ONE BILLION COOKBOOKS

BY EDOUARD COINTREAU

The Cookbook Boom continues, a global trend where there are still major opportunities for growth.

Introduction : Food and Wine Book Growth

The future of book publishing seems more positive today than in 1998, when the new technologies seemed to totally change its prospects. The global sales of books have been growing at over 1% worldwide yearly for the past 5 years. However, there are important changes in the markets, for authors and for publishers. It is more positive than ever for food and wine books, which have a yearly growth of over 5% since 1996.

Over 20.000 new titles of food and wine books are published every year worldwide. The World Cookbook Fair Awards which I organize every year will receive in 2001 over 3,000 different books for the competition in 25 languages, from over 40 countries. Why are there so many cookbooks, how can the markets absorb them, what do publishers, authors and readers find in them?

A.-THE MARKETS

There are over 1 billion cookbooks sold every year, over 3 million per day. This translates into over $10 billlion in sales, more than double the sales of 10 years ago.

1.- BOOKS IN ENGLISH

THE U.S.

The U.S. is by far the leading market for cookbooks. During the year 2000, nearly 530 million cookbooks and wine books were sold, approximately 8% more than in 1999, with a 9% annual growth rate since 1996. Over half of the books sold are hard covers. These statistics were compiled by 1PSOS-NPD Book Trends of Rosemount, Illinois and reported by "Publishers Weekly" on July 23,2001.

The U.S. publishes thousands of cookbooks every year, with a large quantity of new books escaping the organized trade markets. Aside from the numerous self published books, there is one specific trend unique in the world: cookbooks are published for fund raising by local organizations such as a junior baseball leagues, all over the U.S. Consequently, over 6,000 new titles are published every year, and maybe thousands more.

Cookbooks, far more than other books, are purchased in book clubs, by mail, or in the largest retail stores. There is a strong impact of television food shows, but the new consumers do not buy the cookbooks through the traditional book retail trade. Many titles sell over 100,000 copies, a few over 1 million. The U.S. has a growing market in wine books, but it still is not as significant compared to cookbooks as it is in more traditional or mature wine markets.

The U.K.

The strength of quality food shows on television in the U.K. such as Masterchefs or other shows. BBC has opened the international market to food stars from the U.K. and their cookbooks. There were over 1,200 cookbooks published last year in the U.K., second in Europe to Germany with 1,500, but ahead of France with 500 or Spain with 450.

The U.K. is helped by the possibility of selling its titles in the other English language countries. Over half of the international trade in cookbook publishing rights is for books in English which require no translation. Major international publishers such as Le Cordon Bleu, Hachette or Larousse now have books written first in English.

The U.K. has a clear world leadership in wine books. It dates back to the 1930s, with André Simon, a French wine trader in the U.K. The British are probably more objective than wine producing countries, and most knowledgeable in quality wines.

Other English Language Countries

Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the Republic of South Africa have very strong markets for cookbooks and wine books, in quantity but also in quality. Their books are often better in quality than books on the same subjects from the U.S. or the U.K., due to the demands of the knowledgeable readers.

Cookbook bestsellers in a small country like New Zealand reach the same sales as bestsellers in France, a country 20 times larger. The design of Australian cookbooks is recognized worldwide, and South African cookbook publishers are a thriving community. Similarly Canadian cookbooks often conquer the U.S., such as in the IACP Awards (International Association of Culinary Professionals, an organization based in the US).

Many cookbooks are published in English in Asia, in Japan as well as in southeast Asia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and India. In Continental Europe and other non English countries, cookbooks and wine books for tourists, especially guides, are also published in English. So it is not surprising if titles and sales of cookbooks and wine books in English represent over 50% of the world market.

2.- NORTHERN EUROPE

In Europe, the further north one goes, the better cookbooks and wine books sell. The second market in the world for cookbooks is Germany, with over $400 million for the sector per year, with 1,500 titles. This is impressive, but not more than Sweden with 320 cookbooks and wine books published last year, twice as much in population ratio than compared to Germany, four times compared to France.

