Our Story
It started with my grandmother.
My grandmother was our family’s matriarch and master cook. Originally from Pritchett, Alabama, she moved to Detroit during the Great Migration, bringing her food traditions with her. Cooking was how she showed us love. From succotash to a full Thanksgiving spread, she could make just about anything.
After she died, we lost so many of the culinary traditions that had brought our family together. Brown Butter grew from my determination to reconnect with them—and my appreciation for the cookbooks that help keep those connections within reach.
I love cookbooks because they hold so much more than instructions. They’re records of a place, a time, and the people who cooked there. A familiar dish can bring back a whole room: the smells, the conversation, the person standing at the stove. Sometimes a cookbook takes you home. Other times, it introduces you to a tradition you might never have known, told by the people who know it best.
That’s what I look for when choosing books for Brown Butter. A distinct point of view. A technique worth learning. A lesser-known author whose book deserves more attention. A foundational work by someone like Edna Lewis, whose recipes and stories belong on the shelves of a new generation of cooks. From Gullah Geechee heritage and community cookbooks to the regional cuisines in our growing Global Foodways collection, I’m drawn to books with something special to share. That includes recipes from beloved restaurants and bakeries whose doors have closed, but whose food people still remember—and still want to make.
My hope is that you find a little of yourself, or someone you love, in these pages. Maybe it’s a dish you haven’t tasted since your grandmother made it. Something your family still talks about, even though no one quite remembers how it was done. Or something new that finds its way onto your table and, over the years, becomes part of how your family celebrates.
I know what it feels like to miss someone and wish you could sit at their table one more time. A cookbook can’t give us that time back. But somewhere between reading a recipe and taking that first bite, something familiar can come back to us. Sometimes, it’s the taste of a dish that reminds us just how loved we were.
My grandmother had her way of making sure people felt loved. Sharing these books is a little of mine.
From our kitchen to yours — with love & a little extra spice.
JaylaFounder, Brown Butter Cookbooks
Some stories live on in the kitchen.
“In the dishes we remember, the recipes we pass down, and the books that help us find our way back. These pages hold a few of those connections—and perhaps the beginning of some new ones for your own table.”
