100 books like Heirloom Kitchen

By Anna Francese Gass,

Here are 100 books that Heirloom Kitchen fans have personally recommended if you like Heirloom Kitchen. Shepherd is a community of 11,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Cook Beautiful

Rachel Riederman Author Of Once Upon A Rind In Hollywood: 50 Movie-Themed Cheese Platters and Snack Boards for Film Fanatics

From my list on cookbooks to be the host with most.

Why am I passionate about this?

I was a clothing designer in NYC in a previous life. I would cram friends into my small apartment and have dinner parties whenever I could. I love food, cooking, and entertaining. Food is a way to show love, but for me, cooking was also a way to flex my creative muscle outside a creatively and emotionally draining industry. For years I mused about how to pivot into the food industry without being a classically trained chef. Upon being laid off in 2020 the door was finally opened for me to move on a begin a career in food styling and photography. Once Upon a Rind in Hollywood is my first cookbook.

Rachel's book list on cookbooks to be the host with most

Rachel Riederman Why did Rachel love this book?

Athena Calderone welcomes you into her casual, cool, and elegant world in Cook Beautiful.

Recipes are listed by season, using simple and healthy ingredients at their peak of freshness. The recipes are simple and straightforward and include gorgeous and “swoon-worthy” photos and tips explaining how to style and plate your meal for maximum impact and little effort.

The recipes in Cook Beautiful are equally impressive for an intimate dinner party, yet simple enough to serve on a Tuesday night. Many of the seasonal dishes have made it into my own dinner rotation.

By Athena Calderone,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Cook Beautiful as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The debut cookbook from Athena Calderone, creator of EyeSwoon, with 100 seasonal recipes for meals as gorgeous as they are delicious.

In Cook Beautiful, Athena reveals the secrets to preparing and presenting unforgettable meals. As the voice and curator behind EyeSwoon, an online lifestyle destination for food, entertaining, fashion, and interior design, Athena cooks with top chefs, hosts incredible dinners, and designs stunning tablescapes, while emphasizing the importance of balancing the visual elements of each dish with incredible flavors. In her debut cookbook, she's finally showing the rest of us how to achieve her impeccable yet approachable cooking style.

Included…


Book cover of True Comfort: More Than 100 Cozy Recipes Free of Gluten and Refined Sugar: A Gluten Free Cookbook

Lauren Thomas Author Of The Modern Hippie Table: Recipes and Menus for Eating Simply and Living Beautifully

From my list on lifestyle books for cooking, entertaining and tablescaping.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child of divorce who moved around often, cooking and entertaining was consistent in my life on both sides of my family. The comforting smells and traditions around food in the home became a religion to me—something I could count on. My grandmother was a hostess to be admiredher impeccable entertaining etiquette was where my love of hosting was born. My degree in psychology lends itself to sharing what’s so important about creating intentional gatherings at the table. My education and passion for creative arts pair well with my husband’s expertise as an Architect, where we understand the importance of creating inviting spaces for people to occupy.

Lauren's book list on lifestyle books for cooking, entertaining and tablescaping

Lauren Thomas Why did Lauren love this book?

Another lifestyle cookbook with recipes and tips that are simple, comforting, and family-friendly. Kristin shares not only recipes for healthy comfort foods, but also the staple ingredients she keeps in her pantry. I love how she offers gluten and dairy-free alternatives in her recipes and how she uses natural sweeteners such as maple syrup and honey. The Nashville Hot Chicken Salad cups and the Creamy Roasted Veggie Pasta Salad are my two favorite dishes to make from this book—and my family agrees!

By Kristin Cavallari,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked True Comfort as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • The TV star and author of True Roots shares 130+ of her favorite recipes for healthy, natural, wholesome comfort food in this essential cookbook.

“Kristin’s family-friendly, decadently ‘health-ified’ recipes will have you reliving favorite memories and making delicious new ones bite after bite!”—Daphne Oz, Emmy Award-winning television host and bestselling author

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST COOKBOOKS OF THE YEAR BY DELISH

Over the past few years, Kristin Cavallari has become known for the healthy recipes she cooks at home for her family. In her bestselling cookbook, True Roots, she shared the recipes that keep…


Book cover of The Modern Bohemian Table: Gathering with Friends and Entertaining in Style

Lauren Thomas Author Of The Modern Hippie Table: Recipes and Menus for Eating Simply and Living Beautifully

From my list on lifestyle books for cooking, entertaining and tablescaping.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child of divorce who moved around often, cooking and entertaining was consistent in my life on both sides of my family. The comforting smells and traditions around food in the home became a religion to me—something I could count on. My grandmother was a hostess to be admiredher impeccable entertaining etiquette was where my love of hosting was born. My degree in psychology lends itself to sharing what’s so important about creating intentional gatherings at the table. My education and passion for creative arts pair well with my husband’s expertise as an Architect, where we understand the importance of creating inviting spaces for people to occupy.

