How to Start a Cookbook Club

One of the most lovely things that has happened to me this year is being inducted into a cookbook club—a group who meets regularly to cook dishes from the same book and share food. Every time I mention it, people say they want to join a cookbook club too (some of you intrepid folks have even gone out and started your own). By way of encouragement, I asked our founder, the fabulous Maggi McConnell, to answer a few questions about why and how to go about starting a cookbook club. Here is her advice and wisdom.

What was the impetus for you to start cookbook club?

I literally had a dream about it. I woke up from a dream where a bookclub met a potluck and had a baby, mentioned it on Twitter, and was told that Cookbook Clubs are a Real Thing. I’m okay with not being the original inventor, it has turned out to be one of the best things in my life.

How did you go about inviting people?

I’m lucky to have an incredibly wonderful group of friends who are relatively like-minded about food, so I started by inviting them. I also invited my younger brother’s girlfriend, my former assistant, one of my former clients, and some people I knew from the internet but had never met in person—all people who were also interested in cooking and meeting new people. They have become some of my dearest friends.

Along the way, others started inviting people (Megan invited me, for which I will be eternally grateful—Tea), and some people have opted out. Since I’m an HR consultant & recruiter by trade, I’m always keeping an eye out for new members.

Did you have an idea of how large you wanted it to be?

I didn’t really have a plan for the group size. Right now we have about 30 people on the main invite list and we average 12-20 attendees each time. The thing everyone freaks out about when I ask for volunteers to host is “I don’t have enough chairs!” but people will find a place to sit and get comfortable. I would recommend starting with at least 6 people so that you can have a decent variety of dishes. Trying things I never would have made on my own is one of the best parts of Cookbook Club.

How did you decide how often to meet? How do you pick a date?

I think it was a group decision to meet every two months. My friends and I tend to have pretty busy lives, and meeting every month felt burdensome. It also gives us enough time to buy/borrow the current cookbook, and to actually try some of the recipes in it.

Picking the date is really hard. I try to take into account the schedules of the entire group but at some point I have to just draw a line and say WE ARE MEETING ON THIS DATE. There is no way to accommodate everyone’s schedules, especially given how much my friends travel. I think everyone understands that.

How do you pick the books? Does everyone have to buy a copy?

In the beginning, we brainstormed a list of books that we were all interested in cooking from, and stuck to that list for the first few gatherings: Super Natural Cooking by Heidi Swanson, Falling Cloudberries by Tessa Kiros and Nigella Christmas by Nigella Lawson were all huge hits. At the end of each gathering, we discuss our options and decide what the next book will be, trying to keep in mind both seasonal appropriateness (who wants to cook from All About Braising in July?) and availability of the book, both for sale and within our local library system. Picking something that is out of print is obviously going to make it hard for everyone to find a copy. You don’t have to buy the book if it’s available at the library, and often people will share copies.

I will admit I often steer the group in a particular direction and sometimes will Just Decide if there is too much waffling. I would go so far as to say that with one exception, every book we’ve chosen has been a fun adventure. (The one exception was Cookin’ With Coolio, which was hilarious but the results were almost universally terrible). On a couple of occasions, we’ve actually chosen TWO books per gathering. Last summer we wanted to cook from the book Rustic Fruit Desserts, but since we didn’t want to go into diabetic comas, we needed another book that would provide some non-dessert options, so Pintxos was selected for its’ savory small plates.

We are also flexible about cooking from the specific book itself. Madhur Jaffrey’s books (our selection for December) are a perfect example. She’s written 30+ books, so those who already have one of her books are welcome to cook from that instead of buying another, or borrow a similar one from the library.

How do you make sure people don’t cook the same dishes?

About two weeks before the gathering, I send out an email asking people to RSVP with the dish that they are bringing. At first, we would just “reply all” to the group email, and I would go back through the thread and make a list, and follow up some more. Then my brilliant friend (and fellow organizing soul) Lucia said MAKE A SHARED GOOGLE SPREADSHEET. Now I just make a new tab on the spreadsheet for each gathering, and people can add to it.

Do people have to double their recipes to have enough for the group?

Oh. Heck. No. In fact, one of the issues that we had at first is that Everyone made enough to feed Everyone. Making 15+ full-sized servings of 15+ dishes results in a LOT of food, and while leftovers are nice, it made things a little complicated. I think we’ve all gotten a better idea of how to portion things for the group.

What are the host duties?

Pretty simple! Open your door, let us in. It’s helpful to have a table on which to set our dishes, plates & silverware (compostable is fine) and at least one functioning restroom. Other than that, it’s up to you. It’s often convenient for the hostess to make more complicated/less portable dishes or things that require being served immediately, but it’s absolutely not a requirement for hosting.

How do you structure the meetings?

Our gatherings are held on Sunday afternoons from 2pm until about 5pm, which means you have enough time on Sunday morning to do whatever cooking you need to do, and you get home just in time to decide I AM SO FULL I WANT TO DIE and skip dinner. We used to gather on Saturdays, but it’s been helpful to have an extra weekend day for shopping/prepping.

Drinks are usually served while everyone is arriving, so it’s like a super fun & relaxed cocktail party. We also have a lot of shutterbugs in the group, so photos are taken as dishes are revealed, and I make sure everyone has at least a few minutes to photograph the food before we dig in. I try to wait for everyone to arrive before we get going, but sometimes that’s not possible, so by 2:45, I start getting the show on the road.

We gather around the food and individually introduce ourselves and our food, and whether there is meat/fish in the dish (we have few food allergies within the group, but there are some vegetarians & folks who don’t eat fish). Our last book was by Alice Waters, so I also asked everyone to give their dish a smugness rating. Kairu, who made her own butter, and Quincy, who grew the squash blossoms that she filled with cheese & fried, took the prize!

Once introductions are completed, we start serving things up buffet-style, and then settle in for some serious eating and less-serious conversation. It’s a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

What sort of things have you learned along the way?

If you’re the organizer: be thoughtful, be okay with being a decision-maker, be ready to host more often than others do. I never want someone to feel pressured to host a bunch people on a Sunday afternoon, so I’m always ready to host if no one else wants to.

If you’re an attendee: show up on time or don’t be surprised if we start without you. I know life can be unpredictable and I never begrudge someone a late arrival, but I’m not going to make everyone wait and eat cold food. We will welcome you no matter what time you get there.

Any advice to other people wanting to start cookbook clubs?

Just Do It. I’ve seen lots of people saying they wish they could do something like this—there’s absolutely nothing stopping you! Invite your friends, pick a book, cook something, and eat it. It’s not complicated unless you make it so.

What has been the best thing to have come out of cookbook club?

SO MANY THINGS. Introductions to new cuisines/techniques/dishes/flavors. A group of women who brighten my life and lift my spirits. Inspiration to try new things every month. A feeling of community! I love that I had a dream and it came true, in the best way.

Editor note: another thing I love about this cookbook club is that it’s stress-free. If your life is too busy to cook that week and you still want to come, you can buy and bring drinks without shame. The member who showed up late this weekend with two bottles of Prosecco was welcomed warmly!