Alex Prud’homme. It inspired part of the film Julie & Julia, and Kimberly Farr reads it warmly. Rated 5 on Audible.

Stanley Tucci tells his life story through food, from his Italian American childhood to film sets and meals in Italy. Charming and often funny, and he reads it himself. Rated 5 on Audible.

Michelle Zauner, who records as Japanese Breakfast, writes about losing her mother and reconnecting with her Korean heritage through food. It is moving and honest, and she reads it herself. Rated 5 on Audible.

Pollan examines nutrition science and the Western diet and arrives at a simple rule of thumb for eating well. It is short, clear and easy to follow. Rated 5 on Audible.

Pollan follows four meals from field to plate to ask what we should eat, covering industrial food, organic farming and foraging. It is a landmark of modern food writing, and this edition is read by the author.

Pollan learns to cook using the four classical elements, fire, water, air and earth, through barbecue, braising, bread and fermentation. He reads it himself. Rated 5 on Audible.

Journalist Michael Moss investigates how big food companies engineer products to be irresistible with salt, sugar and fat. It is an eye-opening listen, read by Scott Brick. Rated 4 on Audible.

Bill Buford leaves his job as a magazine editor to work in the kitchen of Mario Batali, then trains in Italy as a pasta maker and butcher. It is a funny, obsessive account of learning to cook. Rated 4 on Audible.

As the New York Times restaurant critic, Ruth Reichl goes out in elaborate disguises to see how restaurants treat ordinary diners. It is a memoir that doubles as a look at fine dining. Rated 4 on Audible.

Kurlansky traces how salt has shaped trade, wars and cooking over thousands of years in a lively history of a common ingredient. Rated 4 on Audible.

Bee Wilson explains how kitchen tools and technology, from knives and forks to pots and pans, have shaped how we cook and eat. She reads it herself.

Linguist Dan Jurafsky shows what the words on menus, in ads and in recipes reveal about food, culture and history, including the surprising origins of words like ketchup.