English titles get translated in Germany with more difficulty than expected due to the specific quality requirements of the Germans. In other continental Europe countries, English translations sometimes seem to dominate the market. In any case, they are present everywhere, while translations from French are seldom seen, and nearly none from Spanish.

The Netherlands is an interesting case study, with magazines and free recipes supported by supermarket chains dominating the market, and cookbook publishers suffering from that competition. However, for the readers, the quality of the production is high, and there remains a strong demand.

3.- FRENCH

There has been a boom in France for newstand magazines about food and wine, reaching over 50 titles, mostly new, two years ago. There are fewer titles today, but these magazines may have had an impact on the production of cookbooks, which has reached only 500 different titles per year. However the quality is quite high, and compensates for quantity. Translations from English represent a growing percentage of cookbooks, with many more translated from English to French, than from French to English. This is also true for wine books.

The cookbook bestsellers in French now reach 35,000, numbers than can be compared to Spain, lower than bestsellers in the UK or Germany, and about half what it used to be 10 years ago. The French have not yet experienced the strong impact of food television opening new markets.

The market that is the strongest in France is guides with ratings. This is true for restaurants, hotels and wine guides. The Michelin is clearly number one, but it is followed, though not challenged, by dozens of other yearly publications. Even Zagat from the US is now present in France.

4.- SPANISH

In Spain, there are approximately 450 food and wine books published yearly. This includes books in Castillian, Catalan, Euskera (Basque), Gallego, Valenciano. Books in languages other than Castillian are usually financed by their Regional Governments. But books in Catalan for instance can be very successful, such as a book on cooking snails which sold over 10.000 last year in the catalan edition. In Castillian the market is very similar in size and quality to the French, which means that the Spanish with a smaller population buy more cookbooks than the French. There are also some excellent wine books.

In Latin America, there are 400 cookbooks and wine books published yearly. The first country is Argentina, with 80 titles, followed by Mexico, Perú,etc. Perú has a surprisingly good production in quality, under the influence of the local University Press. Most of the sales in Latin America are not done through traditional bookstores but through supermarkets and book clubs.

5.- ITALY

Italian food is appreciated very highy worldwide, reaching more consumers outside their own countries than French, Japanese or Chinese foods, its rivals.

However Italian cookbooks are not translated from Italian to other languages. They are written for the Italian reader, and do not qualify by international standards. A few books by big publishers could do it, but Mondadori for instance retreated for internal reasons from that market two years ago. Some interesting books are published by chefs or linked to television programs.

For the international markets, the best books about Italian food are written in English, and the television programs such as Cucina Amore are done in the U.S. So nearly all the books about Italian food read by foreigners are written by foreigners nearly all are in English, with some in German, French or Spanish. This is also true for other Mediterranean foods, which have become so popular in English speaking countries.

6.- ASIA

Japan is becoing a giant for food and wine books, both in quality and quantity. Television (NHK,etc.) has a strong impact. There are excellent magazines with much knowledge, design and style. The publishing sector has just started its international expansion, and could become the most important new factor worldwide. The market could challenge Germany as second, behind the U.S. Wine books are now taking off and popular.

China is the sleeping giant. The Chinese have a very strong interest for food, but cookbooks are not yet at the level in quality and quantity that one would expect. It will probably happen as a consequence of food television shows and their stars as in other countries.

In southeast Asia, there are television shows, with the top star being Chef Wan, who is also a bestselling author for his cookbooks. Chef Wan gets more royalties, from the 19 countries where his books are sold, than any other author in all categories. Many good cookbooks are published in southeast Asia, in Singapore, Malaysia,etc.

India is a special case, quickly rising in cookbook publishing. It is helped by Indian restaurants worldwide, vegetarian trends, and other health interests. Cookbook publishing has a long tradition in India, with excellent authors.

