Our Food Editors' Favorite Cookbooks Of 2022

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Every year brings a new batch of fresh cookbooks from food writers, chefs, and even a few celebrities. While there isn't enough time to flick through every new book on the market, our food editors spend a lot of time reading and eating through the latest titles. So we asked each editor to pick one book that stood out among the stacks this year. Some selected first-time authors that dazzled them with their debut book, and others reached for books by tried and true culinary authors. While there are some classic cookbooks everyone should own, these newcomers are welcome additions to our cookbook collections.

01 of 04

Sunday Best by Adrienne Cheatham

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"The subtitle to chef Adrienne Cheatham's debut cookbook is 'cooking up the weekend spirit every day.' Paging through the colorful photos, appetizing recipes, and lively text, you'll feel inspired to do just that. A Chicago native, she found inspiration in her family's Mississippi roots and the idea of putting your "Sunday best" on the table for the people you care about. Cheatham has worked for big-name chefs like Eric Ripert and Marcus Samuelsson, but these recipes reflect her multicultural upbringing, rather than her years cooking in restaurants. Although she does include many wonderful anecdotes, like when Aretha Franklin dined at New York City's famed seafood restaurant Le Bernardin and made an off-menu request for a 'shredded carrot salad with raisins and ranch dressing.' (Cheatham includes the recipe for the Buttermilk Vinaigrette she made.) Stand-out dishes include Cornbread (or Biscuit) Panzanella inspired by her grandmother's summer garden, Controversial Gumbo, which is a Christmastime tradition in her family, and Overnight Grits with Fried Eggs and Mushrooms, and Yuzu Banana Pudding," said Lisa Cericola, Deputy Food and Travel Editor.

02 of 04

I Am From Here by Vishwesh Bhatt

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"The more I cook the foods of Southeast Asia, the more I sense a kinship with the way we cook in the American South. It’s one of the many reasons I’ve fallen head over heels for Vishwesh Bhatt’s cookbook, I Am From Here. Bhatt grew up in Gujarat, India, immigrating to Texas with his family when he was 18, eventually settling in Oxford, Mississippi, where he opened Snackbar in cahoots with Chef John Currence. The foods that fill the menus of his restaurant and the pages of his book are a storied mashup of Southern staples spiced with flavors and memories of his homeland. Organized by ingredients (chapters include Rice, Okra, and Catfish, among many others), each collection of recipes feels at once both comforting and deliciously exotic. From Okra Chaat to Stewed Gujarati-Style Black-Eyed Peas to Corn Korma, Bhaat’s riffs on his favorite foods from two continents are almost as special as the stories he shares that brings the recipes to life. It’s the perfect book for the chef in your family who’s looking to broaden their horizons and fall back in love with cooking," said Josh Miller, Senior Food Editor.

03 of 04

Good Eats: The Final Years by Alton Brown

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"Alton Brown is the nerdy friend that always surprises you with new fun facts, quizzes, or conundrums. But all of these delightful details happen to be about some of my favorite subjects—food history and food science—so my appetite for Brown's content just never seems to be satiated. Fans of Brown will certainly know this about him: He takes science and cooking to a level the average home cook need never go. But he does it in a manner that invites us all to dig and delve into things you'd typically give no second thoughts: making pitch-perfect cold-brew coffee, getting the ideal biscuit (a personal favorite subject), and the right way to cook standing rib roasts for the ideal medium-rare finish. (It's a cool start with a high-heat finish, by the way.) It's a trip down memory lane for Good Eats fans, a way to revisit the decades' best episodes and lessons since the future of his show is unclear. So much more than a cookbook, this is a graduate-level course in cooking and culinary science that will make you a better, smarter cook in the marginally important ways that really matter," said Kimberly Holland, Senior Digital Food Editor.

04 of 04

Ghetto Gastro Presents Black Power Kitchen by Jon Gray, Pierre Serrao, Lester Walker with Osayi Endolyn.

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"Dr. Jessica B. Harris opens this cookbook discussing how for many African-Americans, 'food has always been a difficult subject: one that brings with it a history of struggle and strife, one that can evoke generations of want and decades of pain.' This sets the tone for this cookbook that explores both the hardships and joy of food. It should be noted that this book loosely resembles most cookbooks you probably have on your shelf. Interlaced with works of art by African-American artists, like Kerry James Marshall, and Q&As with prominent writers and artists from New York to Nigeria, this cookbook uses recipes to explore the history and culture of food throughout the African diaspora. Recipes include a vibrant red velvet cake, which gets its bright hue from freeze-dried raspberries instead of conventional food coloring, but still draws on the tradition of the cake as a staple in African-American neighborhoods and as a symbolic part of Juneteenth celebrations. I loved how this cookbook is a wholly unique reading experience, one that invites you to sit and engage with it from cover to cover," said Alana Al-Hatlani, Assistant Food Editor.

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