Leite's Culinaria's Top 20 Cookbook List Tops Everyone's List

The list of top cookbooks for 2003 from food Web site Leite's Culinaria has been posted in print and online alongside those from The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Boston Globe pointing to a trend of "Web reliance" for niche information.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK, December, 27, 2003--"When we started compiling our list for the best food and cookbooks of 2003, we had no idea that we would be in such esteemed company," says David Leite, publisher of Leite's Culinaria (http://www.leitesculinaria.com), an award-winning Web site that is one of Alexa.com top 100,000 sites.

By posting its list early, Leite's Culinaria led the pack of cookbook "Best Of" lists for the year. And before long, Leite's Culinaria's list was picked up and featured by Jane Snow from the Akron Beacon Journal, eGullet.com, SauteWednesday.com, PlayNiceWithOthers.com, and TheFoodSection.com, among others newspapers, food Web sites, and blogs. In addition, select Web sites, such as TheFoodSection.com and SauteWednesday.com, have included Leite's Culinaria's list in their round-up of "Best Of" cookbook lists alongside traditional, heavy-hitting media outlets, such as The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Boston Globe.

"We were completely flattered and flabbergasted," says Linda Avery, food editor of the award-winning site. Adds Leite: "I think this shows that people are beginning to trust Web sites for their news because reputable sites are specialized and truly niche. Food, food writing, and recipes are all we deal with the entire year, so we're familiar with who the best authors are and what the best books are."

The list was calculated by factoring in the more than 8,000 reader e-mails the site received this year, recipe testers' comments, clickthroughs and sales of cookbooks via Amazon.com's Associate Program, and Leite's Culinaria's site statistics--approximately 5 million hits. "The immediacy of the Web allowed for a fast and comprehensive compilation," says Leite. "Our readers are vocal and let us know virtually the same day if they like a recipe or a cookbook."

Some of the top picks are "Aquavit" by Marcus Samuelsson (Houghton Mifflin), "The Balthazar Cookbook" by Keith McNally (Clarkson Potter), "The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen" by Paula Wolfert (Wiley & Sons), and "Are You Really Going to Eat That?" by Robb Walsh (Counterpoint Press). The complete list can be viewed at http://www.leitesculinaria.com/features/best_2003.html.

Both Leite and Avery are available for comment.