In summary, Asia should in the next 10 years reach the importance of the U.S. market. Its books are very interesting for foreigners and will get translated, while foregin cookbooks and wine books will have to be adapted rather than translated for Asian markets.

B.- AUTHORS AND PUBLISHERS

1.- AUTHORS

Everyone believes he has the qualifications to write a cookbook, and something special to say. It is a most democratic, universal and peaceful activity. From stars to housewives, from chefs to taxi drivers, from baseball leagues for children to the Cia.Intelligence Agency, there are cookbook authors for everyone. In 2001, tenor José Carreras, sportsmen Carl Lewis and Michael Schumacher are publishing their first cookbooks. At the same time Chef Alain Ducasse releases his 1054 page Masterpiece, at the price of nearly $200 retail, with over 600 sold the first few days.

Until the middle of the 20th century, it used to be mature cooks that would publish cookbooks. Henry Notaker computed that the average age of the first cookbook authors in Norway before 1951 was 46 years old. Now authors tend to be younger, with excellent chef books published around 32 years old such as the prize winning books of Andrés Madrigal of Spain or Mathias Dahlgren of Sweden. Authors may also write their first book much later, such as Esperanza Luca de Tena of Spain, who won an award last year for her book on international recipes with olive oil at the age of 80.

Women authors are the majority, focusing on good, easy recipes, foreign foods, entertaining. They are also more interested than male authors in health, vegetarian, italian, asian and mediterranean foods. Nearly all famous chef and TV stars books are authored by men. Most pastry and dessert books are written by men, as well as fish books. Men are also more interested by innovation.

In most countries, there are one or two cookbooks that tower over all others, and have sold millions, for years. These books are very rarely known by foreigners. The authors in the 20th century have nearly always been women, such as Irma Rombauer, with "Joy of Cooking" with over 35 million copies sold. In France it is Françoise Bernard or Ginette Mathiot, and in Spain the Marquesa de Parabere. In Sweden, "Our Book" has sold over 2,5 million copies

Writing a cookbook, especially the first one, usually takes two years or more. Writing recipes is now a science, and there are very strict rules, that amateur writers do not suspect generally before they start. It is said 80% of the recipes in cookbooks do not work, usually because the recipes are neither well-written nor are they properly tested. Writing a cookbook is often a team effort, with an editor, a designer and a photographer, as other books but also a food stylist, a kitchen expert, a culinary historian, an indexer, and a jornalist/writer.

The proven capacity to work in a team, to have recipes that work, and sell books are very important. It is much easier to publish another cookbook once the first one has been published, publishing a first cookbook is even more difficult than publishing the first novel, is said to be

Writing wine books is much more specialized, and authors tend to be experienced journalists or professionals in the wine sector. Wine books written in English have a different style than books written in other languages. Though the British writers tend to be considered the best, there are a few writers in other languages that are just as good, in Germany, Holland and Scandinavia. French wine writers do not translate well, and Spanish wine writers are not translated.

2.- PUBLISHERS

There are very few publishers that specialize in cookbooks, but a very large number of publishers do publish cookbooks. Many large publishers have special imprints, usually in the "Practical Books" or "Trade" division of the company, often under the same executives who also handle gardening and health. In total, thousands of publishers worldwide publish cookbooks, with approximately 2,000 important ones.

Publishers as a rule like the profits that cookboooks bring, but do not value them as much as literature for their business. It does not bring prestige among professionals, and the teams change quickly, as the workers want to move to more useful jobs for their careers. On the other hand, there are 30 professionals around the world who are the best, and the cookbooks they produce tend to dominate the market. In New York or London they can change jobs easily and their authors follow them. In France or Germany it is much more difficult: one of the three best cookbook editors in French moved to a history book publisher two years ago, which would not happen in New York.

