Toronto's Cookbook Store to be reincarnated as 'cookbook department'

Alison Fryer, general manager of The Cookbook Store, looks through a few new cook books in Toronto on Thursday, Dec. 8, 2005. (Nathan Denette / THE CANADIAN PRESS)

TORONTO -- Fans of The Cookbook Store who lamented the Toronto foodie destination shut its doors earlier this year can take heart there will be a reincarnation.

Alison Fryer, who ran the Yorkville store for 31 years, is joining forces with All The Best Fine Foods to create a cookbook department in the retailer's mid-town location.

The new section of the store, called All The Best Cookbooks, will include Fryer's picks. The initial selection of 60-plus newly released titles will be developed to include classic works and books reflecting the interest in what and how people eat and drink.

Jane Rodmell, president and founder of All The Best Fine Foods, will include her own cookbook favourites in the section.

Visiting author events, cooking skill classes, food education evenings and themed dinners are also being planned, which Fryer had conducted in the past through The Cookbook Store.

The store was forced to close after it was announced a condominium would be built on the site of the tiny space which had hosted countless authors over the years, including Julia Child and Anthony Bourdain.