A cookbook club is exactly what it sounds like: a group of people who get together to discuss and eat recipes selected from a cookbook each month. And yet, it is much more than this! Cookbook clubs bring community back to cooking, something you grew up with or didn’t know you needed in your life.
Instead of sweating over making four courses for your friends before they arrive or missing out on catching up with them while you finish dinner, you’ll have way more fun than you bargained for as you learn tricks from watching your friends prepare a recipe.
Today I want to go into detail about HOW to set up your cookbook club for success.
Just as you may love some of your friends but never travel with them, you may want to approach your cookbook club differently than simply gathering your closest friends for another gathering. That’s not to say that approach won’t work for you, just something to keep in mind.
How to Start a Cookbook Club in 3 Easy Steps
1. Choose a structure.
Structure your cookbook club in two ways:
1. A potluck-style gathering, where everyone prepares their food at home beforehand and brings it to the host’s house.
EITHER
2. A night where you cook large batches of a couple of recipes together and everyone shares the spoils by taking home a few portions of each to freeze and enjoy in the future.
2. Select members who you think would get along well together. I recommend no more than six.
Think about what friends you have who would be a good fit for the type of cookbook club you want to host. Which of my friends loves to cook? Who is adventurous? Who is always up for a challenge? I recommend finding a mix of introverted and extroverted friends who share common values but have a wide variety of interests. Cookbook clubs are a great way to introduce people from different friend groups.
My friends Liz, Hillary, and Dahlia were the ones who came up with our cookbook club, and they each invited one person they thought would enjoy meeting. It worked out GREAT because the group was small enough that we all had a chance to connect one on one while setting the table or finishing a meal. Creating moments to spend quality time with someone you’re getting to know is rare when you’re an adult, and it’s one of the aspects of cookbook club that I love most.
Creating moments to spend quality time with someone you’re getting to know is rare when you’re an adult, and it’s one of the aspects of cookbook club that I love most.
3. Set some rules and boundaries.
Yes, I know rules aren’t fun. But boundaries are important in all areas of life, especially when it comes to fun! You want the club to continue being that: FUN. So be sure to have an honest conversation about logistical topics like: How often will we meet? How will we select the cookbook? What dietary restrictions are we working with? Where do we stay?
Our rules look like this:
- We rotate hosts every month.
- The host selects the book and creates the menu. Then send the menu by text with images of the recipes. We usually don’t buy the book until we cook it, which is a great way to test if the book is something you might use in the future. (Here are some of my favorite cookbooks to get you started!)
- Recipe selection is done on a first-come, first-served basis. Usually the host decides what they will create (often the most complicated and difficult to transport dish).
- We help clean! While usually not all dishes are completely washed, we clean the table and pack leftovers into our own Tupperware containers.
- We set a date for next time before we leave. It is difficult to align our schedules and it is much easier to do it in person.
Let your egos be the door.
Cookbook club is about learning and trying new things, not about being the most perfect cook in your group of friends! Errors are inevitable. Most of the time, you are cooking a recipe from scratch for the first time. There will be ingredients you know nothing about. You will forget to add sugar. You will burn your nuts while roasting them. Hopefully, you won’t have to use your fire extinguisher. Remember to find the fun and lessons in your failures; It’s all part of the experience.
Cookbook club is about learning and trying new things, not about being the most perfect cook in your group of friends!
Finally, consider what you want to get out of this experience.
Are you looking to learn basic skills? Or do you want to try more advanced dishes? Are you cooking in different regions and cultural cooking styles? Or are you looking to make life easier by sharing the work necessary to feed your family? Whatever you want to get out of your cookbook club, you’ll find a deeper connection and appreciation in the art of preparing a meal, sitting in good company, and enjoying the fruits of your labor.
Kate is the founder of Wit & Delight. He is currently learning to play tennis and is always testing the limits of his creative muscle. Follow her on Instagram at @witanddelight_.
