A cookbook judge reveals her top 5 cookbooks

Time for the first shortlist. I email my list of twenty to Caroline, the chair of the award, wondering if my list will be completely different from the others. We have decided not to meet unless absolutely necessary; it seems fairer to do the judging by email.

Two days later the shortlist comes back. There are six books that are clear favourites with four and five votes. Caroline suggests we eliminate all those that have two votes and less, so out goes one of my votes, The Art of the Tart by Tamasin Day-Lewis. Shame, because it already feels like an old friend in my kitchen.

Now the cooking begins. I’ve decided I will recipe-test by cooking a recipe I know well and one I’ve never done before. I ring friends to invite tasters, my answer machine is suddenly full of volunteers.

Nigella Lawson’s How to Be a Domestic Goddess is very good. I make the fairy cakes and they are fabulous; grown ups and children licking the icing off first with a dreamy look in their eye. Saffron and Sunshine by Elizabeth Luard is another strong contender – her chocolate mousse is a revelation – no sugar but a little orange juice and the guests that night had to be physically restrained from licking their plates.

I really like the look of Flavours, a book from Marie Claire. A lot of thought has gone into the recipes laid out by prime ingredients – garlic, lemon and lime, vanilla etc. It’s full of useful information and tips. I’m a little disappointed when I cook the warm chicken and lemon couscous salad. It’s rather dry and less exciting than it looked on the page. But another recipe the pork, ginger and lime stir-fry is fabulous, as are the various chocolate cakes, with guests begging for doggy bags.

I send in the next shortlist – my top three being Saffron and Sunshine, Flavours and How to be a Domestic Goddess, in no particular order.

The new shortlist returns and all three of my books have made it. Now what do I do? I spend more fun hours testing recipes and finally plump for Saffron and Sunshine. It has everything I like in a cookbook; it’s well laid out, the recipes work and most importantly, they make your mouth water on the page and on the plate. But I wouldn't mind if the other two won – they are both excellent.

Final email from Caroline arrives – I’ve been outvoted. Flavours will be announced as the winner at the Guild of Food Writers awards on the 12th March. So Flavours it is – fabulous layout, brilliant photography, a reader-friendly approach to ingredients and succulent recipes.

Kathleen’s top five
Marie Claire Flavours by Donna Hay (Murdoch Books, £14.99)
Saffron and Sunshine by Elizabeth Luard (Bantam Press, £20)
How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson (Chatto and Windus, £25)
The Art of the Tart by Tamasin Day Lewis (Cassell, £16.99)
Afghan Food and Cookery: Noshe Djan by Helen Saberi (Hippocrene Books, £9.95)