In the United States, more than half the cookbooks sold are hard covers. In non-English countries there is much less importance given to hard cover. The cost of photos has been going down, and it is now unusual for cookbooks to have no photos. When they do not, it is generally due to editorial choice rather than cost factors.

The retail price of cookbooks tends to become lower as technology improves for printing, binding, and all production costs. Cookbooks average lower prices than wine books. There is a larger spread now than 5 years ago, with more cookbooks over $50, up to $200, and many more under $5.

The big discount publishers have had a big impact on the market. The traditional publisher would pay a variable of 8 to 10% royalty to the author on 5,000 to 30.000 books minimum. The discount publisher will pay a fixed price of 1% to the author on 200,000 books in 8 languages. With large quantities, production costs are greatly reduced: the discount publisher can sell the same quality cookbooks at half the retail price, with a higher profit. However, they need to get paid well by their clients, control their big payments to printers and warehouses, and keep paying the authors. Above all, they need bestseller after bestseller to keep going, while the average publisher needs to sell much fewer books.

There are in every country a few publishers that create the market in cookbooks, maybe 4 to 6 at most, with a total of less than 100 publishers worldwide that are trend setters. In wine publishing there is less than a dozen.

C.-TRENDS

The Markets (A) set the trends (C) for authors and publishers (B). The World Cookbook Fair Awards have found that there are 30 categories for cookbooks.

1.-CHEFS

All chefs want to publish a cookbook to define their cookery style and leave their creations for culinary history. Alain Ducasse publishes in 2001 his definitive book, building with his publications a legacy for the 21st Century which can be compared to Escoffier for the 20th Century. Ferran Adria  will publish a history of his creations at El Bulli since the beginning, in three volumes, starting in 2002. Younger chefs publish their books to promote their image.

Increasingly chefs do not make money with their restaurant, and need income from books, merchandising and media activities. Chefs had too much work in the kitchen, but they needed to become stars to make ends meet.

Most chefs are poor writers, even for recipes. So most chef books are co-written with journalists and writers. Three star chef Mikuni from Japan is an exception. Few chefs are good photographers, but they have a strong sense of food styling which can be helpful. Chefs know how to work with a team, which is useful to produce books. Charlie Trotter has built a strong team for his books.

Chefs books have a strong market with other chefs who need these books for inspiration and comparisons. There will be more and more translations as the chefs market becomes more global. However printings are small, for instance 5,000 in France now against 30.000 only 10 years ago. This is true worldwide due to the fact there have been too many recipes that are too difficult for amateurs readers, or where the chef does not give all the details. So there is enough of a market for chef books to break even or make some money, but they are not big money makers with big sales. The needed increase in sales come mostly from television.

2.-DESSERTS

Chefs can have some fantasy, but not pastry chefs. Pastry and desserts chefs are more like scientists, with no margin for error allowed in any detailed recipe. There is a very big demand for books on desserts with fewer qualified authors. The demand is worldwide, with very strong interest from Asia. Sweets are by far the most interesting part of western cookery for orientals.

The pastry market is probably now the most global for chefs. This is true for the books, with excellent books in English published in Italy or Spain by specialized pastry publishers. The pastry books are probably the best italian cookbooks, with several publishers such as Pavoni, Chiriotti or LEtoile, while Montagud in Spain could be the world best publisher in this category.

Price does not matter for these books, which can be very expensive to make. The readers understand it. This category has probably the strongest longterm growth trend.

3.-SINGLE SUBJECT

There are more and more books on single subjects, such as snails, melons, edible flowers, or even spam. Publishers follow fashions and some books are sponsored, which is why for instance you can find seven books on asparagus published in Holland the same year.

These books sell well, but they are gifts rather than reference works. They are not very popular with retailers, but there is a demand for them, with an increase in most countries. This is culinary investigation at its best, and the field is nearly limitless.

4.- FISH

Seafood or sweet water fish get very positive write-ups from health journalists, and the public does know that they are good for you. But books in this category, even excellent ones, do not sell very well. So there are fewer books than one would expect according to the space devoted to fish dishes in menus.

