The Big Mac; the Cronut; Peach Melba; Avocado Toast. Some recipes have a little more to them than the ingredients and the method. The new book, Signature Dishes That Matter reveals those hidden details, by telling the intricate and often fascinating stories behind over 200 restaurant creations that defined both a chef and an establishment, as well as a certain time and place.

The dishes featured stretch as far back as the 17th century - when a certain Parisian café popularised gelato - right up until today - with an inclusion of the whole turbot served at Shoreditch restaurant Brat. Each is beautifully illustrated and described, with clear, compelling, heavily researched texts, placing the creation squarely within gastronomic history.

The book is also curated by a panel of international experts, including the Wall St Journal’s Howie Kahn; Bon Appétit’s editor-at-large Christine Muhlke; Bloomberg’s Richard Vines; the South China Morning Post’s Susan Jung; and Pat Norse of the Australian Gourmet Traveller. And it features a great introduction by the James Beard Foundation’s Mitchell Davis.