The popularity of old-fashioned cookbooks, with offerings from Gwyneth Paltrow and Sophia Loren

Behind almost every popular dish in 2025 is a viral social media post. If you ask people to share their recipes for making favourites like cottage cheese wraps, protein bagels, home-made Dubai chocolate or crispy rice salmon salad, nine out of 10 are likely to send a link to a Facebook, Instagram, TikTok or Xiaohongshu (RedNote) post. Recipes have been transitioning from the page to the screen ever since popular user-generated website Allrecipes made its debut in 1997. Today there is no shortage of such platforms online, with dedicated websites including Epicurious, Food52, Bon Appétit and subscriber favourite NYT Cooking. Even famous chefs like Ina Garten (the Barefoot Contessa), Martha Stewart and Jamie Oliver have jumped on the digital bandwagon to share their insights and signature dishes with millions. The digitisation of recipes took a new turn when the pandemic transformed the masses into aspiring Michelin-star chefs. Now YouTube is crammed with user-generated video tutorials on how to make a sourdough starter, while audiences turn to influencers instead of chefs for banana bread tips. With so much delicious content online, it’s easy to forget that cookbooks are still being written. They have a very long history, dating as far back as 1700BC in ancient Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), where recipes were written on clay tablets. The advent of modern printing in the 15th century brought cookbooks to a much wider audience – prior to this they were only available to the elite – and by the 17th century they had become a kitchen staple. In the 20th century, books like Irma S. Rombauer’s Joy of Cooking (1931), and the two-volume Mastering the Art of French Cooking (1961 and 1970), by Simone Beck Louisette Bertholle and Julia Child, were helping to make cooking at home easier and more enjoyable. “Cookbooks are a unique witness of time, a period, a moment that only a physical book can truly express. It has a genuine story, a beautiful narrative and writing, and of course, stunning pictures,” says Michelin-starred chef Julien Royer. Cookbooks have evolved from offering simple instructions on how to make a dish. Now, you can expect glossy tomes that are as collectible for their design and imagery as the dishes described within. Making these books even more appealing are their authors, who now include high-profile figures and celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Sophia Loren and Chrissy Teigen. They share their own recipes, as well as personal stories to further entice readers. As a result, modern-day cookbooks are as varied as they are entertaining. Many explore buzzworthy topics such as fermenting, seed oils or the advent of slow foods. Beyond recipes, they contain historical and cultural accounts of food trends, social habits and tastes. According to Emily Takoudes, executive commissioning editor of food and drink at Phaidon Press – which launched its cookbook category 20 years ago – unique concepts and compelling original material are what’s keeping printed books in high demand. “Readers may learn about a chef or favourite food topic online, but a book can take them to a deeper place with more content in a special and beautifully designed package. Our indexes are quite extensive, with sections for gluten-free recipes, vegan recipes, vegetarian recipes and much more,” she says. Today, the diverse content of modern-day cookbooks is a major draw. Unlike their predecessors, newer iterations cover related and unrelated subjects including travel, history, art, fashion, design and even shopping, distinguishing them from their online counterparts. It’s not just general readers who are buying cookbooks either. Professional and high-profile chefs continue to look to printed books as a source of inspiration and ideas. “I don’t really look at the recipes, but more at the principles and concepts. The highly science-based cookbooks are to get educated and improve my work. Some are very inventive with their creations,” says Grégoire Michaud, the Swiss-born, Hong Kong-based founder of popular artisanal bakery chain Bakehouse. “I have hundreds of cookbooks – probably about 300 – yet I still buy more, choosing authors that have something interesting to say, or who have a different approach to food or cooking. Sometimes, it’s not the recipe that matters, but the stories that I find interesting,” says Susan Jung, food columnist and author of Kung Pao and Beyond: Fried Chicken Recipes from East and Southeast Asia. The raison d’être for printed cookbooks in a digital world, however, boils down to an intangible: the emotional connection readers form with them, which cannot be recreated online. “When I flip through a cookbook, I’m looking for that spark and connection to a recipe. There’s just something so special about holding a cookbook and seeing what catches your eye – you can’t replace that,” says Nancy Silverton, US-based chef and co-owner of Mozza Restaurant Group. Top chefs share their top reads Grégoire Michaud, pastry chef and founder of Bakehouse Partager sa Cuisine by Jean-Charles Fellay/CREPA “It shares recipes from everyday aunties and uncles from my region in Switzerland. It’s nothing fancy, but the weight these recipes carry [for me] is immeasurable.” Julien Royer, chef/owner of Odette, Singapore Essential Cuisine by Michel Bras “It was published more than 20 years ago, but it is still so relevant. It’s the perfect mix of narrative and photography – a book that tells a beautiful story, that’s aesthetically superb too.” Mingoo Kang, chef/owner of Mingles, South Korea, and Hansik Goo Grand Livre de Cuisine: Alain Ducasse’s Culinary Encyclopaedia by Alain Ducasse “When we’re curious about the basics of French or European cooking, this book is our go-to – it’s a practical and inspiring resource.” Nancy Silverton, chef and co-owner of Mozza Restaurant Group The Zuni Cafe Cookbook by Judy Rodgers “The recipes are so clear, thorough and accessible. [Rodgers] had such a unique and intuitive style in the way she put together flavour combinations.” Romain Dupeyre, executive chef and co-owner of Racines Le Guide Culinaire by Auguste Escoffier “It’s the Bible of French cooking that teaches you all the classic sauces, garnishes and meats. It was first published in 1903, and is still very relevant today.” Tam Kwok-fung, executive chef of Chef Tam’s Seasons, Macau Famous Chinese Dishes (中國名菜集錦) “This renowned set of books is a monumental work dedicated to the art of Chinese cuisine. Some dishes no longer exist, making it an invaluable preservation of lost culinary traditions.”

The popularity of old-fashioned cookbooks, with offerings from Gwyneth Paltrow and Sophia Loren

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Social media may be awash with recipes, but book fans cite their appreciation for high-quality narratives and photography in a tangible form

Social media may be awash with recipes, but book fans cite their appreciation for high-quality narratives and photography in a tangible form