Future Of Book and the Cook

What does the future hold for Book and the Cook, the annual institution is in need of new ideas.

Looking back at this year’s small event and its modest success made it clear to organizer Judy Faye that more high-profile authors and events are needed to draw attention to a collective schedule.

Of 16 scheduled dinners this year, two (with Japanese author Hiroko Shimbo at Fork and Seattle-based Tom Douglas at Twenty21) were canceled outright for lack of interest. Turnout at some others was less than expected. The last-minute, new-fall-season schedule, with only two weeks for promotion, clearly took its toll.

But there were successes: Margaret Kuo’s dinner with author and San Francisco restaurateur Cecilia Chiang grew into two events, adding a luncheon to accommodate the overflow.

New direction for Book and Cook [Philadelphia Inquirer]