Lauren's book list on lifestyle books for cooking, entertaining and tablescaping

Lauren Thomas Why did Lauren love this book?

As an event planner, Amanda shares her tips for how to host beautiful and meaningful gatherings with friends from small and simple to a larger outdoor party, all of which she uses a bohemian vibe to do so. Her ideas for throwing themed parties are creative, fun, and doable, and I love how she organizes them by season. Her bohemian style uses interesting contrasts, the mixing and matching of tableware and linens, and is a vibe based on feeling rather than rules. There are so many good tips on how to be the best hostess using good planning, calculating how much food you’ll need, and also how to pick drinks to complement your meal.

By Amanda Bernardi,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Modern Bohemian Table as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Learn the rules, traditions and customs of table setting and entertaining and how to incorporate principles of bohemian design.

The Modern Bohemian Table teaches you how to: Build an heirloom tabletop collection; Design a welcoming and beautiful table; Calculate how much food you need you for each gathering; Select wine or other drinks to complement the meal.

And inspires you with over 20 fresh and fun party ideas, broken up into seasons, including: Morrocan Rooftop Soiree; Wine Night; Medieval-Inspired Feast; Garden Gathering; Apres-Ski Get-Together.

From tablescapes to menu planning, napkin folding to cocktail mixing, learn to gather your favorite people…


Book cover of Giada's Feel Good Food: My Healthy Recipes and Secrets: A Cookbook

Lauren Thomas Author Of The Modern Hippie Table: Recipes and Menus for Eating Simply and Living Beautifully

From my list on lifestyle books for cooking, entertaining and tablescaping.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child of divorce who moved around often, cooking and entertaining was consistent in my life on both sides of my family. The comforting smells and traditions around food in the home became a religion to me—something I could count on. My grandmother was a hostess to be admiredher impeccable entertaining etiquette was where my love of hosting was born. My degree in psychology lends itself to sharing what’s so important about creating intentional gatherings at the table. My education and passion for creative arts pair well with my husband’s expertise as an Architect, where we understand the importance of creating inviting spaces for people to occupy.

Lauren's book list on lifestyle books for cooking, entertaining and tablescaping

Lauren Thomas Why did Lauren love this book?

We all love to know what someone we admire does beyond the scope of what they are most known for. I love how this cookbook goes beyond recipes—Giada also shares her beauty secrets such as hair and makeup routines, how she stays trim with lifestyle and exercise, tips for choosing healthy options when eating out, and what she packs for snacks while on the go. It’s truly a lifestyle that I want to subscribe to!

By Giada De Laurentiis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Giada's Feel Good Food as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Food Network's most beautiful star shares her secrets for staying fit and feeling great in this gorgeous, practical book with healthy recipes including nutritional information, and personal lifestyle and beauty tips.

The number one question that Giada De Laurentiis is asked by fans is, "How do you stay so trim?" Admirers then ask about her favorite recipes, her nail polish color, her exercise routine. . . and much more. In Giada's Feel Good Food, she answers all of these questions in her most personal and also most hardworking book yet.

Here are 120 recipes for breakfasts, juices, lunches, snacks, dinners,…


Book cover of Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant

Frances Kuffel Author Of Passing for Thin: Losing Half My Weight and Finding My Self

From my list on cookbooks for weight loss and maintenance.

Why am I passionate about this?

I love to cook and it’s difficult to find something beyond chicken and salad when you’re trying to lose weight.  Over the years I’ve assembled a cookbook library that covers many topics (interested in how the Georgians ate green beans? I can help you out!), many of them as off-topic from weight-loss as my cookie cookbook collection. But I still return to what I call “abstinent” favorites, simply because they are so tasty.

Frances' book list on cookbooks for weight loss and maintenance

Frances Kuffel Why did Frances love this book?

This big compendium of recipes is comprised of ethnic, vegetarian meals the Moosewood staff makes on their day off. If you’re craving Chinese or Russian, this is your motherlode. You may have to tinker with the recipes that have too many carbohydrates (use rice instead of noodles) or skip them altogether, but you’ll find gems you keep going back to. (Mine has bookmarks for Cheese and Nut Dessert Balls from India and Moroccan Stew.)

