5 New Travel Cookbooks to Help You Plan Your Next Trip

Looking for an escape? Open a cookbook. There are thousands of cookbooks that center on a specific place — ones that take a deep dive into that region’s style of cooking through recipes and stunning location photography. A good travel cookbook has the power to transport you across the world, without even having to leave your kitchen.

Whether you’re shopping for your next vacation destination or hoping to learn more about another country’s culinary culture, these new cookbooks will take you there and beyond. 

Yassou by Shaily Lipa

Named after the casual Greek greeting, Yassou transports readers to Greece, where the cuisine is fresh and the sea is a true blue. Author Shaily Lipa shares traditional recipes inspired by her grandparents from Thessaloniki, embracing the simplicity and less-is-more approach of Greek cooking, from baked feta with jammy cherry tomatoes to salt-baked whole fish. 

Pakistan by Maryam Jillani

Until now, there has never been a major cookbook about Pakistani cuisine — one tackling its history, regional diversity, and the people who have shaped its evolution. Pakistani writer Maryam Jillani takes readers through seven regions of the country with thoughtful essays and more than 100 recipes that define its cuisine, including street food, curries, and flatbreads. 

Ghana to the World by Eric Adjepong with Korsha Wilson

Chef Eric Adjepong, a first-generation Ghanaian American, shares the beauty and complexities of West African cuisine in this cookbook. It’s filled with personal essays, transportive photography, and recipes ranging from traditional jollof rice and malva pudding to modern interpretations like grilled corn with garlic piri piri butter. 

Coastal by Scott Clark with Betsy Andrews

In Coastal, chef Scott Clark takes readers on a journey down the Central Coast along the Pacific Coast Highway. Starting at his own American restaurant, Dad’s Luncheonette in Half Moon Bay, he hits the road, highlighting the restaurants and people that make the oceanside trek so unique — with plenty of quintessentially Californian recipes along the way. 

French at Heart by Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith Franchini

In 2008, American mother-daughter duo Marjorie Taylor and Kendall Smith Franchini followed their dreams and opened a cooking school in Burgundy, France. In their second cookbook, they share the life they’ve created in Beaune through simple, French-inspired family recipes like salade Niçoise and cheesy gratin dauphinois.