How do our Cookbook Collections Stack Up?

September 6, 2017 by
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In the August/September issue of Garden & Gun Magazine, Rick Ellis and his magnificent collection of Southern cookbooks were featured in an article by Monte Burke. Bookcases which brought an envious tear to my eye housed 5,000 cookbooks. Jessica B. Harris, a prominent culinary historian and author, stated that to her knowledge, "there is no private collection of Southern cookbooks… read more

Celia Sack of Omnivore Books shares her favorite cookbooks

August 29, 2017 by
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 Celia Sack, owner of Omnivore Books in San Francisco, first became interested in cookbooks, especially antique ones, while working at an auction house. She parlayed that interest into one of the finest cookbook stores in the United States. In an interview with indexed magazine Saveur, she tells us which cookbooks are her favorites, and what subjects she would like to see covered… read more

Joan Nathan’s list of the best Jewish cookbooks

August 14, 2017 by
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  Joan Nathan knows a thing or two about Jewish cooking. She is the author of over a dozen cookbooks in the genre, including Jewish Cooking in America, which won both the James Beard Award and the IACP / Julia Child Cookbook of the Year Award in 1994. (Learn more about Joan in her EYB author story.) Recently she spoke with… read more

Are these the best cookbooks of the 21st century?

August 3, 2017 by
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  While almost every 'best-of' cookbook list is dominated by the heavyweights published before the turn of the last century like Mastering the Art of French Cooking, there is no doubt that the 21st century has been good for cookbook lovers. In fact, there is an entire generation of cooks that have never cooked a single recipe from the 20th… read more

Why are there so many technique-driven cookbooks today?

July 26, 2017 by
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  While gorgeously-illustrated, recipe-based cookbooks still dominate the market, another category of books has been quietly experiencing a rennaissance. As Sarah Whitman-Salkin of Food52 explains, technique-driven, back-to-basics cookbooks have been on the rise in the last few years.  There have always been general cookbooks, but the new crop sets themselves apart from older works that were straightforward in their descriptions… read more

Celebrating independent cookbook stores

July 13, 2017 by
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  One of the comments on our Amazon Prime Day reminder post was a suggestion to shop at your local independent bookseller instead of buying online. Here at EYB we do promote specialty cookbook stores in several ways. First, we have a listing of our favorite shops worldwide, plus we list bookstore events on our Worldwide Calendar of Cookbook Events.… read more

Saveur Blog Awards

July 5, 2017 by
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Last week, Darcie wrote "Cookbooks are my Friends", a lovely article about what cookbooks mean to her. I've written a fair number of pieces about my love of cookbooks including The Making of a Cookbook Collector,  Managing Your Collection to Make it Work for You and What Makes a Good Cookbook being my favorites. While I agree with Darcie about the comfort I derive from… read more

Cookbooks are my friends

July 3, 2017 by
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  Cookbooks are my friends. Before you fret about the state of my mental health, rest assured that not all of my friends reside on bookshelves. However, cookbooks perform many of the same roles that my "real-life" friends do. They comfort me when I am not feeling well. Reading about chicken soup eases my soul just as eating soup made… read more

The cookbooks that shaped a career

June 30, 2017 by
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  When chef and author Samin Nosrat first approached Chez Panisse restaurant in California for an internship, she was turned down. The chef did, however, give her a list of books that she should read and cook through, telling her to come back after she was finished. She did just that, and launched her cooking career at the restaurant after… read more

Many editions of joy

May 16, 2017 by
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  Of the tens of thousands of cookbooks published in the US in the last century, only a handful have attained icon status. Foremost among these is Joy of Cooking. The book, in its various forms, has taught generations of cooks everything from how to make souffles to how to skin a squirrel. Older versions, including the rare 1931 self-published edition,… read more

Grant Achatz is working on a new cookbook

May 3, 2017 by
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  Over 500 EYB Members have a copy of Alinea by Grant Achatz on their Bookshelves. Alinea  was one of the first books to bring molecular gastronomy to the masses, written by a groundbreaking chef who continues to push boundaries in the restaurant world. Now Achatz is working on another cookbook, although this one isn't based on the restaurant, but rather… read more

Cookbook culling: easier said than done

May 1, 2017 by
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  People in the Northern Hemisphere must be doing a lot of spring cleaning. That is the best explanation I have for the recent rash of articles and posts about paring down cookbook collections; the latest is from San Francisco, where Elaine Corn discusses the pros and cons of culling her 1,000+ cookbook library.  Corn, a former news editor turned food… read more

