Starting a cookbook club is one of the best things I ever did. In this post, I’ll go into what a cookbook club is, how to start your own, and why you should.
Good food, good friends, and good talks. That’s it in a nutshell, but let’s dig in!
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What is a Cookbook Club?
A cookbook club is kind of a combination of a lot of good things. It’s kind of like a book club. It’s kind of like a potluck dinner. But together.
The simple concept is this. You have a group of friends that you meet with regularly and you all bring dishes that you’ve cooked from a pre-decided cookbook. Everyone gets to try new foods and talk about it. You get to enjoy good company too!
How Do You Start a Cookbook Club?
- Find People: Ask some friends you want to start your cookbook club with. Some people might say no, but there’s no harm in asking, right? I got a solid group of 4 girls (including myself) which actually turns out to be a really good size. More people is perfectly fine too!
- Pick a Date: Then you have to pick a date you’re all free. We usually have ours around dinner time which is perfect in case some people are working that day. Decide on how regularly you want to meet. We do once a month.
- Pick a Location: We rotate through every one’s houses. I offered my apartment for our first meeting.
- Pick a cookbook: This is the fun part. You all have to decide on what cookbook you want to choose your recipes from.
- Meet, Eat, and Talk!
- Pick Your Next Date & Cookbook
Why Do a Cookbook Club?
- Food: You get to cook new things and eat new foods. I’ve found so many new recipes this way. All absolutely delicious. We talk about how we would modify recipes as well in case some need a little fixing.
- Friends: You can make new friends this way and become even closer with old friends. I became really close with the coworkers I asked to do this with. We now all hang out outside of work together and do things beyond just the cookbook club. I’ve made lifelong friends from this and I love it.
- Fun: It’s just plain old fun to meet with some friends and eat food together and chit chat all night!
Get Creative With It
You don’t have to stick to just one cookbook. There have been times where we picked a theme, like soup and then everyone picked a recipe from a different soup specific cookbook. This past month we definitely thought out of the box literally where everyone had to pick a recipe that was on a box or container at the supermarket. It turned out to be one of our best meals yet.
We also created a spreadsheet which we keep track of past meetings and recipes, ideas, and our next meeting info with the recipes we chose. We are quite the organized group!
I made a blank spreadsheet for you to use for own cookbook club! The link is below. Just go to “File” and click “Make a Copy” to save it to your own Google Drive.
My Past Cookbook Club Gatherings
Food Boards
Everyone made their own themed food board! This is where I made up my first Chocolate Fondue Board.
Tea Party
Everyone chose finger foods from tea party cookbooks and of course the tea! Have your Own Tea Party
I Don't Know?
I know this was a cookbook club photo, but I can’t for the life of me remember the theme! Can you guess?
Cookbook/Theme Ideas
Here’s some ideas for you to get your own Cookbook Club started!
- Comfort Food
- Christmas/Holidays
- Slow Cooker
- Harry Potter (or other fandoms!)
- Recipe found on a box/container
- Celebrity Cookbooks
- Julia Child
- Ethnic Foods
- Recipes from a Magazine
- All Appetizers
- Drink & Food Pairings
- Summer Picnic
- Brunch
- Dim Sum
- Copycat Recipes from a Restaurant
- Cinco de Mayo
- Tea Party
- Food Boards
When you start your own cookbook club leave a comment below and tell me what you think about it! I’m sure you all have more cookbook ideas, so tell me your favorite cookbook too! I would love some new recommendations. :)
Cookbooks We've Used
Inspiration for Your Next Cookbook Club Meeting:
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Click “File” then “Make a Copy” to save it on your Google Drive.
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