Photo by Tomas Espinoza.
2026 has been a big year for chefs with Atlanta ties releasing cookbooks. As our city’s culinary scene continues to garner national accolades and showcase creativity of the individuals who make it special, these three cookbooks offer a peek behind the scenes, insight into what inspires the chefs, and detailed instructions on how to recreate some of their most memorable dishes at home.
Photo by Tomas Espinoza.
Atlas by Freddy Money
The book’s dedication reads, “For our guests, and for the next generation of top professional chefs.” It’s written for both categories of readers, with some recipes that could be accomplished by skilled home cooks and scores of others that would challenge even the most accomplished professional chefs. The coffee table-style tome, released in September, peels back the curtain on how the team at Atlas creates fan favorite dishes such as chicken liver parfait with cherry, foie gras with sea buckthorn flower, black truffle pillows, halibut with cauliflower confetti, and Freddy’s golden rocher, a gold dusted chocolate and hazelnut sphere. The lush photographs inspire readers to recreate the elegant plates, and the detailed instructions are like taking a crash course in the finer culinary arts. $200 direct from Atlas.
Photo by Tomas Espinoza.
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No. 1 Best Indian Cookbook in the World: At-Home Recipes from the Streets, Truck Stops, Villages, and Palaces of India by Meherwan Irani
The chef behind Decatur’s Chai Pani released his much-anticipated debut cookbook in September, opening with the statement, “I’m here to tell you that Indian street food is the best food on the planet.” Across the next nearly 300 pages, he lays out his case with approachable, mouth-watering recipes for his favorite dishes such as Arangaon truck stop chicken curry, tamarind-glazed spare ribs, tandoori salmon, mango lassi, and much more. Each recipe is paired with a heartfelt story of its origin and helpful tips for where to source ingredients in the U.S. The whole work is illustrated with joyful images of the recipes, as well as colorful photographs from across Irani’s native India. $40 from Penguin Random House.
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Photo courtesy of the publisher, Abrams.
Down South + East: A Chinese American Cookbook by Ron Hsu
Ron Hsu, the culinary brains behind Michelin-starred Lazy Betty, released his debut cookbook in March, with assistance from co-author Hugh Amano. The foreword, written by celebrity chef Eric Ripert of Le Bernardin, begins with “Great chefs are shaped not just by mastering cookery technique, but by the stories they carry, the places they called home, and the flavors that left a mark on them.” No doubt, Hsu’s history of working in his parents’ Chinese restaurant in the Atlanta suburbs, his time in Ripert’s kitchen in New York City, and his tenure leading one of our city’s most acclaimed restaurants have defined his perspective. That point of view comes to life in more than 100 recipes, such as okra stew, collard greed fried rice, barbecue brisket and rice cake stir fry, shrimp toast, sriracha spiced baked mac and cheese, blueberry and lemongrass pie, and more. $40 from Abrams Books.
