I just bought the Fat Duck cookbook

I doubt I'll be cooking anything from it, at least not any of the recipes that take two double-page spreads to describe and include 'titrate with malic acid to reach pH 3.4', or instructions as to which four single-malts to blend to get exactly the right taste of nostalgic whisky, or take three kilograms of crabs to produce an ounce and a quarter of crab reduction. But it's a marvellous artefact in itself, and filled with pictures to enthuse the palate even when I'm somewhat laid up with a cold and planning nothing but cheese on toast and Sainsbury's chicken soup.

And given the existence of the Myhrvold Modernist Cuisine set, this £40 cookbook is scarcely extravagant at all.