One of the reasons is that fish is still very regional or national. The names vary widely for the same fish within countries, or between Spain and Latin America. Then the way to eat fish is more local than for meat or desserts. There are some strong cultural differences such as the attitude of North Americans to fish heads and tails. The international success of Sushi is due in part to the fact that it does not look like fish, is not boring like fish, and does not need sauces to taste better than fish.

Much remains to be done for this category. We are at a turning point for fish, where more fish will come soon from aquaculture while the oceans are being depleted. With more fish available and strict health controls, consumers and readers could become much more interested in fish.

5.-HEALTH

All cookbooks now need to take health into account. In latin countries diet has always been a negative word, while it is slightly more positive in anglo saxon countries. The words "mediterranean diet" are factual and neutral in English, translated directly they sound negative. This is because diet is linked to famin in latin countries, more than health.

Health is still the key eating motivation in anglo saxon countries, while pleasure still drives eating in latin countries. But health is present everywhere: it rules in the English world, it is a needed passenger in most other places. Is food fuel or fun?.

There is a strong demand for cookery books where the health aspects are balanced with good scientific data rather than fashions driven by the media and fear. More and more books are published with hospitals such as John Hopkins, LInstitut Pasteur or the Mayo Clinic, to calm the public questioning. Television is a strong force for this market, which also has its stars.

6.- CHILDREN

There are in fact two subcategories, books about food for parents, and cookbooks for children. Taste education is a rising trend worldwide, with excellent books that could be translated easily as they are very visual, in Sweden, Japan, Australia, France, etc.

The childrens book market has its own writers, and cookery writers write cookbooks. It happens that the same person can combine both talents, and it is rewarded usually by success. There is a strong global demand for these books, which are wonderful gifts.

7.- INNOVATION

Readers are tired of the same format, concepts, design, content in cookbooks. It is well known that recipes are often copied, or adapted through the years. So innovative cookbooks are most welcome. Innovative books usually strongly reflect the personality of a cook who is more an artist than a professional. These books prove that cookery can be an art.

The market is now more open than ever to innovation, rather than tradition. Change has become a value rather than a process. Cookbooks need innovation as the market demands it.

8.-RECIPES

Easy, quick recipes are probably the basic fundamental objective of cookbooks. There is no more time to cook as our ancestors did, even for entertaining or special occasions. So recipes have to be instant and efficient. Recipes that work are becoming more common, but competition is fierce.

Books with good recipes (instant, efficient, that work) will deliver to the authors and publishers great sales by word of mouth. The best way to promote a cookbook is to have opinion leaders try the recipes and have them work. One bad recipe can kill an author, or even a publisher, in the mind of a cookbook retailer. The standard should be perfection, and readers ask for it.

9.- FOREIGN/NATIONAL

Cookbooks about foreign foods follow tourism trends. However, as more and more people travel, foreign foods are more and more familiar, and books tend to either take on several countries at once, or to go local. The national approach is less apparent now than 10 years ago.

The areas in strong demand now include South East Asia, Latin America,and Northern Africa. Future areas to watch for new interest include Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, and Continental Asia.

10.-REGIONAL/LOCAL

This is one of the strongest trends. The more local the cookbook, the better the demand is. This is true in every market. The most recent trend is the strong interest from the international markets for local, out of the way places. It is easy to get readers interested in Périgueux, Tuscany, but it is surprising to see how quickly there is a demand for Puglia, the Greek Islands or Grythyttan, in Sweden once the opinion leaders discover it and write about it.

The regional or local cookbooks are also the best to get the human interest issues, with emotions and history. These books are more personnal and are a new form of the travel novels of the 19th Century, focusing this time on food as the main cultural aspect.

11.- SPECIAL BOOKS

Many cookbooks are published for an event, a town, an institution, or a company. One big use for cookbooks in the United States is fund raising. There are also cookbooks published by Pillsbury, Unilever, etc., in different countries. Then cookbooks are often published for events.

