No one who cooks, cooks alone. Even at her most solitary, a cook in the kitchen is surrounded by generations of cooks past, the advice and menus of cooks present, the wisdom of cookbook writers.
Laurie Colwin
At Beaufort Street Books, we love cooking and we love cookbooks, with many customers claiming that we stock the largest range in Perth, WA. We also pride ourselves on the extensive range of children’s books and quality fiction, together with many other genres you would typically find in an independent bookstore.
Cookbooks nowadays are designed to be story books as much as they are a collection of recipes. They tell the history of the restaurant, the journey of a chef, the birth of a recipe, and the friends that shared the food…
One particular Bookclub that sourced their month’s novels from our shelves, would choose four or five new books each month rather than everyone reading the same book. Bookshop owner Jane Seaton pondered this concept and the idea that maybe she could replicate it, but with cookbooks instead of novels.
If there were twelve members who paid a small amount each month, and each of those twelve took their turn to choose the books – a sizeable library of cookbooks would evolve for members to borrow and experiment with, each bringing a dish to the meeting to share and discuss.
The Inaugural Degustation Cookbook Bookclub was born in June 2014, holding their meetings in the store on the third Thursday of each month.
To have a basic ingredient that can be prepared in a million different ways is a beautiful thing.
Alice Waters
As the months went by and these fabulous home cooks regaled their friends of their cookbook adventures, and we relayed stories to those customers interested in knowing what our favourite cookbooks were and why, the waitlist of hopeful participants grew rapidly.
After being on the waitlist for way too long, one hopeful home cook asked, “Why don’t we start a second group?” And so the second Thursday Degustation Cookbook Club was set up in May 2017.
Occasionally, through work commitments or moving interstate, participants would have to leave, but with the knowledge that they were always welcome at the table should they be visiting at the time of a monthly meeting.
The waitlist continued to grow…and grow…with very few ever relinquishing their place at the table.
Fast forward a year or two – Jane was chatting with her friend Kate Lamont at the Cottesloe Lamonts restaurant, about Kate putting together a new cookbook, and she suggested that when Kate had some recipes ready to go, she could ask those in the Degustation Cookbook Clubs to road test them for her. After explaining to Kate how the Cookbook Clubs worked, and how ridiculous the waitlists were, you guessed it – Kate asked, “Why don’t we start one here?”
The Cottesloe Lamonts Cookbook Club commenced in October 2018 and meets on the third Monday of the month in the restaurant!
If you are interested in joining one of these groups, please email us at hello@beaufortstreetbooks.com.au