10 Cookbooks That Are Actually Fun to Read

Believe or or not, there are cookbooks I could read just for fun. Here’s a list of some of those books, so that you can read them too.

Skyler Lee – July 26th, 2021

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Cookbooks are nowadays thought of as a staple of our grandparents’ house, or a money grabbing attempt from a washed up celebrity. They’re boring, some say, or they’re obsolete due to the internet.

I disagree completely. As someone who cooks, I love their compilations of quality recipes that are much easier to wade through than the oftentimes low quality first results of a Google search. Not only this, but believe it or not, some cookbooks I could read just for fun. Here’s a list, in no particular order, of some of those books:

Appetites: An Anthony Bourdain Cookbook

The late great Anthony Bourdain wrote this masterpiece about his life and the recipes he learned while living that extraordinary life. Unlike those extravagant meals from his shows though, these are accessible. Just as delicious to cook as his life was interesting.

Harry Potter: An Unofficial Cookbook

A New York Times bestseller, this unique cookbook takes a look at various scenes in Harry Potter books and aims to recreate the mentioned meals. From cakes to soups to candy this fun to read cookbook covers everything but, strangely, the famous butterbeer.

Mastering the Art of French Cooking

This absolutely classic Julia Child cookbook was famous in it’s time for making French cooking accessible. Francophiles rejoice, this book will teach you everything you need to know about French cuisine.

Molecular Gastronomy

For anyone who loves science and meticulous instructions, this book is a treat. It’s essentially a science textbook for chefs and home cooks. For even more fun, you can buy kits online that go with this cookbook, that will increase your precision tenfold. Turn dinner prep into a science experiment!

Momofuku

This author’s recipes may not be the most accessible to many Americans, but it is interesting. Momofuku functions more as an educator to how the titular restaurant functions and how extensive the meals inside’s creations can be. As much as I wouldn’t recommend cooking most of the food in here due to difficulty and time, it is a gorgeous read.

Joy Of Cooking

This cookbook is a legend amongst professional chefs and home cooks alike. One of the great legends of cooking, this is one of those few cookbooks that manages to charm you with it’s simplicity without talking down to you.

Baking: From My Home To Yours

This book is a baker’s bible. If you like to read about pastries, breads and the love of all things baking, this book is for you. Julia Child even respected and baked the recipes in this iconic cookbook.

Salt Fat Acid Heat

This is the perfect book for a beginning chef. Most of the book features lessons on cooking with the titular elements of food. As author Samin Nosrat would say, the quality of food comes down to four elements salt, fat, acid and heat and the beginning of the book teaches you how to master them.

The Sunset Chinese Cookbook

This book is vintage but well researched. This is my favorite cookbook of all time and it’s entertainment value is largely in its educational material. The recipes are derived from multiple areas of China and use authentic methods and ingredients, though some ingredients are Americanized for accessibility purposes. The book also has facts and history lessons about the meals in it’s pages. As someone who has tasted the recipes in the book, I recommend the Peking Chicken.

Fifty Shades Of Chicken

A comedy cookbook that’s definitely not for kids, every recipe in this book is themed after a sensual scene in the Fifty Shades books. This book is spicy, and the recipes have great reviews on Amazon. The unique recipes are fun to read and fun to eat, making it the perfect cookbook for readers who love a laugh and a meal.

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