There is a growing opportunity for these cookbooks, which can be excellent. They are useful for authors, and often offer interesting reference information for serious readers. The public does not care who financed the book, if it is good.

12.- TELEVISION

Television can multiply sales of a book by ten times or more if promotion and distribution are well done. Retailers might not see the impact in traditional bookstores, but bookclubs and larger chain stores will. However, the books need to be produced with a high quality, which is not always the case.

Merchandising of the books is very important. One surprise for foreign publishers and authors is that cookbooks, as well as any other books, cannot be promoted on television in France. This could be one of the factors that has limited the growth of the cookbook market in France.

In Greece Vefa Alexiadou has managed to build on her 15 minutes daily television program, over 20 years, a culinary empire. She sells in Greece approximately 60,000 cookbooks a month, and has 20 gourmet retail stores.

In Australia, Gabriel Gaté has become the Maurice Chevalier of cooks, singing "Cest si bon" on his shows and selling 800,000 copies of his book, before opening his cooking school. From Great Britain Claudia Roden has sold 8 million books around the world, while Delia Smith has sold over 10 million books in Great Britain alone. For the first time BBC television stars will have their books translated in French by Hachette this Fall.

"Masterchefs" is equally famous in the U.S. and in the U.K. It will be interesting to see the results of the books based on this leading television program.

13.- THE BEST BOOK

What makes the best cookbook?

Generally, the criteria for a good book can be analyzed in detail, but the true answer is that the best book jumps at you, and is quite obvious. Of course there is a matter of taste, and personal interest. But in judging the World Cookbook Fair Awards, the easiest judging for the Jury has always been the Best Book of the Year.The choice has been quick and unanimous.

This explains why different juries end up with the same winners in different countries. This was the case for "Tukka" by Jean Paul Bruneteau (Harper Collins Australia) which received the World Cookbook Fair Award in 1996 and the IACP Awards in 1997.

The same happened for the "French Laundry" by Thomas Keller in 1999 at the World Cookbook Fair Awards in Versailles, and in 2000 at the IACP Awards

14.-THE COOKBOOKS ON FRENCH CUISINE

French cuisine still influences a majority of chefs around the world, because regardless of the recipes the best chefs use french techniques in their kitchen. This is why for instance Le Cordon Bleu has quietly become the biggest cooking school system in the world, with a presence in 16 countries, with more cooking students in any country than any other group, with 180 chefs as teachers, which is 50% more than the second group.

French cuisine is still associated by the public like in the 19th century with too many sauces. In fact there have been many changes and French cuisine has maintained its leadership in most aspects, probably more for chefs and professionals than for the general public, including publishers and cookbook readers.

French cuisine does not sell well around the world, unless it is packaged differently, with a regional focus (Provence, Mediterranean, Alsace), with a tourism focus (Paris Cafés, etc.) or with an efficient, technical recipe appeal. Le Cordon Bleus Series have sold 5 million worldwide, in 12 languages. French cuisine remains the reference for Haute Cuisine, and most serious readers, but there are much fewer books published about it than 10 years ago.

The bottom was reached 2 or 3 years ago, and more books on French cuisine are now published. Alain Ducasse, Joel Robuchon, Georges Blanc, publish new books in English nearly every year, and of course it is also true with Michel Roux, Jacques Pepin, Alain Sailhac, Daniel Boulud, etc. There will even be in October 2001 a 40th anniversary edition of "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" by Julia Child, the cookook that started the cooking revolution in the U.S. We also hope to see soon the new cookbook by chef Jean Louis Palladin based upon his wonderful photos.

15.- BOOKS ON ITALIAN CUISINE

There are so many that book retailers do not know where to put them, but there are always more books on Italian cuisine, written by foreigners, in the international markets. The public loves them.

