By Chuck Martin
The Cincinnati Enquirer

There are a bunch of gift-giving occasions this time of year - weddings, graduations, Father's Day - where a cookbook may be appropriate.

When it comes to cookbooks, the best advice on which to buy may come from the nation's most prestigious culinary organizations - the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) and the James Beard Foundation. Within the last few weeks, both groups have handed out their annual cookbook awards. So maybe these honors will provide valuable gift-giving guidance - as long as you know a little something about the person getting the book.

The book for someone who loves to grow and buy fresh fruit and vegetables: Local Flavors (Broadway; $39.95) by Deborah Madison. A Beard Award winner in the "General/Cooking for Everyday" category, this cookbook gives us more good reasons to use fresh and seasonal produce, with recipes such as Apple Custard Tart and Corn Pudding.

The book for someone who wants to cook like a pro, especially a California pro: Zuni Cafe Cookbook (Norton; $35) by Judy Rodgers. With her first effort, the chef-owner of Zuni Cafe in San Francisco won a Beard Award as "KitchenAid Cookbook of the Year" and in the "General/Cooking from a Professional Point of View" category. Her book also won the IACP's "Chefs and Restaurants" category. Although Rodgers is sometimes long-winded in her meticulous recipe instructions, her book is very much unlike those glossy, tabletop chef cookbooks most of us are afraid to use. Zuni Cafe Cookbook offers simple, satisfying food, like roast chicken, braised monkfish and shortcakes with summer fruit. No doubt Rodgers can cook: Zuni Cafe was also named S. Pelligrino "Restaurant of the Year" by the Beard Foundation.

The books for someone who wants to cook with an international flair: Thai Food (Ten Speed; $40) by David Thompson, and 1,000 Indian Recipes (Hungry Minds; $35) by Neelam Batra. Thai Food, which won a Beard Award in the "International" category, provides more than 100 authentic recipes while exploring the cuisine's historical and cultural context. 1,000 Indian Recipes, which won the "international" category in the IACP competition, offers not only a wide range of recipes, but suggestions for saving time and ingredient substitutions when cooking Indian.

The book for someone who didn't buy into all that silly anti-French propaganda: Glorious French Food (Wiley; $45) by James Peterson. This book, which won the "Mediterranean" category in the Beard Awards, attempts to demystify classic French recipes, such as duck a la 'orange and gratin dauphinoise, by teaching cooking techniques.

The book for someone who is a vegetarian or who has a child who is a vegetarian or who just likes books written by people with unusual names: Passionate Vegetarian (Workman; $35) by Crescent Dragonwagon. This book won a Beard Award in the "Vegetarian/ Healthy Focus" category. It offers more than 1,000, mostly "everyday" vegetarian recipes - Melissa's Spinach Casserole, Stir-Fry of Asparagus with Black-Bean Ginger Sauce, and more.

The book for someone who wants to learn everything about virtually every vegetable: Vegetables: From Amaranth to Zucchini (Morrow; $60) by Elizabeth Schneider. This easy-to-read reference offers advice on how to buy, store and prepare vegetables, with recipes. And it's obviously a great book: The IACP honored it as its "Cookbook of the Year," as the winner in the "Food Reference" category and as the winner of the "Jane Grigson Award," for distinguished scholarship and research.

The books for someone who wants to cook the classics - American and Italian: American Classics (Boston Common; $29.95) and Italian Classics (Boston Common; $29.95). Both books were compiled by the editors of Cook's Illustrated magazine and won in the IACP's "American" and "Single Subject" categories, respectively. The Classics books display Cook's obsessive devotion to detail and thoroughness, with such recipes as American clam chowder and the Italian Steak Pizzaiola.

The book for someone who wants to learn to use a new food processor: Process This! (Morrow; $27.50) by Jean Anderson. A winner in Beard's "Tools & Techniques" category, Anderson's book provides the basics for using processors and recipes, ranging from the simple to the advanced.

The books for someone who wants to learn more about wine: Vino Italiano (Clarkson-Potter; $35) by Joseph Bastianich, and Michael Broadbent's Vintage Wine (Harcourt; $50) by Michael Broadbent. Vino Italiano, which won the "wine and spirits" category from the IACP, covers the regional wines of Italy, and Broadbent's book, which won a similar award from the Beard Foundation, offers opinions and tastings of fine old wines from the head of Christie's wine department.

E-mail cmartin@enquirer.com