Soup & Bread Cookbook: Building Community One Pot at a Time

"A book like this makes me think that really, I could live a lovely and fulfilling life and eat only soup." -Julia Kramer, Time Out Chicago

Inspired by the long-running Soup & Bread community meal series at Chicago’s Hideout bar and music venue, the Soup & Bread Cookbook (June 9) explores the historic and contemporary role of soup as a means of both drawing people together and helping them reach out to others. Each chapter frames a set of recipes from Soup & Bread participants-home cooks and professional chefs alike-with stories of soup swaps, soup kitchens, soup-driven art, and more. 

Launched at the Hideout in 2009, Soup & Bread draws together chefs, caterers, musicals, writers, artists, and home cooks to cook, serve, and eat soup in a common space. It’s an easy, low-key way to get people out of the house and socializing in the dark of winter, and has spawned sister events across the country in Cleveland, Madison, Columbus, Lexington, Traverse City, and beyond. But it’s also a tool to raise awareness of the social functions of soup, and to reach out to help those in need. Toward that end, over the past twelve years, almost $100,000 in pay-what-you-can donations at Soup & Bread events have been channeled to neighborhood food pantries and hunger relief agencies. 

This Parafine Press reissue of the 2011 Soup & Bread Cookbook features a new preface by author Martha Bayne.  A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each book will be donated to the Greater Chicago Food Depository.