In years past, we’ve noticed common threads amongst our favorite, most coveted cookbooks: baking and comfort foods (last year) or easy weeknight dinners (the year before). This year’s cookery books are works of art in every sense of the word: bright, cheerful covers open to pages of creativity, expression, music, and art—poetry, drawing, painting, and collage—with approachable recipes, too.
Here are 10 standouts.
N.B.: We’ve linked to Bookshop throughout, though we encourage shopping your local bookstore whenever possible, this season and always.
Above: Phaidon’s The Kitchen Studio: Culinary Creations by Artists features the recipes of more than 70 artists—with collages, photographs, paintings, and scrawled drawings alongside. It’s $36.75 from Bookshop. Above: A work created for the book by the artist Kathrin Böhm. Above: One: Pot, Pan, Planet: A Greener Way to Cook for You and Your Familyby Anna Jones is all about making more flavor with less waste: Every recipe can be made in one pot (or pan, or tray), and there are pointers for using scraps, shopping with the environment in mind, and creating less waste as you cook. The book is $32.20 from Bookshop. Above: We like the “tiled” cover of Portugal: A Cookbook by Leandro Carriera.
Above: Inside are over 550 Portuguese-inspired recipes and vibrant photography, too. The book is $55 via Phaidon. Above: Carla Lalli Music’s latest is That Sounds So Good: 100 Real-Life Recipes for Every Day of the Week, with straightforward recipes for weeknights and indulgent ones for weekends; $32.20 via Bookshop. Above: Julia Sherman—the artist, writer, and cook behind Salad for President—is now taking on entertaining with Arty Parties, with recipes and tips for throwing wildly inventive gatherings of all sizes and types, plus glimpses inside creatives’ own fetes from Paris to LA. It’s $36.80 from Bookshop. Above: A bright spread in Arty Parties.
Above: In Anna Maggio’s Under the Olive Tree: Memories and Flavours of Puglia, fifty authentic Puglianese recipes are interspersed with pencil and ink drawings. The book is $27.60 from Bookshop (though it’s currently out of stock there; consult your local shop to order). Above: Chef, educator, and activist Bryant Terry’s previous cookbook, Vegetable Kingdom, made it onto last year’s cookbook top-ten list, and this year he’s back with the newly released Black Food: Stories, Art, and Recipes from Across the African Diaspora. The book is a celebration of Black culinary brilliance through the world, with recipes as well as essays, art, and poetry by Black cultural luminaries and a playlist to serve as soundtrack for each section, curated by Terry. The book is $36.80 via Bookshop. Above: Jenny Rosenstrach of Dinner: A Love Story and her family decided to go vegetarian from Monday to Friday for better health and for the planet. The result is Jenny’s sunny compendium of approachable veggie-forward meals: The Weekday Vegetarians: 100 Recipes and a Real-Life Plan for Eating Less Meat; $29.90 from Bookshop.
Above: Essential is UK-based, Michelin-starred chef Ollie Dabbous’ first book for the home cook, with simple, finely tuned recipes that draw from his expertise but don’t require fancy equipment or a chef’s kitchen. It’s $32.20 from Bookshop. Above: Herb: A Cook’s Companion by Mark Diacono offers insight for cooking with—and cultivating—fresh herbs; $32.20 from Bookshop. Above: Inside, lush photography and recipes that highlight bright, fresh, herby flavors.
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