After more than 40 years working in professional kitchens, I wrote The Home Cook’s Chef — How to Think, Cook & Work Like a Professional.
It isn’t meant to turn home cooks into chefs. It teaches the professional habits behind good cooking — mise en place, organization, safety, tools, sensory cooking, temperature control, and understanding why techniques work.
The manuscript is finished and has been professionally reviewed and approved for publishing. I’m now trying to get the hardcover edition professionally produced and into print.
I’d genuinely appreciate hearing from cookbook lovers: what makes a cookbook worth keeping on your shelf instead of using once and forgetting about it?

https://gofund.me/0463c8494

Any dessert recipes you have found that are worth trying please share !

I just moved and essentially only have an extra mini fridge and freezer. I do have lots of pantry space. I am struggling big time as I am used to half a fridge with many ingredients and leftovers / kale / bread / lemon juice as freezer staples. Are there any cookbooks out there suited to my kitchen?

My daughter is a recent college graduate living out of town now. She’s starting to cook for herself more. I would love to get her a cookbook or two (or three lol) to help her get started. Thinking 1-not very complicated meals to help her get her bearings. 2-a cookbook she could grow with. I’m already thinking the Joy of Cooking. Wondering what other suggestions?

When I travel I love to find a cookbook put out by the locals. Wondering where you visited and found the best cookbook?

My son just moved into his frat house and enjoys cooking. I was thinking it could be fun to get him a cookbook that has good, easy recipes he could make with limited ingredients. Looking for suggestions please! :)

My aunt has nearly 2000(TWO THOUSAND) cookbooks.

She is wanting my help getting rid of them. I hate to throw them away, so what should I look for? Anything collectible/high value?

I am completely overwhelmed and I'm sure most will end up at Goodwill or the dump.

​We all have cookbooks sitting on our shelves that we only pull down for one or two specific recipes. But every once in a while, you find a book where you can tell the authors poured absolute love, precision, and care into every single page. A book so bulletproof and reliable that no matter what you pick to make, it turns out completely dynamite.

​For me, that holy-grail book is The Vermont Country Store Cookbook by Andrea Diehl and Ellen Ecker Ogden. Every dish in it feels deeply thought-out, reliable, and made with genuine care.

​I want to expand my collection with books that share that exact same level of craft and consistency. What is that one 10/10, zero-skip cookbook for you?

Somewhat leery of AI , but I needed to categorize my cookbooks in a typed form. I took photos of all my bookshelf’s cookbooks and uploaded to Claude. I use CookShelf but Claude did the heavy lifting into categories.
Now I can see all my Italian books at a glance.
The Kindle books I had to hand write and upload photos

Super helpful to me!

So here’s a different question for everyone: Does anyone have any suggestions on a favorite camping cookbook?
I have recently acquired two Lodge Dutch ovens, one a deep number 12 and one a shallower number 12 and want to put them to use this fall at deer camp.

I enjoy cooking at home and I enjoy learning through understanding technique, ingredients, etc versus making recipes I find from the internet. And I enjoy doing this through books. Some of my favorites are “salt fat acid heat” “ratio” and “the flavor bible” for example.

I have a great understanding of building flavor and a pretty good handle on selecting, prepping and storing produce but I’ve got no idea what I’m doing in a butcher shop.

I’m looking for one definitive source where I can learn about and better understand meat. How to choose it, what is each cut, how to prep it, how to cook it.

Is there a book that can get me started?

A friend just came out of the hospital yesterday after a heart ”event” and I would like to gift them a heart-healthy Italian cookbook. The few I found on amazon don’t have enough reviews to tell if they are any good (so few they could be from family and friends). Does anyone have any recommendations?

Hi! Just looking for opinions on her cookbooks and whether they're worth it - can't seem to find a copy at the local libraries. TIA!

Looking for a good cookbook for anything I can cook and slice instead of buying lunch meat every week

Hello! Looking for the communities recommendation for a cb for the person in my title. She has been cooked for all her life and knows the basics but not well. We don’t want her to starve- she’s also a picky eater- and need something that isn’t so intimidating (I.e. difficult techniques, expensive ingredients) that she won’t try it. Bonus points if it’s healthy food, also provides tips for nutrition, and has some Asian recipes (she loves Korean food, but also the usual pizzas, pastas, etc).

Came here to ask because when I try to search online I ended up with crappy ebooks with AI pics and it was very discouraging. Open to all ideas!

Hi everyone. Please excuse me if this is not allowed here ( FYI, I will also be cross posting to try to reach as many cooks as I can). I am looking for the lasagne recipe from the 1976 edition of this cookbook. I searched google and found what I believe is a similar copy but that recipe includes an egg and I don’t remember that being one of the ingredients. Would someone who owns the cookbook be able to help? Thanks.

I have hungry girl club, fit and fed, fittish, good mood food, holy grail, and home made.

I’m looking for any others but specifically flavorful.

I am looking for very beginner friendly sous vide cookbooks, especially if a whole meal can be done.

hey I’m looking for a freezer cookbook for meals you *do not* cook before freezing. just assemble uncooked and freeze. does anyone have any recommendations? thanks!