The British Are Coming: 3 Essential Cookbooks From Across the Pond

Sweets and savories, chops and chocolate, tarts and tenderloin, the Brits are making a splash this season with cookbooks on everything from dainty teacakes to massive feats of butchery.

"Afternoon Tea" by Eric Lanlard

A perfect cup of tea and some truly brilliant sweets and savories, what could be more British than that? In his newest book, "Afternoon Tea," Master Patissier, Eric Lanlard takes us through the quintessential British meal.

With clients like Sir Elton John and Madonna, Lanlard and his caf�, cake emporium and baking school, Cake Boy, in London are renowned in the UK. After training in France, he moved to London and headed up the pastry business for Albert and Michel Roux. A two time winner of the Continental Patissier of the Year and an accomplished cookbook author with books on cakes, chocolate, and cookies under his belt, Lanlard is a favorite of British food television and has hosted and participated in a plethora of shows including Great British Bake Off, MasterChef: Professionals, and The Taste.

Chockablock full of stunning photos and recipes ranging from classic -- Classic Buttermilk Scones, Linzer Tart -- to adventurous -- Tequila King Prawn Sliders, Persian Syllabub, "Afternoon Tea" leaves no stone unturned for planning the perfect tea. Recipes run the gamut from savory tea sandwiches and canape to sweet pastries, quick breads, and cakes. Not to forget the most essential part of the meal, Lanlard expertly walks you through how to make a perfect cup of tea and how to pair teas with food.

Available on Amazon.

"Lidgate's: The Meat Cookbook" by Danny Lidgate and Hattie Ellis

A true snout-to-tail carnivore's dream, "Lidgate's The Meat Cookbook" generously passes over the counter all the info you need to know to make your next protein-packed meal. From the names of and selection tips for picking your cuts of meat, to what each of these gorgeous cuts look like in the flesh and in animal diagram form, to how to store you treasures, Lidgate's book prepares you to shop before it even begins to tell you how to cook up your goodies.

From the fifth generation owner of famed butcher's shop Lidgate's in Holland Park (west London), Danny Lidgate, this tome to all things meat is packed with stunning and informatively clear photos of perfect cuts of meat, passionately candid photos of the staff, shop, and animals, and meaty snaps of carnivorous dishes that will make you want to run for you steak knife, though some readers may British names for certain cuts of meat confusing.

"Lidgate's: The Meat Cookbook" becomes not just a beguiling and educational look at meat, but a travelogue for that trip you didn't know you wanted to take to the farms from which they source and of course Lidgate's shop itself.

Available on Amazon.

"The Cardamom Trail: Chena Bakes with Flavours of the East" by Chetan Makan

You can almost smell the warm, picante bite of the spices melting into the lusciousness of butter and sugar as you open Chetna Makan's book "The Cardamom Trail." Using traditional Indian spices that she grew up with, Makan uses them in less traditional ways by infusing them into classic British and French pastry applications.

An alum of the more than a little bit popular, "The Great British Bake Off" (she was a semi-finalist in 2014), Chetna Makan was born in Jabalpur, India, and worked as a fashion designer in Mumbai before moving to the UK. Exploring her love of baking from her youth, she's taken the spicy, rich flavors from her childhood and infused them into classic British bakes like Victoria sponge and French �clairs.

With more than 100 recipes, and stunning pictures to boot, "The Cardamom Trail" gives readers more than just recipes using some of India's crown culinary jewels like saffron, cardamom, and coriander. It also includes a primer on each of the spices, complete with history, description, and tutorial on how to use each it to its full fragrant potential.

Available on Amazon.