Italian pasta and its sauces seem less important than a few years ago, with fewer new tittles, but the books on the subject continue to sell. There are more books focusing on one or more local areas, and interesting personal travel adventures.

The demand curve might be peaking, after more than 5 years of growth, but it seems books on Italian cuisine will remain popular for a long time.

16.- BOOKS ON LATINO CUISINE

It is only in the past two or three years that books on cuisines from Spain and Latin America have been in demand internationnally. The trend was started by the success of the cookbooks of Mark Miller and Douglas Rodriguez in the U.S. It is becoming an international trend, with a strong demand in Europe and America.

The best cookbook of 2001 in the Swedish Cookbook Fair Awards of August 3,2001 is "Mathias Dahlgren Kokbok", for his Stockholm "Restaurant Bon Lloc, Nuevo Estilo Eurolatino".

The best restaurant in the world could be "El Bulli", in Catalunya of chef Ferran Adria, at least Joel Robuchon of France says so, and many others 3 star chefs agree. So this rather new international trend has both creativity and strong roots to grow in the coming years.

17.- MEDITERRANEAN

Mediterranean cookbooks have been published to follow the success of the "Mediterranean Diet" in the United States first, then in Great Britain and other English language countries, followed by Germany, the rest of Europe, and Asia. It has been mostly Greece, Italy and North Africa that have inspired cookbook authors, though all areas of the Mediterranean have been studied.

The trend seems to have peaked with the end of the century. There is less emphasis on the diet, and more on the specific local areas and their differences. So book titles might still use the word Mediterranean, but in the text there is much less general information, and more details.

The "Mediterranean Diet", part of the health trend, now inspires all cookbooks of the area. It is accepted as a useful model, and does not need more presentation. This is the mark of its success.

18.-ASIAN CUISINE

There always was a strong interest in Asian cuisine in all international markets. In terms of cookbook publishing subjects, it has been said that the culinary center of the world moved from France to the New York-London leadership, then to the Pacific rim. It will probably take a few years, but it could be that the future of cookery is in Asia. At least many asians already believe it.

Asia is very large, with many different culinary traditions, so the trend will diversify and become more specific. At the moment India, South East Asia, China, Japan share equally the interest of the world cookbook readers. These countries have a fast growing cookbook publishing industry, with excellent authors, talented editors, experienced photographers and creative designers. They have much to bring to the rest of the publishing world.

19.-ENTERTAINING

Our first great award for "Entertaining" was given to a book published in Singapore and later in Canada. "The Ambassadors Table" by Margaret Dickenson is still a reference. Other books from authors in the international diplomatic life have been published since, as well as books by professional entertainers, and experienced chefs and caterers. There is a need for this type of cookbook, as cooking is now seen more as part of entertainment than of a daily homemaking.

The books have to be written by experienced professionals, and the sales hinge on the credibility of the author.

20.-VEGETARIAN BOOKS

With the recent animal diseases in Europe, vegetarian is a strong trend in most countries. It is stronger in the United States, where the European animal diseases scare was strongly pushed by the media, while not fully understood by the public with all detail and differences. In Europe the same scare has brought a very strong development of organic cookery rather than strict vegetarian cookery. Asia always had a strong vegetarian tradition, and the asian vegetarian cookbooks are stronger this year.

21.-PHOTOGRAPHY

Photography has become very important for cookbooks, with the public insisting on step-by-step photography whenever possible with the recipes. It has become a standard in even cheaper books in very few years.

More and more photography is used by the most creative chefs to keep the memory of their creations. The new chefs invent quickly and change the menus often. Photography has become a useful tool. Some young chefs such as Andrés Madrigal of Spain are also excellent photographers and do their own photos for their cookbooks.

If possible, photography could become even more important in the future.

22.-DESIGN

Cookbook publishers are very nationalistic. They all believe their country publishes the best quality cookbooks. Taste may be a question of habit and environment which become experience. However, it is globally recognized by professionals around the world that Australia and New Zealand surprised the world with their cookbooks of the last 5 years. Germany has had a constant high quality of design. Now Japan is becoming creative in the sector.

