Why We Cook

Where Food Meets Feminism

Available everywhere
books are sold

112 women tell stories, share recipes, and inspire change.
Filled with beautiful watercolor illustrations and portraits.
A perfect gift that uplifts and nourishes.

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events

-Carla Hall

"Prepare to be blown away by Lindsay Gardner’s illustrations. Her gift as an artist is part of this fluid conversation about food with some of the most intriguing women, and you’ll never want it to end. Why We Cook highlights our voices and varied perspectives in and out of the kitchen and empowers us to reclaim our place in it."

“Why We Cook highlights our voices and varied perspectives in and out of the kitchen & empowers us to reclaim our place in it.”

chef, television personality, and author of Carla Hall’s Soul Food: Everyday and Celebration

- Anita Lo

“Why We Cook is a wonderful, heartwarming antidote to these trying times, and a powerful testament to unity through food.”

chef and author of Solo and Cooking Without Borders

- Molly Wizenberg

“The women in its pages remind us that it’s in the kitchen, in the field, and around the table that we do our most vital work as human beings.”

author of A Homemade Life and The Fixed Stars

"This book is a beautiful object, but it’s also much more than that: an essay collection, a trove of recipes, a guidebook for how we might use food to fight for and further justice. The women in its pages remind us that it’s in the kitchen, in the field, and around the table that we do our most vital work as human beings—and that, now more than ever, we must."

Lindsay Gardner is an illustrator and mother of two daughters (her favorite sous chefs). Her watercolor and gouache illustrations have appeared in cookbooks and editorial projects, advertising campaigns, and stationery and interior design collaborations. This wide-ranging artistic sensibility makes her a gentle interrogator of the world around her. Her food art has appeared in the Cookie Advent Cookbook (Chronicle, 2016), Pies, Fries & Ice Cream (Chronicle, 2016), and The Rituals (Chronicle, 2019).

You may have also seen her work in Uppercase Magazine, Architectural Digest, StyleCarrot, Decorist, Vogue, among others. Originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, she’s been fortunate to live in the beautiful and vibrant locales of Oakland and San Francisco, CA, Chicago, IL, New York, NY and Middlebury, VT. Why We Cook is her first book.

Meet Lindsay

Learn more

Photo by: Smeeta Mahanti

Nicole Ponseca, Kate Williams, Yewande Komolafe, Abby Fuller, Carla Hall, Gail Simmons, Dorie Greenspan, Jessica B. Harris, Abra Berens, Leah Penniman, Arielle Johnson, Nite Yun, Amanda Cohen, Leticia Landa, Christa Chase, Osayi Endolyn, Celia Sack, Niki Nakayama, Sara Forte, Rosio Sanchez

Ashley Rodriguez, Cara Mangini, Gray Chapman, Bonnie Tsui, Mutsuko Soma, Alana Newhouse, Joyce Goldstein, Blake Spalding, Elaine Chukan Brown, Mimi Mendoza, Christine Ha, Tanya Holland, Katianna Hong, Anya Fernald, Amanda Saab, Rachel Khong, Elizabeth Binder, Priya Krishna, Irene Li

Jodi Liano, Jess Thomson, Anita Lo, Lisa Ludwinski, Haile Thomas, Deborah Madison, Liz Alpern, Hillel Echo-Hawk, Ana Roš, Sadia Badiei, Cristina Martinez, Renee Erickson, Jen Castle, Preeti Mistry, Ruth Reichl, Martha Hoover, Jeni Britton Bauer, Ashleigh Shanti, Polina Chesnakova, Reem Assil, Julia Turshen

contributors

Join my newsletter community and I’ll send you a note now and then about Why We Cook. Thanks for following along!

JOIN THE FUN

*IN PERSON* author talk and book signing, in conversation with Leticia Landa, Deputy Director of La Cocina and Why We Cook Contributor. Free!

Upcoming Events

THURSDAY, March 31, 2022: 6:30 pm PT
OMNIVORE BOOKS, SAN FRANCISCO

*IN PERSON*
A celebration of Women in Wine, Food and Art
Join me for a conversation with contributors Stevie Stacionis, Maryam Ahmed and Elaine Chukan Brown, a flight of Raft Wines and tasty bites from Andreya Nightingale of Mortar Pestle Cooking.
Tickets available HERE.

Friday, April 1, 2022: 4-7pm PT
BAY GRAPE, NAPA

@lindsaygardnerart

lindsaygardnerart.com

For press or collaborations, please contact Kate Woodrow.
For bulk orders, please contact specialmarkets@workman.com

Available everywhere
books are sold