The case for not clearing out your cookbooks

April 27, 2017 by
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  By now most everyone is familiar with Marie Kondo's 'KonMari' method of cleaning and organizing. It is a great way to reduce clutter and relieve the stress that can accumulate along with one's possessions. Some people have items that are off limits to this method, however, as Maria Spiedel explains to indexed blog The Kitchn. Maria explains why she… read more

JBF announces 2017 media award winners

April 25, 2017 by
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  At a gala held this evening, the James Beard Foundation announced its 2017 James Beard Media Award winners. This year will definitely go down as the Year of the South in American cookbooks. While Deep Run Roots was the runaway winner in the IACP awards, Ronni Lundy swept the JBF, winning in the American Cooking category as well as… read more

Explore Chinese cuisine with excellent teaching cookbooks

April 21, 2017 by
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  Browsing the EYB Library, it is easy to become overwhelmed. If you are looking for a cookbook to use as a springboard for learning a particular cuisine, you probably have hundreds from which to choose. Finding one that strikes the correct balance between history, instruction, and authenticity can be a challenge. For someone learning Chinese cuisines, a recent article… read more

Browse cookbooks in a hotel lobby

April 18, 2017 by
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  If you are planning to visit New York City, we found a hotel that you may never want to leave if you love cookbooks. Matt Sartwell, the managing partner of Kitchen Arts & Letters has opened a branch of the culinary bookstore in the lobby library of the Park South Hotel in NoMad. The site will feature a wide variety of… read more

Food52 announces a baking club

March 27, 2017 by
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  Although we may not be in the majority, many of us cookbook lovers like baking more than cooking. Although we find cookbook clubs intriguing, we would rather choose recipes from our favorite baking books. If you have thought about joining a cookbook club but prefer flour, sugar, butter, and eggs to meat, vegetables, and side dishes, you are in… read more

2017 IACP Cookbook Award winners announced

March 6, 2017 by
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The IACP announced the winners of its cookbook awards at a ceremony held last night in Louisville, Kentucky. Vivian Howard's Deep Run Roots was the evening's biggest winner, notching up wins in three categories (Chefs & Restaurants, General, and Julia Child First Book), plus it was named Cookbook of the Year.  Other EYB Member favorites snagged a few awards as… read more

Chef Jeremy Lee expounds on his favorite cookbooks

February 23, 2017 by
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There are cookbooks and then there are cookbooks. The former operate as an instructional manual, providing the outline you need to make a particular dish. The latter, on the other hand, transport you through time and space, allowing you to better understand a culture and inspiring you to create. Chef Jeremy Lee talks about the books that he places in… read more

Food52’s Piglet 2017 lineup

February 14, 2017 by
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While the official tournament doesn't begin until next Wednesday, Food52 gave us a head start on its 2017 Piglet cookbook contest by announcing the contenders via Twitter. They haven't announced which books will be going head-to-head, only which books are in the contest. For those who aren't familiar with The Piglet, we'll provide you with a quick refresher. The contest… read more

IACP announces 2017 Cookbook Award nominees

February 9, 2017 by
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Yesterday, the International Association of Culinary Professionals (more commonly known by its acronym IACP) announced its 2017 Food Writing Awards. The awards cover a large spectrum of food writing, from regular food columns to social media accounts (two awards for best food Instragram accounts!), blogs, websites, videos, and our favorite, cookbooks. The sixteen categories remain unchanged from last year with… read more

Cookbook literacy

February 4, 2017 by
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  Whenever someone asks me if I've read any good books lately, I always hesitate slightly before responding "Well, I've been reading some great cookbooks." I'm afraid that the person might not think that cookbooks count toward the activity of reading. But when I think about it more, I wonder 'why shouldn't they'? Cookbooks are so much more than just… read more

Food52 creates a cookbook club

February 1, 2017 by
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Just a couple of weeks ago we discussed the rise of cookbook clubs here on the EYB blog. Today indexed blog Food52 added to the trend by announcing its inaugural community cookbook club. Those who were paying close attention may recall that the site hinted at starting a club last fall, and now they are following through on that. The first… read more

Why cookbooks still matter (plus a giveaway)

January 20, 2017 by
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  When you're planning what to cook for dinner, you might begin your search for the perfect dish on the internet (hopefully using EYB!) instead of your bookshelf. With the ever-increasing volume of quality online recipes, your search might end on the internet too. Yet even though you may reach for your cookbooks less frequently, they remain important, says Julie Thomson of… read more

Best of the best cookbooks list 2016

December 22, 2016 by
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  Each year, Jane collects the "best cookbooks of 2016" lists from a wide variety of sources, ranging from television to radio to bloggers to newspapers - over 300 lists in total. After aggregating and ranking nearly one thousand books, Jane compiles the winners into  EYB's "Best of the Best" cookbooks of 2016. After a few years of crushing the… read more
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