How to Start a Cookbook Club (That’s Actually Fun, Flexible, and Teaches You to Cook)

Some of us want to cook more. Some of us want to stop cooking the same three meals every week. Most of us just want to eat something delicious and not do it alone.

A cookbook club solves all of that.

Part cooking class. Part dinner party. Part book club. It’s a place where recipes turn into rituals, mistakes turn into stories, and dinner becomes community.

And now, thanks to Bookum (👋 hi, we’re the folks building the internet’s coziest book club app), you can start your own digital cookbook club that’s easy to run, fun to join, and perfect whether you're vegan, a masterchef, or just learning how to boil water.

We’ll walk you through how to start one. Then we’ll show you how Bookum makes it easy.

What Is a Cookbook Club?

It’s a group that chooses a cookbook and cooks from it together. You meet up virtually or in person to talk about what you made, share tips, swap substitutions, and learn new techniques.

Some clubs pick one recipe a week. Others cook a full meal and host a virtual dinner. Some meet to talk about food memoirs. All of them revolve around cooking, conversation, and connection.

Cookbook clubs are great for beginners who want to learn in community. They’re also perfect for seasoned home cooks looking for fresh inspiration (and if you have authored a cookbook, then you should definitely have a cookbook club around your book!)

Need some cookbook recs? Try one of these:

• Black Food by Bryant Terry, which blends recipes with art, poetry, and stories from across the African diaspora.
• Just One Cookbook by Namiko Hirasawa Chen, a favorite for mastering Japanese home cooking.
• PlantYou: Scrappy Cooking, mixes sustainability with simple vegan recipes.

Bookum Makes It Simple

Running a club is work. Bookum takes the friction out of it. Whether you're cooking with friends, running a paid membership Cookbook, or building something brand new, Bookum gives you the tools to bring people together around food.

Here’s what you can do on the app:

Live Video Streaming

Host real-time cooking demos, Q&As, or dinner parties. Cook live with your club or let them watch (we all need to know what a 'pinch' actual looks like)

Book-Based Group Chats

Each book gets its own conversation. No messy threads. No lost links. No off-topic chaos. Just organized, focused discussion.

Live Audio Rooms (Nooks)

Need something low-key? Open a live audio space. Perfect for mid-week check-ins, recipe reviews, or kitchen chats while the rice is simmering.

Event Scheduling

Set dates for your next cookalong, guest chef session, or club meal. Let members RSVP and get reminders.

Co-Moderation

Add moderators and run your club as a team. Great for large groups or collaborative communities.

You can keep it small. Or grow it into a public club with hundreds of members. Either way, Bookum is built to scale with you.

How to Start Your Club

Pick a cookbook with a voice
Books that mix instruction with story work best. Think The Wok, Arabiyya, or The Vegan Chinese Kitchen. You want recipes, but you also want something to talk about.

Choose your format
Weekly? Monthly? Recipe by recipe? Meal by meal? You can adjust as you go. There’s no wrong way.

Invite your people
Bring friends. Post to your audience. Or build something new from scratch. People love food. They just need an excuse to show up.

Cook, share, connect
Use Bookum’s live features to host your discussions. Share your photos. Talk about what worked and what didn’t. Keep it real.

Cookbooks are more than recipes. They’re cultural archives. They’re love letters. They’re windows into how other people eat, live, and gather.

And when you cook with others, even virtually, something shifts. You’re no longer just feeding yourself. You’re part of something bigger.

That’s why we built Bookum the way we did. Because storytelling doesn’t stop at fiction. Because community doesn’t end with a post. Because food, like books, is best when shared.

Ready to host your own cookbook club? Download Bookum and start building your table. We’ll help you fill the seats.