You can find coffee table books about anything (even coffee), but this round-up focuses on the best coffee table books for food lovers.
A cool coffee table book can easily elevate the appearance and function of any coffee table.
Whether they’re full of recipes, stories or infographics, the books on this list make it easy for food lovers to find the perfect coffee table book (or books) for their living space. Foodies rejoice!
The 15 Best Coffee Table Books for Foodies
Here they are in no particular order…
1. The Story of Food: An Illustrated History of Everything We Eat
The Story of Food uses rich text and beautiful illustrations to cover the stories of almost 200 different foods.
Whether you love meat, fish, fruit, nuts or all types of food, this book has something that every foodie can enjoy.
2. Feast for the Eyes: The Story of Food in Photography
The title of Feast for the Eyes won’t mislead you. This book really is a feast for the eyes!
Covering the history of food photography and, of course, showing top-tier food photographs makes Feast for the Eyes a must-have coffee table book for food lovers and photography nerds.
3. Food & Drink Infographics. A Visual Guide to Culinary Pleasures
I never thought I’d be captivated by (or even see) an infographic about cheese, but then I picked up this book.
Food & Drink Infographics is full of cool pictures and details about everything from sushi to kitchen knives. This book definitely has something for everyone.
4. American Sfoglino: A Master Class in Handmade Pasta
A pasta lover can only truly become a pasta aficionado after doing two things. First, they have to learn what sfoglia means. Then, they have to become a sfoglino or sfoglina.
For those of us who don’t know what that means, American Sfoglino: A Master Class in Handmade Pasta is the perfect way to learn the art of making handmade pasta (and learn a little Italian along the way).
5. All the Restaurants in New York
All the Restaurants in New York features the author’s drawings of 100 different restaurants in New York City.
His creative drawings are accompanied by interviews with the chefs, patrons and owners of the mentioned restaurants. This book will make any foodie want to visit New York City stat!
6. The Joys of Baking: Recipes and Stories for a Sweet Life
The Joys of Baking is perfect for anyone who loves to bake, but it’s deeper than just recipes.
This book has five chapters with titles like Courage, Bliss and Wisdom, and it features recipes paired with thoughtful photos and essays that are sure to tug at the reader’s heartstrings.
7. Wine Trails: 52 Perfect Weekends in Wine Country
Here’s a book that appeals to wine-loving foodies. Wine Trails is made by Lonely Planet and has detailed itineraries for weekend trips in various wine regions around the world.
This book covers some of the usual wine destinations like Sonoma, California and Tuscany, Italy, but also features more low-key destinations in places like Argentina, Lebanon and Turkey.
8. The Southerner’s Cookbook: Recipes, Wisdom, and Stories
If you love soul food, then this is one coffee table book you need. The Southerner’s Cookbook has more than 100 delectable Southern recipes.
Readers will be delighted to find not only Southern classics like fried chicken and hush puppies, but also tons of interesting dishes like sonker and Minorcan chowder.
9. The Ice Cream Gypsy
The Ice Cream Gypsy is a mouth-watering book for anyone with a sweet tooth. It’s a travelogue with more than 200 photos of ice cream that the author enjoyed in various parts of the world.
Showcasing ice cream treats from the US, Canada, France, Spain, Hong Kong and Japan, The Ice Cream Gypsy is truly an ice cream lover’s dream come true.
10. Where Chefs Eat: A Guide to Chefs’ Favorite Restaurants
As you can tell from the title, Where Chefs Eat: A Guide to Chefs’ Favorite Restaurants has interviews with a bunch of the world’s best chefs, and they reveal their favorite restaurants.
If you love restaurant recommendations, no book will compare to this one. Where Chefs Eat is packed with info on more than 3,000 restaurants in more than 70 countries.
This book is extensive. To be precise, it has interviews with 600 chefs.
11. Wild Plate: Modern Living Cuisine
Wild Plate is all about raw, plant-based foods.
You can tell that this book is a passion project by the 101 curated recipes and the beautiful photographs that were taken by the author.
Wild Plate may be intended for a niche audience, but I can assure you that any food lover will enjoy flipping through the pages.
12. Food Lover’s Guide to the World: Experience the Great Global Cuisines
Another great book from Lonely Planet, Food Lover’s Guide to the World is certainly worldly.
It features tons of interesting info about different foods, how to make them and where to eat them in their country of origin.
Want to know where to enjoy some dim sum in Hong Kong or a baguette in France? This book has you covered.
13. The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook
I don’t know any food lovers that don’t absolutely love Chinese food.
If you have an adventurous palate when it comes to Chinese food, then you may have heard of Mission Chinese in San Francisco or New York City.
If you want to learn all about their story and how to cook their dishes, The Mission Chinese Food Cookbook is literally the only book suited for that!
14. My Last Supper: 50 Great Chefs and Their Final Meals / Portraits, Interviews, and Recipes
My Last Supper gets very deep. The author asked 50 of the world’s most renowned chefs what they would choose as their final meal before they die.
My Last Supper is beautiful, emotional and practical. It’s filled with recipes, touching portraits of the chefs and details on their last meals of choice.
15. Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto
No list about books for food lovers would be complete without mention of barbecue.
Franklin Barbecue: A Meat-Smoking Manifesto is written by the owner of Franklin Barbecue, which is one of the most popular barbecue joints in the world.
This book has everything you need to know about cooking ridiculously tasty barbecue.
Conclusion
There you have it! 15 Manored-approved coffee table books for food lovers.
Whether you love cooking or you just want to admire some beautiful photos of food, there are plenty of great books on this list to choose from.
