The VICE Guide to Celebrity Cookbooks

From what I’ve been told, celebrities are people, too. They exercise, go shopping, post on social media, attend parties, and cook food. Some of them, in fact, are even known for enjoying or cooking food. That’s right—people simply love to see it when Stanley Tucci makes a Negroni or Paris Hilton and Demi Lovato can't figure out ravioli. But why? What is it that we get out of watching Green Day make pizza with Martha Stewart and Snoop Dogg (other than learning what it sounds like when Snoop Dogg eats an orange)? I can’t really answer that, but I also can’t deny that it’s very fun to thumb through cookbooks written by some of my fave superstars. 

In most cases, exploring the cookbooks of famous people is worthwhile because it allows you to better know the home life of an admired celeb; occasionally, the books rock because the recipes are actually good. Sometimes, it’s just fun to know that such a book exists, for novelty’s sake. For example, here’s a real cookbook by Boy George, and one from Ted Nugent; or maybe you’ll be compelled by Sister, Sister actress Tia Mowry’s cookbook. Did you know that Freddie Prinze, Jr. has a cookbook? Now you do!

While I’m no stranger to patronizing celebrity-branded or -approved (or semi-approved) products, I remain a skeptic when it comes to celeb-endorsed stuff; yet, the world of celebrity cookbooks never ceases to at least interest me. Call me a groupie, but I truly, seriously love perusing the recipes of the rich and famous, whether they’re actually worth making (always a huge plus) or are simply offering entertainment value. Here are some of the best celebrity cookbooks, from a writer who loves them.

Questlove’s sprawling cookbook invites you to consider, “What if I threw a dinner party and Fred Armisen, Padma Lakshmi, Matty Matheson, Natalie Portman, and Eric Wareheim came?” Literally all of those people have recipes in here, but you might be too busy eating Q-Tip’s mac and cheese and Maya Rudolph’s chocolate chili to get to them. The first recipe in this book is by Eric Ripert, NBD. In terms of celebrity cookbooks, this could be the king of them all.

Eric Wareheim—half of Tim & Eric, comedian, writer, director, winemaker, and enthusiastic “food guy”—is a gem, and his cookbook is so fun and funny. Foodheim is a true celebration of great food, from smash burgers and pizza to beef bourguignon and sashimi; it’s a gleeful ode to the finer things in life, seen through the lens of one of the silliest dudes in the game. (Plus, there’s a “Small Horse Chapter,” which I just can’t even explain.) Come for the vibe, stay for the orange chicken recipe (seriously, it’s amazing). This one is a masterpiece.

Is it surprising that the leader of the Goop empire has some damn good cookbooks? I make the granola from It’s All Easy regularly, and love perusing her collections of healthy recipes for ideas and inspiration. It’s All Easy is full of… um… easy recipes for weekday cooking (think tomato soup, turkey meatloaf, poke bowls, pastas, and salads), while It’s All Good is pointedly wellness-oriented, featuring a lot of “elimination diet”-style dishes that (mostly) don’t include dairy, sugar, shellfish, gluten, or soy (but what is included is plain ol’ dope food, like posole, roasted eggplant with tahini dressing, and fish tacos). The Clean Plate is especially valuable if you’re trying to detox, recalibrate, or just eat a bit cleaner.

You can tell a lot about somebody based on their knowledge of Danny Trejo. Do they know him as Robert De Niro’s Heat sideman and frequent Mexican wrestling spectator? Or the cult star of Machete? There are surely many who simply know him as the guy who owns Los Angeles-based chain restaurant Trejo’s Tacos. In any case, this is a super fun exploration of the actor and entrepreneur’s culinary life, complete with plenty of Robert Rodriguez references and a recipe for nacho donuts. What more could you need?

Yeah, yeah, we fuckin’ get it already, Stanley Tucci is a sexy guy who likes to eat good food and drink Negronis. People love his cookbook, too. I don’t believe it!

This is one of the best celebrity cookbooks because the whole thing is a reflection of what we love about Snoop Dogg. It’s an earnest, funny, mouthwatering look into Snoop Dogg’s love of comfort food. From Crook to Cook is worth it for the recipe titles alone (stuff like “Bossin’ Up Shrimp Cocktail” and “Go Shorty, It’s Your Birthday Cake”); his “Jet Settin’ Negroni” entry is amazing, if not only just because it’s literally just a regular Negroni recipe. I love this cookbook so much. It’s a no-brainer gift for anybody who likes rap music or food.

The rapper-chef-TV personality-fitness guy-designer Action Bronson is one of my heroes. I love everything he does, and his books are just amazing. Fuck, That’s Delicious is a pure, beautiful ode to his love of food, comprising a list of 100 “amazing things” to cook, eat, or know about (like natural wine, egg noodles with feta and paprika, Taco Bell’s Cheese Gordita Crunch, and a bagel with cheese on it). Stoned Beyond Belief is similar, but for things involving weed (namely the food he enjoys while high), and it’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever read. Open to any page in Stoned Beyond Belief and you’re guaranteed to find something hysterically funny. Buy these books.

It’s one thing to get a cookbook deal because you’re a celebrity, but it’s truly next level to get one because your son is a celebrity. Anyway, here’s a cookbook from David Letterman’s mom.

Patti LaBelle is one of America’s most beloved singers, and her sweet potato pie is arguably equally legendary. It’s in Desserts LaBelle, making this an absolutely essential purchase for fans of soul food and music.

The official title of Chrissy Teigen’s third book on Amazon is Cravings: All Together: Recipes to Love: A Cookbook. I doubt that is what Teigen would call it, but in any case, the fact that it’s even possible to accidentally come to that title shows how unhinged and full of joy the Cravings trilogy is. I know professional chefs who are obsessed with these books—as am I. Love her or hate her for her online persona, when it comes to her cookbooks, they’re fun as hell and full of incredible ideas. The chickpea crunch-wraps exude Taco Bell dreams and are a frequent dinner in my household. Highly recommended.

The writing in this cookbook by Ayesha Curry, actress and wife of Warriors basketball legend Steph Curry, immediately feels familiar, if not cliché. Its opening lines are: “Food truly has enormous power. It feeds both the body and the soul.” You don’t say? The Full Plate is, however, also extremely endearing, and it’s hard not to love it. Pictures of Tapatio and Red Stripe grace its pages, and you’ll quickly find yourself craving Caribbean lobster rolls and coconut shrimp. Spoiler alert: The “full plate” is her life.

We all know the scene from The Office that launched this one. And by “this one,” I mean… uh… 177 chili recipes. You simply must respect it. Learn the recipe for Kevin’s famous chili from the book, as well as [checks calculations] 176 other chili recipes. Here’s a video of Baumgartner (who plays Kevin Malone on The Office) making his chili on VICE’s own MUNCHIES.

NGL, the cover of this book is not appealing to me; then again, I’m probably not its target audience. We cannot deny that Witherspoon’s Whiskey in a Teacup is one of the most celebrated celeb cookbooks of all, and with good reason: It’s an immersive, charming peek at Witherspoon’s Southern roots, a treatise on Southern hospitality and life. It has an entire chapter about sweet tea. From Legally Blonde heads to biscuit fanatics, there aren’t many people who won’t love a copy of this cookbook.

And the Emmy goes to… Kevin’s famous chili.

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