The Best Smelling Bookstore in the World
And the prize goes to… *drumroll*…"Books For Cooks" located at 4 Blenheim Crescent, Notting Hill, London.
As soon as I stepped into the bookstore, I was greeted by the expected high shelves stacked with cook books on both sides of the walls, and a table display for new books. For once, cook books are not relegated to a tiny corner in the back of the store! One can find almost any cook book in the world here: from the famous Gordon Ramseys to “Cooking for the White House” to Thai cooking to “Etiquette for English Tea” to easy to do Vegan recipes.
There was something else about this bookstore. What is it? There were two ladies behind the counter working on catalogues or something or other. Was it the oak wood cashier counter? The lighting maybe? Why do I smell something sugary sweet baking away in the oven? OK, it was a drop too much last night and it is probably too early to be in a bookstore after a hangover.
I parked myself next to the table of new books and I couldn’t help but think I need something sweet. I keep smelling cake. My body’s probably telling me I need a sugar boost. In a few minutes, I drifted towards the back of the bookstore, towards what’s cooking, towards a kitchen! Oh yummy!
And Phew! I was not hallucinating after all. There is a kitchen in the bookstore! “Books for Cooks” has a test kitchen nestled at the far end of the bookstore. The tempting smells were coming from the cake of the day baking in the oven: a delicious orange and olive oil cake with pine nuts from Apples for Jam.
Resident cooks select a few recipes randomly from the cookbooks in the store and serve them for lunch and tea everyday. Reservations are not needed for lunch or tea. But do get there early, as the goodies do run out quickly, especially on Saturdays. Due to popular demand, “Books for Cooks” has put together favourite tried and tested recipes into slim volume cookbooks.