James Beard and Guild of Food Writers’ awards, culinary tours, recipes, EYBD Previews and more!

June 20, 2025 by Jenny

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Culinary tours provide an exciting way to combine travel with your passion for food! There’s something magical about experiencing a culture through its cuisine, especially with someone who deeply understands the culinary traditions and can share insider knowledge.

Cookbook author-led tours offer such a unique perspective – you’re not just tasting the food, you’re learning the stories behind the dishes, the techniques that have been passed down through generations, and often getting access to places and experiences that regular tourists might miss. Plus, being surrounded by fellow food enthusiasts creates an instant community of people who share your excitement about discovering new flavors and cooking methods. I have put together a collection of such tours from some of our favorite authors!

How about Christmas in Austria? Join Rick Rodgers who has a tour of Austria planned for December 1st to 10th of this year. Rick Rodgers’ Austrian Christmas Markets will personally guide you to his very favorite spots for Christmas cheer in the Austrian style.

Or maybe Lisbon in the late Spring? From May 12th to 18th, 2026 join David Leite for A Cook’s Tour of Lisbon. Cooking classes which include a Pastel de Nata Masterclass and street food class, market tours, dinner at a Portuguese home, wine and olive oil tasting, and more are planned for this adventure.

Other tours of note include:

Joanne Weir frequently plans excursions to Europe. Check out her international culinary tour page.
Each year Bake from Scratch plans baking retreats. This year the retreats are in Sweden (September 10th-17th) and Lyon and Avignon (October 28th-November 4th).
Nicole Rucker with Cheryl Day have a Loire Valley baking tour scheduled September 26th to October 1st.
Domenica Marchetti shares food writing retreats and culinary tours at Domenica Cooks. She is doing a trip to Piemonte October 3rd to 8th with Kathy Gunst of Here & Now. Kathy also runs classes next year in Sonoma, Cape Cod, Maine and Italy.
Irina Georgescu does Culinary Transylvanian tours – 2025 is sold out but you may email her if interested in 2026.
Katie Parla has many private and city tours on her website.

All of these tours and retreats can be found on our Calendar in a new section – Culinary tours – which we continue to update. If you know of other culinary tours given by cookbook authors that we should share with our Members, please leave a comment here.

The last few week on Eat Your Books

Since our last roundup, Darcie has written these articles:

Darcie’s weekly food news antipasto is shared every Sunday and the tag #foodnews brings up these information-packed posts from the most current to the first one.

Since our last roundup, I have posted the following:

French at Heart – Cookbook Giveaway (worldwide)
20 Amici – 40 Ricette Cookbook Giveaway
James Beard Awards Weekend in Chicago
July 2025 Great Big Cookbook Club Summary – please note the addition of local cookbook clubs – updating this post frequently as I find more
2025 Cookbook Preview Post (updated)
Calendar of worldwide events (updated with these events – and others):
- Samin Nosrat – Good Things (US and Canada)
- Rebecca Firkser – Galette (more events added)
- Pooja Bavishi – Malai Frozen Desserts (new events)
- Elizabeth Andoh – Japanese virtual classes
- Kathy Gunst
- Matthew James Duffy – Bread Baking Online
- Scrumptious Reads – Australia – Jun 27 – Art & Dinner Series
- Sugar Flour Pastry School – Maxine Scheckter – New Zealand – new classes added
Cookbook deals are updated when time permits so check that post for new sales – the publisher links automatically update and please see the ICYMI post.

Jenny and the EYB Team

Recently Indexed Titles

Our team of member and pro indexers are working hard indexing titles, both new and old. Below are just a selection of highlighted titles that were recently indexed. ckbk titles notated as such – for more information on ckbk see Jane’s post. Remember to view the most current indexed titles – they will always show up at the top of the EYB Library and your Bookshelf. Recent indexed magazines can be found here. For information on member indexing, please see this roundup with more details.

Boustany: A Celebration of Vegetables from my Palestine by Sami Tamimi EVENTS – North America release July 15, 2025
Every Salad Ever by Greta Podleski
A Quick Drink by Ivy Mix and Lynnette Marrero
Dutch Feast by Emily Wight
Root: Small Vegetable Plates, a Little Meat on the Side by Rob Howell
The No-Fuss Bread Machine Cookbook by Michelle Anderson
The Make-Ahead Sauce Solution by Elisabeth Bailey
From the Earth to the Table by John Ash and Sid Goldstein ckbk
The Dominican Kitchen by Vanessa Mota
The Complete Indian Regional Cookbook by Mridula Baljekar ckbk
Love, Laugh, Bake! by Silvia Colloca
The Curry Book by Nancy McDermott
Happy Vegan by Fearne Cotton
By Heart by Hailee Catalano
Braided Heritage: Recipes and Stories on the Origin of American Cuisine by Jessica B. Harris
French at Heart by Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith Franchini
Max’s Picnic Book by Max Halley and Benjamin Benton
Arepa by Irena Stein
20 Amici – 40 Ricette by John Bersani
Speedy MOB: 12-Minute Meals for 4 People by Ben Lebus and Mob
The Ghana Cookbook by Fran Osseo-Asare and Barbara Baeta ckbk
Chinese Made Easy by Kwoklyn Wan
Leiths How to Cook Cakes by Leiths School of Food and Wine

Member Photo of the Week

Salmon, avocado & orange salad with ridiculously tasty sesame-ginger dressing from Every Salad Ever: From Grains to Greens and Pasta to Beans Plus Every Salad In Betweens (page 88) by Greta Podleski submitted by Member hbakke

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