There are excellent individual cookbook designers in other countries, in the U.S., the U.K.,Sweden or France. But in general, there is less of a general "look" that tells you the origin of the book by its quality.

The public is not as directly concerned with design as it is with recipes or photography, but it is equally receptive to clear, easy, functional, beautiful design in cookbooks. Much can still be done with imagination, talent, experience and the new technologies. Congratulations to the pioneers such as Visnja Bridar, the Weldon Owen team, Alberto Bali, Bruno Hausch, Murdoch Books and Claire Connan, etc.

23.-CULINARY HISTORY

Design is home of the best features of Gastronomica, the new culinary history magazine sponsored by IACP. There is a strong growth in the interest in culinary history, which is a world wide phenomenon. The founding fathers of the current success have all participated in the Oxford Symposium of Allan Davidson, and their publisher Tom Jaine of Prospect Books could be a model for all real publishers.

Culinary History books continue to be scholarly works of dedication with a new trend with an increase in illustrations and photographies which make the books more interesting and accessible to the general public.

Some read like novels, and are most enjoyable. This is a sure, but slow, long- term growth trend.

24.-CHOCOLATE

Chocolate cookbook readers are addicts. This is a very strong group. This rather new cookbook trend started in continental Europe, spread to English language countries, and now is worldwide, with excellent award winning books in Chinese and Japanese in the past two years.

Chocolate cookbooks have been translated easily. Most have a hight quality. This category will get stronger and stronger.

25.-BREAD

In the past 3 years, there has been a very strong demand for bread books in English speaking countries, which might be at its highest now. In other countries the trend is just starting. Bread is a very local product, while the experience of bread is very widely shared through boundaries. Bread, cheese and wine are all growing together now, rediscovered by small producers who look for quality at the expense of quantity. The bread category of food books has a strong future.

26.-BARBECUE

The barbecue is now the major cooking activity, if not the only one, of many who otherwise are not interested in cooking at home. Barbecue books is their main contact with cookbooks and the pleasure of cooking and entertaining.

The barbecue cookbooks are now international, popular in France as well as in the U.S., Argentina or Australia. They are also useful for cookbook publishers to have sales in the difficult summer months: too many cookbooks, up to 75%, sold in the last months of the year during the gift season.

27.-FOOD LITERATURE WRITING

More and more books are written about food, without recipes. This food literature is a bridge between cookbooks and novels. These books have even become movies such as "Chocolat" or should become one such as "My Year of Meats" by Ruth Ozeki or "La Gourmandise" by Muriel Barbery. The books in this category have a plot, which most cookbooks do not have beyond the documentary approach.

Food Literature has been very successful, and will continue being a welcomed entertainment for cookbook readers and the general public.

28.-PROFESSIONAL BOOKS

The market for professional cookbooks is growing quickly, with an increase in the number of cooking schools and of their students, with more serious chefs. All cooking schools have libraries, mostly with full-time librarians and over 20% have more than one thousand books.

Professional books are published nearly always by specialized publishers, who often have contacts with the major cooking schools for content such as the Culinary Institute of America and Le Cordon Bleu.

29.-SERIES

Publishers look for a formula for success in cookbooks, and when they have found it, they repeat them. The public loves series with complete collections where they know they can find easily and quickly exactly what they need or want.

Some companies can be built due to the success of a series, for instance IDG with the DUMMIES = success enables them to get the best authors, within the structure of a successful design and price.

Series do not compete directly with each other. It is very important for the publishers to compare them and see what works, in their language and others. Publishers will continue to build series. They are more difficult to launch than single books, but more rewarding.

30.-ORGANIC

This is the latest sub trend in the general development of health oriented cookbooks. It is now very important in Europe due to the latest food scares. It should last at least a few years, or stay for good.

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