13 Books About Eating, Cooking, and Life-Changing Recipes
Feast your eyes out
During the pandemic, I fell in love with testing new recipes (shout out to the New York Times Cooking app). Whether that was because I finally had a functional kitchen for the first time as an adult or needed to do something with my hands that wasn’t doom scrolling, the habit’s stuck. Cooking has helped me cross borders during quarantine and be more adventurous now in the “after” era. I’m also making up for lost time — I was well into my twenties when I first ate an avocado, but that’s another story. And apparently, I’m not alone (not on the avocado thing, but more generally on the food is cool thing).
That’s why this week’s reading list is all about books related to food (and yes, because of the forthcoming Thanksgiving/Indigenous People’s Day holiday here in the U.S.). The below aren’t necessarily cookbooks, though there are a handful that I’ve personally enjoyed. Mostly, these books were written by non-foodies who somehow found their way into the kitchen by happenstance, intrigue or heritage. Regardless of the cuisine or author, all of them are well worth feasting your eyes on.
In the words of Miss Julia Child, bon appétit!
13 Books About Food, Eating, or Cooking to Gobble Up
From cookbooks to memoirs, check out these top picks of food-related books. I’d love to learn about your favorites, too. Be sure to drop yours in the comment section below!
“The Upstairs Delicatessen: On Eating, Reading, Reading About Eating, and Eating While Reading” - Dwight Garner
“My Soul Looks Back: A Memoir” - Jessica Harris
“Everything I Learned, I Learned in a Chinese Restaurant: A Memoir” - Curtis Chin
“Y’all Eat Yet? Welcome to the Pretty Bitchin’ Kitchen” - Miranda Lambert, Holly Gleason
“Save Me the Plums: My Gourmet Memoir” - Ruth Reichl
“The Taste of Country Cooking” - Edna Lewis
“Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen: A Memoir and Cookbook” - Laurie Colwin
“Vibration Cooking: or, The Travel Notes of a Geechee Girl” - Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor, Psyche Williams-Forson
“Taste: My Life Through Food” - Stanley Tucci
“Joyce Chen Cook Book” - Joyce Chen
“Cheryl Day’s Treasury of Southern Bakery” - Cheryl Day
“Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly” - Anthony Bourdain
“Ina Garten Memoir: The Inspiring Journey of a Celebrity Chef and Television Personality” - Gail Volner