The Best Little Cookbook Shops Around the World

I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her.

Anna Scott played by Julia Roberts in Notting Hill

There's something magical about a cookbook shop, especially when they’re buzzing with life and people are exchanging snippets of recipes! Cookbook shops freeze time, forever embracing the excitement of thumbing through a rare title or finding that book your mom always talked about, as well as the endless possibilities before you on a shelf of titles about dim sum and profiteroles and cheese pairings.

Stepping into these stores is like stepping into precious clubs for those who simply love food in any capacity, except these clubs are all-welcoming.

There aren't as many shops devoted entirely to cookbooks as we'd like, but, thankfully, there are enough to journey to in different cities across the globe. Their existence celebrates another era, one that centred around brick-and-mortar destinations and the leisurely perusal of books, while championing the popularity of cookbooks today through forward-thinking chefs and gorgeous photography.

They can also serve as windows into life in their cities, highlighting local cooking or activist missions and gathering customers in back kitchens for fresh-cooked meals. Here’s a few I came across in an article a few years ago that sound AMAZING!!

San Francisco: Omnivore Books on Food

Celia Sack was a rare book specialist at an auction house before opening Omnivore Books on Food in Noe Valley, and that knack for finding treasures that are limited edition, out of print, and perennially sought after is part of what makes the shop so special. That uniqueness also comes from the frequent talks and signings that Sack hosts with authors and chefs, as well an emphasis on global thinking and highlighting international cuisines that don’t normally get the spotlight.

Amsterdam: De Kookboekhandel

De Kookboekhandel owner Jonah Freud prides herself on making her shop a hub of international culinary knowledge, with titles new and old, beloved and almost impossible to find coming into the shop just to leave again in the hands of a happy new owner. Freud is an authority on cookbooks in the Netherlands, reviewing them for various outlets, so shoppers can trust anything on her store’s shelves is fit to inspire both professional or amateur chef alike.

Seattle: Book Larder

Tagged “a community bookstore,” Seattle’s Book Larder is more than just a shop. It’s a gathering place for anyone who loves food, from enthusiastic eaters to experienced chefs. In addition to an inventory that ranges from cookbooks to food essays and new to antique, the shop has a calendar packed with talks, classes, and discussions. Even for travellers passing through, classes on oysters that include a full dinner or talks with Lidia Bastianich are events to catch.

New Orleans: Kitchen Witch Cookbooks

Kitchen Witch Cookbooks is another one of those truly special stores that also functions as a community gathering place. On any given day, you might find a vegan pop-up serving food, a launch party bringing together locals and globetrotters alike, or an author lecture turning into a spirited and spontaneous discussion. Owners Debbie Lindsey and Philipe LaMancusa keep their store colourfully decorated and filled with books that celebrate the Louisiana region but stretch all over the world. Their vast knowledge and love of the inventory is clear in their ability to guide customers and talk about any title.

New York: Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks

Ruled by Ms. Slotnick herself, with an encyclopaedic knowledge of her vast and eclectic collection, Bonnie Slotnick Cookbooks reigns supreme in New York. It’s a go-to for chefs, a research haven for food writers, a treasure trove for travellers, and even a source for New York-shot films. Some of the books are new, but the focus is on old, especially rare and out of print. Titles are arranged by topic, so you’ll find your must-have whether you’re searching for pasta, cocktails, etiquette, or chef biographies.

Montreal: Appetite for Books

Owner Jonathan Cheung got the idea for Appetite for Books from a Vancouver store called Barbara-Jo’s Books to Cooks (now closed), which was based off the concept for London’s Books for Cooks, don’t worry, we’re coming to this!). Cheung’s shop brings that sense of food-lovers’ community to Montreal with his selection of titles that speak to absolute beginners and total pros, alike, and his classes: knife skills, demos concentrating on a chosen cookbook, cooking dishes from a spotlighted place like Syria.

Paris: Librairie Gourmande

Librairie Gourmande isn’t the only cookbook shop in Paris, but it’s picked time and time again as the favourite of locals, travellers, food adventurers, and chefs. The compact Montmartre store is jam-packed with an almost overwhelming selection of books from around the world, antique to hot off-the-presses. It’s one of those places you should prepare to spend an entire afternoon in, and that won’t be a problem. Let the staff be your guide and if you’re lucky, you’ll catch an author signing.

London: Books For Cooks

And finally, I couldn’t write an article on cookbook shops without mentioning one of my most favourite stores in London! I discovered Books for Cooks far too many years than I care to think about, I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve visited however, suffice to say, my own collection of cookbooks, which some have said is substantial, was mainly sourced from this absolute little gem of a store! Brimming with antiques and lined with funky little cafés, Notting Hill is quite possibly the most charming neighbourhood to imagine strolling in search of rare cookbooks. The reality won’t disappoint in cosiness, appeal, or selection at Books for Cooks. Proof of the welcoming vibe lies in this report on the store’s lunch program, in which co-owner Eric Treuille works with two chefs to pluck a cookbook from the shelves and turn it into a meal for customers. There’s a lot to choose from, too, with the shop carrying more than 8,000 titles. Any place where you can eat what you read and read what you eat is a true treat! And no, it’s not the one from the movie, if you remember, the shop in the movie was called The Travel Book Company and was based on another real store called The Travel Bookshop, actually just around the corner though!

What’s on This Week?