One of the best ways to build community and deepen friendships is to share a meal together, and what better way to do that than by starting a cookbook club?
Earlier this year, we decided to do just that with a few of our friends, and it’s brought so much joy, light, and laughter to our lives. Gathering around a table, breaking bread together, and sharing stories has not only allowed us to try new dishes but also deepened our friendships.
Starting a cookbook club is not about having a big house, a fancy kitchen, or being a master chef. It’s about having a few committed friends and a willingness to try something new. And when things don’t go as planned (as they inevitably will), a good sense of humor is all you need. It’s that simple!
We started our cookbook club with two other couples in our neighborhood. Our close proximity has made it easy to travel with dishes and kids in tow, especially in a city like Houston that is so spread out. I’d encourage you to try to find a few friends nearby with whom you can do the same.
The two other couples we gather with have kids around the same age as ours. There are six adults and six kids in total. The fact that we’re all in a similar stage of life is wonderful. The kids can play while the adults enjoy dinner, and everyone understands when there’s a tantrum or spilled milk. We spend mealtime sharing parenting tips and tricks and encouraging each other through whatever season we happen to be in.
If you can choose friends who are in similar stages of life, attending similar events, like school performances or soccer practice on the weekends, it seems to make planning and coordinating dinner club a bit easier.
We like to meet early Sunday evening. It’s a great way to keep the Sunday scaries at bay and seems to work with our schedules. I’d encourage you to pick a day that works for your group and be consistent. If everyone knows what to expect ahead of time, it makes it planning easier. You could even plan a few months of dinners in advance to get it on the calendar.
You don’t need a huge house to host or a fancy kitchen. We’ve sat kids around picnic tables, kitchen tables, or standing around the coffee table. We use regular plates and don’t worry about decorating or planning anything besides the meal. If you’re into decorating and themes, you can certainly go all out! But we’ve found that you’ll be less likely to get overwhelmed and cancel by keeping it simple.
We call our gathering a “cookbook” club, but we’ve allowed ourselves more flexibility, and it’s become a “cookbook author” club. For our first dinner, we decided to cook any Alex Snodgrass dish. You may know her as The Defined Dish. She has three cookbooks and a blog full of recipes, and any recipe she’s written was fair game.
For three couples, six dishes have been the right amount of food. It’s allowed us to try a variety of different recipes without having an overwhelming amount of food left over at the end. A great formula for us has been one appetizer, two main dishes, one salad, one side dish, and one dessert.
Below is a list of recipe writers who I think would be perfect for a cookbook club dinner. Each of them has multiple books or blog recipes, so you’ll have a variety of options to choose from and you’ll be sure to find something to satisfy any taste bud.
- Alex Snodgrass (The Defined Dish)
- Caroline Chambers (What to Cook When You Don’t Feel Like Cooking)
- Ina Garten (Barefoot Contessa)
- Joanna Gaines (Magnolia)
- Tieghan Gerard (Half Baked Harvest)
- Erin Clarke (Well Plated)
If you’re looking to be more intentional about deepening your friendships or just in a season of life where you’d like to strengthen your community, a cookbook club is the perfect place to start. So much beauty and life happens when we sit around the table with others and share a meal.
