The written history of recipes can be traced back to approximately 1400BC, when ancient Egyptians painted hieroglyphics depicting the preparation of food.  However it wasn’t until the Roman times that recipes were written down in a language form rather than pictures. Apicius (25BC) prepared several manuscripts detailing Roman cooking and listing how food was served in Roman times. He chronicles the courses served which are usually referred to as Gustatio (appetiser) , Primae Mensae (main course) and Secundae Mensae (dessert).  The Romans introduced many herbs and spices into western cuisine, Renfrew states that thyme, bay, basil, fennel, rue, mint, parsley and dill were all common in Roman cooking. 

Following the fall of the Roman Empire , little was written down until the 1300s. King Richard II of England commissioned a recipe book called ‘Forme of Cury’ in 1390, around the same time another book was published entitled ‘Curye on Inglish’. Both books give an impression of how food was prepared and served in the noble classes of England at that time. The revival of the European class system at this time brought entertainment back to the palaces and homes of the nobility and along with it the start of what can be called the modern recipe book. By the 1400s, numerous manuscripts were appearing, detailing the recipes of the day. Many of these such as the Harleian MS 279, Harleian MS 4016, Ashmole MS 1429, Laud MS 553 and Dure MS 55 give very good information and record the re-discovery of many herbs and spices including coriander, parsley, basil and rosemary, which had been brought back from the Crusades.

During the 1500s and 1600s competition between the large houses became the thing of the day and numerous books were written on how to manage households and prepare food, in Holland and England competition grew between the noble families for who could prepare the most lavish banquet. By the 1660s cookery had progressed to an art form and good cooks were in demand. Many of them published their own books detailing their recipes in competition with their rivals.  Many of these book have now been translated and are available on line.

By the 1800s, cooking had become a passion throughout the world. Using the latest technology and using a new concept in publishing, Mrs. Beeton (Isabella Mary Beeton 1836 – 1865) published her famous ‘Book of Household Management’, in the new format of 24 monthly parts between 1857 and 1861. Around the same time the American cook Fannie Farmer (Fannie Merritt Farmer 1857 – 1915) was born and having devoted herself to cooking published in 1896 her famous work ‘The Boston Cooking School Cookbook’ which contained some 1849 recipes.

By the mid 1900s, there were literally thousands of cookery and recipe books available. The next revolution came with introduction of the TV cooks. The first TV cook in England was Fanny Craddock who had her show on the BBC, later followed by chefs such as Graham Kerr (known as the Galloping Gourmet). These TV cookery programs brought the recipes of these cooks to a new audience who were keen to try out new ways of cooking. In the early days, the recipes were available by post from the BBC and later with the introduction of the CEEFAX text on screen system, they became available on the television. The new companies of Channel 4 and S4C also brought recipes to the television with their own text system called ORACLE. Today the television is still a major source of recipe information, with international cooks and chefs such as Jamie Oliver, Gordon Ramsey, Nigella Lawson and Rachel Ray having prime time shows and backing them up with Internet websites giving the details of all their recipes. Despite the Internet, today cookery books are as popular if not more so than they have ever been.