By Moosewood Collective,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Since its opening in 1973, Moosewood Restaurant has been famous for creative food with a health conscious, vegetarian emphasis. Each Sunday diners have been offered a new ethnic or regional cuisine, deliciously adapted from traditional recipes. In this cookbook, each of Moosewood's 18 collective members who prepare and serve its meals has contributed a chapter on his or her regional or ethnic speciality from Northern Africa to China and Japan, from Scandinavia to the Caribbean and from the south of France to the Southern USA. Each chapter includes a cultural history, characteristic ingredients and cooking styles, and a tantalizing array…


Book cover of Norman Van Aken's Feast of Sunlight: 200 Inspired Recipes from the Master of New World Cuisine

Andrew T. Huse, Bárbara Cruz, and Jeff Houck Author Of The Cuban Sandwich: A History in Layers

From my list on reads for when you’re hungry.

Why are we passionate about this?

Our obsessions with food and history mean that recipes are not the end of the journey, but the beginning. Recipes are an answer to a whole host of questions, challenges, and opportunities, and those are the stories that interest us. A recipe with no history is like the punch line with no preceding joke, incomplete at best.   

Andrew's book list on reads for when you’re hungry

Andrew T. Huse, Bárbara Cruz, and Jeff Houck Why did Andrew love this book?

Norman Van Aken is known internationally for introducing "fusion" into the lexicon of modern cookery as the founding father of New World Cuisine. 

Van Aken found his cooking voice in Key West by marrying Caribbean ingredients and spices with classic cooking techniques. 

He wrote this landmark book while helming Key West's Mira restaurant, where he showcased lobster terrine with caviar on a champagne yogurt dressing, curried carrot and chicken soup, and grilled marinated shrimp and chorizo.

Chef Charlie Trotter once called Van Aken, “the Walt Whitman of American Cuisine.” That would make this book his “Leaves Of Grass.” Poetry indeed.

By Norman Van Aken,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Norman Van Aken's Feast of Sunlight as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Welcome to the New World. The tastiest, most imaginative cooking in America today comes not from the East Coast or the West Coast but the South Coast, especially Florida. That's where Norman Van Aken, Florida's most celebrated chef, has created New World Cuisine, a passionate marriage between the vibrant flavours of the South, Southwest, Latin America, and the Caribbean and the classic techniques of Europe and the Mediterranean. Here are big, bold flavours exquisitely prepared and beautifully presented, from a true master who, in these 200 glorious recipes, happily reveal his secrets to the home cook.


Book cover of World Travel: An Irreverent Guide

Deborah Serra Author Of 2 Broads Abroad: Moms Fly the Coop

From my list on making you laugh and love traveling.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a traveler. For me, there’s nothing like that moment when your plane lands on foreign soil. I feel free when I’m somewhere I’ve never been, where I don’t speak the language, understand the menu, or know a single person. It is the ultimate sense of release. I’ve done a great deal of solo traveling, which I thoroughly enjoy, and fortunately for me, my family understands (or at least accepts). From the Congo to Xian to Paris, I’ve never seen enough. 

Deborah's book list on making you laugh and love traveling

Deborah Serra Why did Deborah love this book?

Okay, cards on the table, I cannot be trusted when recommending this book. I have learned more from Anthony Bourdain than from any other traveler, chef, citizen of the world. His open-minded approach to the world is contagious and inspiring. He lets his readers into the untraveled unknown corners of the planet and I’m grateful he shared his journey. I can recommend all of his books, his TV shows, and his essays. The world is sadder without him.

By Anthony Bourdain, Laurie Woolever,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked World Travel as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

'Terrific ... His love for his subjects - both the food and the cook - sings' Telegraph 'Christ, could Bourdain weave words ... the guy wrote like a poet' Guardian A celebration of the life and legacy of one of the most important food writers of all time - the inimitable Anthony Bourdain Anthony Bourdain saw more of the world than nearly anyone. His travels took him from his hometown of New York to a tribal longhouse in Borneo, from cosmopolitan Buenos Aires, Paris, and Shanghai to the stunning desert solitude of Oman's Empty Quarter - and many places beyond.…


Book cover of A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes

Laura Calder Author Of The Inviting Life: An Inspirational Guide to Homemaking, Hosting and Opening the Door to Happiness

From my list on making and running a welcoming home.

Why am I passionate about this?

Laura Calder is a recognized advocate for living well at home. She is the author of four cookbooks and received a James Beard Award for her long-running television series, French Food at Home.

