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The irony of starting a cooking club for new Utahns isn’t lost on Avani Patel. “I hate cooking,” said Patel, the SLC Cookbook Club founder, who describes herself as someone who once preferred popcorn and red wine for dinner. Still, the transplant from Virginia who has lived in Utah for the past eight years knows the power of food as a catalyst for connection, conversation and even creativity.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Avani Patel welcomes women to a monthly meeting cookbook club at Table X in Salt Lake City on Sunday, March 23, 2025. “I love to eat,” she said, “and it’s so easy to talk to people over food, get a little alcohol in you, and then you really just start being able to make friends and talk to each other.” The monthly cookbook club is for women ages 21 or older who are looking to make friends over food, Patel said.
It’s also inclusive to LGBTQ+ community members, and mostly focused on new residents to the Beehive State, though all are welcome. It’s simple: Pick a cookbook, whip up a dish, and hopefully make a few connections along the way. Food has always been an integral part of Patel’s life.
In adulthood, she found a “loophole” when she married chef and restaurant co-founder Mike Bloucher of Millcreek’s Table X , she jokes. But the importance of getting together over grub is rooted in her earliest years. “Being Indian,” she said, “all of our gatherings were centered around food, and it was just very easy to have conversations, mingle, play games and have activities .
.. finding this cookbook club was just a no-brainer.
” When it comes to socializing — especially in a new place — food is an easy topic to lean on when conversation falls flat, she said. That’s where SLC Cookbook Club comes in. “If it ever gets awkward when you’re meeting new people,” she said, “[if] it gets weird, at least you can talk about the food.
” (Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Stuffed mushrooms sit on display during a cookbook club at Table X in Salt Lake City on Sunday, March 23, 2025. Cooking for connections For Patel, the cookbook club started as a way to meet friends when she first moved to Utah. But those friends would move away, and the COVID-19 pandemic hit.
Soon after, she became a mother, and eventually the club meetings tapered off. “Once I became a mom, I felt like I completely lost myself,” Patel said. “I think a lot of moms feel that way, that you just are so consumed with being a mom.
” Early this year, Patel decided to start the club up again, to continue meeting new people. The first meetup was at the end of January, where she picked the first cookbook and made the club’s Instagram page. “I had a lot of friends that hadn’t met each other .
.. it was great getting everybody together,” she said.
“I have single friends, married friends, mom friends, everybody from [ages] 28 to 40. It’s a wide range of girls.” The first club meeting saw around 30-35 people, and Patel posted about the group on TikTok soon after.
Overnight, the account gained around 350 followers. Abby Gingras scrolled her way into that TikTok video. She and her husband moved here last April, and the one thing they were unsure about was the ability to make friends, because they didn’t know anyone.
Gingras brought hummus to the March event and said she felt like she was able to meet new friends. “I was getting some girls’ Instagrams that I was talking to, so I’m hoping to hang out with some people after this,” she said. “We’re all transplants.
We’re all looking to make connections in the city,” Patel said. She’s met five other girls in the group who are all from northern Virginia. The March meeting was the biggest Patel has hosted to date, bringing together around 50 women.
(Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Women gather during a cookbook club at Table X in Salt Lake City on Sunday, March 23, 2025. Sunlight streamed in through the windows of Table X, shining over the open tables where cookbooks doubled as decor. Women filtered in and placed their dishes down before they filled out name tags and a notecard to describe their creations.
Some added last minute touches, like a sprinkle of lime juice. Conversations started to flow with ease, though most started with an exchange of names and then a simple question: “What did you make?” The cookbook for March is “Martha Stewart’s Appetizers” — and the renditions of recipes don’t disappoint. Among them: Shishito peppers with bonito flakes and lime.
Kiwi mint guacamole. Pear and ricotta crostinis with pecans. A caramelized onion and bacon dip, with a special, “Dairy, baby!” note on the card.
A plate of mushrooms stuffed with goat cheese and bell peppers — which are completely gone by the end of the event. (Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) Food sits on display during a cookbook club at Table X in Salt Lake City on Sunday, March 23, 2025. There are drinks, too: a Sidecar carafe, mulled blood orange punch, Lillet-basil cocktails and pineapple mint daiquiris.
Every month, someone from the club chooses a cookbook. A photo of the cover and index are uploaded to Instagram, and then those interested can message Patel about what dishes they want to make — the end result is ideally 50 or so different dishes and drinks. “I always try and tell people to message me about two to three dishes, because I don’t like to repeat dishes,” Patel said.
When it comes to dietary restrictions, the cards around the dishes provide information, but ultimately individuals are responsible for their own dietary needs. Usually, there is time to mingle before a sit-down dinner. In March, the setting was a cocktail event, so more people could attend.
The meetings have a capacity of 55 people because of space constraints. Patel says as the weather starts to warm up, they hope to use the outside patio space at TableX to fit more people. So far, the club has cooked recipes from Yotam Ottolenghi’s “Plenty More” and Johanna Gaines’ “Magnolia Table.
” Bridget Kulick, another attendee who moved here from Virginia in January, said her biggest takeaway from the group is the conversations she has with other women. “Cookbooks are such a fun thing because there’s so many recipes, and it’s hard to get through them all yourself,” she said. “It’s a really cool concept to have a cookbook that you get to meet other people with.
” Patel is planning special themes for later in the year. In October, she wants to use an Indian cookbook to celebrate Diwali, one of the biggest annual Indian festivals. In November, there will be a Thanksgiving theme, and in December, a holiday cookie swap.
People who are interested in joining the club should refer to the Instagram account, Patel said. For March, Patel whipped up a bruschetta made with roasted tomatoes and aged goat cheese – a bright and easy appetizer. “One of the best parts about the cookbook club is we all love food.
Whether you’re a cook or not, it doesn’t matter. Bring wine ..
. if you don’t drink, bring soda, bring anything, or just bring yourself,” Patel said. “There’s always plenty of food to go around.
” (Bethany Baker | The Salt Lake Tribune) A cookbook from Martha Stewart stands on display during a cookbook club at Table X in Salt Lake City on Sunday, March 23, 2025..
