Food Bloggers Celebrate Cookbook Release

Take 150 food bloggers, mix in one up-and-coming restaurant near campus, and simmer on low for a few hours for one delicious event.

Yesterday evening, the Austin Food Blogger Alliance gathered at Freedmen's (2402 San Gabriel) to celebrate the launch of its first community cookbook. I had the pleasure of joining in part as a member of the press, but also as a card-carrying member of the AFBA.

For a group of folks so dedicated to maintaining a presence online, food bloggers seem remarkably well suited to socializing in real life, and it's that "emphasis on offline relationships" that Austin American-Statesman food writer Addie Broyles said made this cookbook possible.

Some 70 members (myself included) contributed recipes and photography and man-hours to make the cookbook possible – not bad when you consider that's almost half of the AFBA member roster. And it's just the beginning. "I'm already thinking about volume two," Broyles said as she addressed the crowd. "I can't imagine not doing another."

But first, a proper celebration was in order, and Evan LeRoy and his team served family-style barbecue to the assembled bloggers, friends, and foodies. Everybody dove in ravenously – after the requisite Instagram food porn photo shoots at each table – and folks got to enjoy the conversation as well as the food. Between Restaurant Week, the book release, and everybody's unique approach to the kitchen, there's always plenty to talk about.

Good food, good friends, and gathering around a table to share tips, treats, and laughs: Isn't that was a community cookbook should be all about?

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Check out a photo gallery of the event here.

The Austin Food Blogger Alliance Cookbook (History Press, 192 pp., $22.99 [paper]) is on sale now. Join AFBA for a cooking demo at the SFC Farmers' Market at the Triangle on April 24 or for a cookbook signing at BookPeople on May 11. For more information on AFBA, the book, or those events, visit the Alliance's website.