Laura's book list on making and running a welcoming home

Laura Calder Why did Laura love this book?

Menu cookbooks can be tricky, but Tanis has produced this and another masterpiece (The Heart of the Artichoke 2010) both of which will up the game of any dinner-party host. The recipes are varied, imaginative, and infallible (Fish Tacos with Shredded Cabbage and Lime, Chicken Tagine with Pumpkin and Chickpeas, Rum Baba with Cardamom) and the menus sheer poetry.

By David Tanis,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

In "A Platter of Figs and Other Recipes", David Tanis shows readers how to slow down, pay attention, and give ingredients their due. Worlds away from showy "Food Network" personalities and chefs who preach fussy techniques, Tanis serves up charming, unassuming meals for friends and family: couscous with rabbit and turnip for a special birthday fete, clam and chorizo paella to eat by the fireplace, and turkey with duck confit for Thanksgiving. Tanis has an elemental, unpretentious finesse with ingredients and a genuine gift with words."Dinner with Friends" is deliciously down-to-earth in covering such topics as 'Pretty vs. Beautiful Food,'…


Book cover of Let's Eat!: Mealtime Around the World

Beth Kander Author Of Do Not Eat This Book! Fun with Jewish Foods & Festivals

From my list on picture books for families who love food.

Why am I passionate about this?

I’m an author, playwright, nonprofit strategist, and mother to two small children–the list goes on and on, and it's enough to work up an appetite. Since three of my favorite things in the world are 1) my kids, 2) stories, and 3) food, this reading roundup is near and dear to my heart. I wrote my picture book, Do Not Eat This Book!, because I believe food is a delicious entryway for exploring identity, sharing, caring, culture, and more, and the books in this list exemplify the sweet power of a good food-themed picture book.

Beth's book list on picture books for families who love food

Beth Kander Why did Beth love this book?

At our house, we love books that allow us to visit new worlds. This book explores food from 13 different countries across the globe and will make you want to travel all the way around the world (or maybe just go to a local restaurant for now) to try all the delicious dishes.

From Sweden to Nigeria and Pakistan to Peru, it’s interesting and tantalizing to learn more about each place through what’s on their plates.

By Lynne Marie, Parwinder Singh (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Let's Eat! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Dig in to this fun and informational book that explores foods from 13 countries around the world. Meet characters from countries including Sweden, Peru, Pakistan, Nigeria, and more as they enjoy breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Be inspired to try something new and learn about other cultures. Let's eat!


Book cover of Buttermilk Graffiti: A Chef’s Journey to Discover America’s New Melting-Pot Cuisine

Emmanuel Laroche Author Of Conversations Behind the Kitchen Door: 50 American Chefs Chart Today’s Food Culture

From my list on food lovers and anyone passionate about food culture.

Why am I passionate about this?

The passion I have for food was born during my childhood in France when I learned how to cook and bake with my mother, and it never faded away. I still continue to explore, and I have the chance to participate in more than sixty tastings a year. When traveling, I always prepare my trips by searching the web for unique restaurants, coffee roasters, breweries, and local bakeries. When I interview culinary leaders, I am curious about their innovation and their creative process. Chef Elizabeth Falkner wrote in my book foreword, “Emmanuel genuinely seems like he is trying to solve a puzzle, which is why his book is an important piece of writing.”

Emmanuel's book list on food lovers and anyone passionate about food culture

Emmanuel Laroche Why did Emmanuel love this book?

I had the chance to interview chef Edward Lee on my podcast ‘flavors unknown’ and to personally experience his passion for recent American food culture. The importance of immigrant cuisine in today’s food described in his book was a great influence on me when I was working on my book. He tackles the question of “authenticity” in immigrant cooking. He says that authentic is not the correct word. Immigrant food is “frozen in time,” reflecting the culinary moment when the immigrants left their homes. I love Edward Lee’s book as it captures the complexity of American cuisine.

By Edward Lee,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Buttermilk Graffiti as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

American food is the story of mash-ups. Immigrants arrive, cultures collide, and out of the push-pull come exciting new dishes and flavours. But for Edward Lee, who, like Anthony Bourdain or Gabrielle Hamilton, is as much a writer as he is a chef, that first surprising bite is just the beginning. What about the people behind the food? What about the traditions, the innovations, the memories?

A natural-born storyteller, Lee decided to hit the road and spent two years uncovering fascinating narratives from every corner of the US. There's a Cambodian couple in Lowell, Massachusetts, and their efforts to re-create…


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in cooking, Italy, and Rome?

Cooking 105 books
Italy 406 books
Rome 339 books