The Best Cookbooks of 2020 Are Beautiful Tributes to Food and Drink

If this year in cookbooks could be summed up in one neat phrase, we'd have to say it was the year of origin stories. We interpret that broadly. The books we devoured in 2020 retread ancient history, revisited homegrown habits, and reexamined roots. These books gently reminded us that looking backwards isn't a foolish endeavor, especially when the rest of the world is stuck in this horrible present. Sometimes, a good memory is the best meal prep. That and a deep breath, especially when you're standing in the kitchen with a slew of ingredients in front of you and a hungry table awaiting your final dish.

Of course, it isn't as simple as looking back. Cookbooks this year come not just after months of self-taught cooking and social upheaval, but on the heels of a decade that was defined largely by opening up the mysterious, high-energy world of culinary arts to far more people. And that’s literally what cookbooks do. You’ll see it reflected through thoughtful storytelling, gorgeous imagery, and updated technique in the following cookbooks, which are our favorites of the year here at Esquire. Use them (or if you're a dreamer but not a do-er, just display them) well.