Staying social: cookbook clubs
Note: yes, Covid is still a thing! But we also need one another now more than ever. A well-planned small event in a private home may be an acceptable risk to some — and dreaming of our future is also a worthy aim.
First thing’s first, what the heck is a cookbook club? In short, it’s kind of a like a regular book club — only we eat the contents. The group agrees on a book, each attendee picks a recipe, and then everyone gets together to eat the foods, discuss the book (or anything else under the sun), and generally enjoy the fruits of their labor. I’ve been in two different incarnations of cookbook clubs, and they’ve both been great. Through those experiences, I have some tips and tricks to pass along to get your own club going.
Identify your group members.
Both of my cookbook club experiences originated via social media post. When I organized our current group, I used Facebook/Instagram posts followed up with a Google Form to collect some information: names, pronouns, food allergies, scheduling, interest in hosting, and initial cookbook suggestions.
Lay out some ground rules.
Decide how you’ll choose books. In the first group in which I participated, whoever was hosting chose the book. In the group I’m facilitating now, we go off suggestions and then a majority vote. Does everyone have to host? I live in a city and our group could max out at 23 — too big for many folks to host, so we made it optional.
Other variables to consider for guidelines:
How members will gain access to books. Will they be free or low-cost? We try to make books as accessible as possible with a variety of methods.
How you’ll deal with allergies, sensitivities, and preferences. We require labels and ask members to bring their own serving implements to avoid cross-contamination.
How much work falls to host vs. a collaborative entertaining event. Our hosts provide non-alcoholic drinks, utensils, plates. Disposable is fine.
Whether alcohol will be present at your meet-ups.
How often you’ll meet. Our current group is shooting for every six weeks.
Can other folks (kids, partners) join, or is it just group members?
We’re a diverse group and many of us are social workers, so we have a rule about respect and humility for differences. Ours looks like this:
Club members shall practice respect for one another’s pronouns and differences, as well as strengths, weaknesses, and preferences in regards to food preparation. Don’t yuck others’ yums, be sensitive to the fact that people have different relationships to food than you might including but not limited to cultural, familial, and health-related experiences.
Take group input. Any list of rules or agreements should be a living document.
Decide on your communication methods.
This will depend on your group and your organizer’s tech preferences. In my previous group, we had a Facebook page where the host could post event details and guests would post which recipe they were bringing. But not everyone in our current club has Facebook and I’m trying to use that platform less. So we use email to communicate and a spreadsheet to sign up for a recipe. Doodle polls and Google Forms are also great scheduling tools. I particularly like the spreadsheet in that we can make a new tab for each book and that allows for looking back at previous meet-ups. Anyone can access the spreadsheet at any time to jog their memory as to a particular dish if they want to make it again.
Don’t make more than one recipe’s worth.
Please believe me: unless you know there’s a particular item that is going to get gobbled up and will be difficult to divide (like drumsticks/wings, or individual tiny cakes), it is not necessary to make more than what is in the base recipe. Folks serve themselves tasting portions of the items they can eat and there has always been plenty. I’m personally shooting for zero leftovers.
Meet up and eat.
Heck yes, this is the best part. So far, our current group is very chill. We ended up having 17 dishes for our first meeting, but I anticipate that will fluctuate over time and we’ll end up with a core group. But here’s the thing: it was fantastic to try 17 of the dishes! So if you can accommodate a bigger group, there are some advantages.
Get creative and do what works for you.
One group member suggested that we consider a chef’s work (ex. Michael Solomonov) instead of a specific book, which increases flexibility and is still a fun and interesting endeavor. Sky’s the limit, really, and it’s your group.
Well, what are you waiting for? Have you participated in a cookbook club before? How did it go? What other unanticipated issues came up that could help other folks? Tell me everything in the comments!
Other resources:
How to Start a Cookbook Club
7 Tips for Starting Your Own Cookbook Club
How (and why) to Start a Cookbook Club
We’re Starting a Cookbook Club, and So Can You
