Trays of crispy chicken cutlets. Bowls of beet salad. Rows of freshly baked pies. Trader Joe’s candles flickering next to elegant taper holders, soft jazz in the background, and 40 strangers who all brought something to the table—literally. These are the scenes you’ll find at a supper or cookbook club hosted by Food Baby Brooklyn, a project dreamed up by our newest test kitchen resident, Isabelle Jardin.
A Brooklyn-based content creator and avid host, Isabelle is known for throwing cozy pop-up dinners in unexpected places—from backyards to warehouses—where strangers become friends over shared plates and good wine. Ambient lighting? Always. Homemade food? Absolutely. Cookbook recs? You know it.
When Isabelle moved to Brooklyn in 2021, she was craving connection—and saw that others were too. So she started something new. “I wanted to create a space where friends could gather and have a reason to get together,” she says. Enter: Food Baby Brooklyn, which started as a casual supper club and quickly evolved into a monthly cookbook club.
Photo by Sarthak Kher
Here’s how it works: Each month, a new cookbook is chosen (past favorites include That Sounds So Good by Carla Lalli Music and The Modern Navajo Kitchen by Alana Yazzie). Guests each make a dish from the book and bring it to a dinner party—no pressure, just vibes and very good food.
Isabelle’s love for cookbooks runs deep—she shares favorites regularly on her Instagram and will now be bringing that same energy to Food52 as our newest resident. Expect cookbook roundups, dinner party menus, and hosting how-tos that’ll make you want to gather your people and light a few too many candles.
Scroll on for a quick Q&A with Isabelle—plus her favorite hosting tip and the one ingredient she always has on hand (spoiler: it’s garlic).
You run a cookbook club—can you tell us how that started and what it’s taught you about cooking?
I moved to Brooklyn in 2021—we were still in the peak of
post-Covid madness and a lot of things looked different. I wanted to create a space
where friends could gather, enjoy life for themselves, and have a reason to get
together. I also had a massive pile of cookbooks that were basically just
collecting dust on my shelf. I might be a little old school, but I much prefer using
physical cookbooks to online recipes more often than not. I feel like
cookbooks are so personally made & leave you with a piece of each author and chef.
I feel like they connect us to our roots and to our community.
Hosting this club has taught me so much about accessibility. Cooking and eating my way through multiple cookbooks has shown me that cooking is not always as complicated as it’s brought up to be. I love knowing that I can help show this to other people and hopefully
teach them how easy it can be to show yourself love through simple and elevated
dishes, cultures, and different genres of cooking.
What’s one cookbook that changed how you think about food?
Big Night by Katherine Lewin—I love a cookbook that is truly educational. When I started getting serious about Cookbook Club and hosting in general, this book taught me SO much about how to put together an elevated and fun dinner party. One of my favorite things about this book is that it simplifies the complexities of multi-course cooking. I used to way over think hosting dinner parties but this book highlights how simple adjustments can make everything easier.
Photo by Sarthak Kher
What’s your go-to dish or menu for a dinner party?
Whether it’s four people or thirty, I always want some kind of grazing board ready.
Always have some food on the table even if it’s store-bought to keep people busy
And satisfied while you’re working on the main event!
When did you start feeling confident in the kitchen—and what helped you get there?
I’ve been cooking for most of my life in the kitchen with my mom. She’s a
phenomenal cook and for a long time she was the one taking the reins in the
kitchen. She also single handedly hosted 20-30 people at our house EVERY
Thanksgiving when I was growing up. When I was about 15 or 16, she decided to
put me in charge of Thanksgiving, which was completely unexpected and the
biggest honor of my life at that point. I think being the lone chef catering to 30
people (successfully) was all I’ll ever need to feel confident in the kitchen.
We all have a kitchen fail story—what’s one of yours, and what did it teach you?
The first time I ever worked in a commercial kitchen was one of the most stressful moments of my career. I was pretty new to the food world, specifically in NYC, & I’d never EVER worked in a restaurant kitchen before. I was co-hosting a
five course dinner party for 35 people and everything imaginable went wrong.
The
event space owners had us sharing a tiny kitchen with seven other chefs (using the
kitchen to prepare for separate events) which they mentioned to us the day of.
Our prep time was off, our event was way behind schedule, AND there was a minor
kitchen fire about halfway through the event. Luckily, our guests didn’t seem to
mind at all and they left full and happy. This night taught me so much about
preparation, communication, and kitchen confidence.
Lightning Round:
I’ll always say yes to a girls’ night.
The hosting tip I swear by: Everyone leaves full, and anticipate your guests’ needs.
One ingredient I always have on hand: Garlic. Always.
What’s your favorite cookbook of the year?
