Chef's Choice: The Best Cookbooks

With thousands of culinary blogs to hit the Internet, and hundreds of cooking shows live on the air, these days, it would seem that everyone and their mothers is on their way to becoming a chef.

And while these new(ish) resources are a great way to become the next Mario Batali or Cat Cora among your friends and family, there's an even older tool that the experts still swear by when it comes to perfecting their culinary chops: Cookbooks.

Ask any top chef and they'll tell you they had to start somewhere, and that beginning was among the pages of their first cookbooks.

So, in case you're in the market for some new skills, 20 top chefs share their picks for the best cookbooks that taught them the ropes.

Check out the slideshow above for the best cookbooks according to several chefs.

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Cat Cora's Perfect Summer Meal
Mario Batali's Picks for the Best Restaurants in NYC