Iconic cookbook authors open their first restaurant together

You may be familiar with Melissa Hamilton and Christopher Hirsheimer from their many Canal House cookbooks. After over a decade of writing gorgeous, seasonally-inspired and highly-regarded books, the paid has decided to embark on a new venture, opening a restaurant called Canal House Station earlier this summer. 

While the award-winning authors have both been involved in restaurants in their long culinary careers, Canal House Station is the first restaurant they have worked in together. The inspiration for the eatery is simple: “We love to cook, we write about cooking, our whole lives are about eating,” says Hamilton. “The next thing is to feed the people.” 

The pair have lengthy culinary pedigrees. In addition to other projects, Hirsheimer was the founding editor of Saveur Magazine, and Hamilton was the test kitchen director. In 2006, the duo founded Canal House, a publishing, design, and culinary studio where they incorporated their decades of experience to produce gorgeous cookbooks. Their new restaurant in Milford, New Jersey is close to the first location of their studio.

As if they didn’t have enough going on, Hamilton and Hirsheimer have another book coming out next month, Canal House: Cook Something: Recipes to Rely On.