clock menu more-arrow no yes mobile

Filed under:

Here's Every Fall 2015 Cookbook That Matters

Clear out your bookshelves. You're gonna need more space.

by Eater Staff

When it comes to cookbooks, the back third of the calendar is the only one that matters. Sure, the year's first eight months see some major releases, but — much like movies, novels, and restaurants — the powers that be save the biggest of the big guns for release dates between September and December. The season's offerings have grown so massive that this year, we're breaking them down into four categories to keep things manageable. Read on for a rundown of what to buy, what to skip, and our editors' critical takes on some of the splashiest titles in the Fall 2015 deluge.

Table Of Contents (all h2's added automatically)

Restaurants in Book Form

The dynamism and range of the contemporary dining scene is on full display in 2015’s crop of restaurant cookbooks. The art and poetry of Atelier Crenn gets the gorgeous fine-dining book it deserves, while NoMad goes high-concept with a doorstopper of a volume that secretly has an entire second book hidden inside. Nouveau Asian-American trailblazers Mission Chinese and Talde both drop page-turners, and Israeli sensation Zahav rides (and possibly reshapes) the unstoppable trend-wave of Middle Eastern cuisine. Restaurant obsessives, start your engines.
See fall 2015's most important restaurant-inspired cookbooks >

Local and Regional

There’s never been a better time for cookbooks as a portal for travel, anthropology, and culinary exploration. Whether it’s a dive into Ukrainian cuisine or an ode to the American South, this season’s crop of cookbooks cover the world. Standouts include the first English-language release from Mexico City trailblazer Enrique Olivera, Lucky Peach’s love letter to all of Asia (including both traditional recipes and mall chicken), a lush paean to the food and culture of Senegal from Pierre Thiam, and a new take on New Nordic from Magnus Nilsson of Fäviken.
See fall 2015's regional-minded cookbooks >

Cooking Pros Bring It Home

The restaurant- and travel-oriented books might bring all the dazzle, but home cooking is the heart and soul of cookbook season. This season’s lineup is dominated by a passel of professionals who invite readers into their homes: chefs like John Besh, Bobby Flay, or Amanda Freitag; test-kitchen royalty like the scientifically rigorous J. Kenji López-Alt or Dora Charles, the creator of many of Paula Deen’s recipes; or simply royalty royalty: get ready for Ruth Reichl’s first standalone cookbook.
See the fall 2015 cookbooks where cooking pros bring it home >

Sweet and Savory Baking

Cold weather means it’s finally oven season. Get ready to make the best bread of your life with guides from Hot Bread Kitchen (whose cookbook showcases the global styles of breads created by its staff of immigrant women from around the world) or the technique-driven brilliance of Brooklyn’s Bien Cuit Bakery, whose deep-hued, crusty loaves have become a sensation. Sweets get their due, too: chocolate from Seattle’s Theo Chocolate, macarons from Pierre Hermé, pie from Philadelphia bakeshop Magpie, and more.
See fall 2015's most important baking cookbooks >

Header photos: Natalia Klenova
Editor: Meghan McCarron

The Challenges — and Opportunities — of Establishing a More Circular Mushroom Economy

Eater at Home

The Quaker Oats Guy Makes Some Damn Good Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Interviews

Jerry Seinfeld on the Unreality of ‘Unfrosted’