“It is a pleasure to peruse and pick from Barbara’s selection – the intersection of impeccable taste and passion is both rare and palpable.” —Anna Ugarte, Sydney chef

Save quality cookbooks and books about food and wine from landfill and be part of the feel-good care, circular and creative economies when you buy a cookbook at
the Food & Words Cookbook Fare.

Our annual food book sale

Cookbook Fare – May 3, 2026

Cookbook Fare

SUN MAY 3, 3026

“It is a pleasure to peruse and pick from Barbara’s selection – the intersection of impeccable taste and passion is both rare and palpable.” —Anna Ugarte, Sydney chef

Save quality cookbooks and books about food and wine from landfill and be part of the feel-good care, circular and creative economies when you buy a cookbook at the Food & Words Cookbook Fare.

Cookbook Fare: the annual food book sale – May 3, 2026

Join us for a laughter-filled day where we make time for food memories and creative expression.

Barbara and Emiko bring a wealth of experience to the table and will work with you to hone your story or book idea. We will tackle writing exercises, build a story structure, explore the characters of people we love, and learn how to write a recipe. We will tell our stories to each other and in the cadence of our spoken voice start to recognise our writing voice.

It's time to write your food story. The one you've been thinking about for a while;
the stories of memory, family and food. 

VENUE 

Bar Lola, Verity Lane Market
50 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra

FEE

$490, includes tuition, notes, all-day refreshments and lunch.

With Emiko Davies & Barbara Sweeney

Food Writing Masterclass – May 15, 2026

Food writing masterclass

FRI MAY 15, 2026

Barbara and Emiko bring a wealth of experience to the table and will work with you to hone your story or book idea. We will tackle writing exercises, build a story structure, explore the characters of people we love, and learn how to write a recipe. We will tell our stories to each other and in the cadence of our spoken voice start to recognise our writing voice.

It's time to write your food story. The one
you've been thinking about for a while; the stories of memory, family and food. 

VENUE 

Bar Lola, Verity Lane Market
50 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra

FEE

$490, includes tuition, notes, all-day refreshments and lunch.

Food Writing Masterclass with Emiko Davies & Barbara Sweeney

May 15, 2026

Cookbook Love is a conversation between two women who share a life-time love for cookbooks..

Emiko is author of seven cookbooks and is at work on her eighth. From her Tuscan home base, Australian-Japanese author Emiko has researched and written about Italian food and her Italian family's food history. More recently, she has turned her attention to her own food history and written books on the Japanese pantry and home cooking.

For as long as she can remember, Barbara has always had her head buried in books. Her career in food publishing, saw her writing about food, farmers and food producers for newspapers and magazines. Now, Barbara produces food events, such as Cookbook Love, and collects and sells rare, vintage and out-of-print cookbooks.

In their talk, Barbara and Emiko will touch on the history of the cookbook, talk about the significant cookbooks and authors in their lives and try to get to the bottom of the deep, abiding love and affection many of us feel for our books.

Do you head straight to the 'Cooking' section when you enter a bookshop? Have cookbooks that you read like novels stacked by the bed? Are told often you have far too many cookbooks? 

That's great news. It means you're one of us, cookbook lovers.

VENUE 

Juliet, Verity Lane Market
50 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra

FEE

$45

With Emiko Davies & Barbara Sweeney

Cookbook Love – May 16, 2026

Cookbook Love

SAT MAY 16, 2026

Cookbook Love is a conversation between two women who share a life-time love for cookbooks.

Do you head straight to the 'Cooking' section when you enter a bookshop? Have cookbooks that you read like novels stacked by the bed? Are told often you have far too many cookbooks? 

That's great news. It means you're one of us, cookbook lovers.

VENUE 

Juliet, Verity Lane Market
50 Northbourne Avenue, Canberra

FEE

$45

Cookbook Love with Emiko Davies and Barbara Sweeney – May 16, 2026

Here's your chance to tackle that long-held dream to write your family food stories and record important recipes for your family .

VENUE

Woollahra Library, Lvl 1, 451 New South Head Road, Double Bay

Fee

$110

One night a week for four week: time to focus on your food story

Food Memoir Writing – June 24–July 15

Food Memoir Writing

WED JUNE 24 to WED JULY 24, 3026

Here's your chance to tackle that long-held dream to write your family food stories and record important recipes for your family .

VENUE

Woollahra Library, Lvl 1, 451 New South Head Road, Double Bay

Fee

$110

One night a week for four week: time to focus on your food story

Food Memoir Writing –
June 24–July 15