The Cookbook Club Is the New Dinner Party [Video]

Some people relax by watching Netflix on their couch. Alana Laverty is the type of person who plops down and peruses cookbooks.

So when Laverty, 29, moved to London a few years ago, she thought she’d try her hand at a cookbook club—an edible spin on the age-old book club. In April 2023, a six-person cohort gathered at Laverty’s house in West London armed with ingredients, and began cooking different recipes out of Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa: How Easy Is That?

“We all have such busy lives, and it can be really hard to make consistent plans,” says Laverty, whose group now meets monthly. “I think it’s really about that time together and that sense of community.”

As cookbooks’ and chefs’ cultural cache swells, cookbook clubs like Laverty’s are growing alongside them, too. Although cookbook clubs have been around for decades, the pandemic ushered in a new wave of get-togethers, with many …