Family cookbook dedication ideas
The dedication is the first thing people read and the line they remember. Here are examples to borrow or adapt, and a simple way to write your own.
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How to write a cookbook dedication
- Keep it short. One or two lines is plenty; it sits alone on its own page.
- Name the person. “For Mom” lands harder than “for my family.”
- Add one true detail: a habit, a saying, a smell, a dish.
- Read it out loud. If it sounds like something you would say, it is right.
For a mother or grandmother
- For Mom, who taught us that dinner is the best part of the day.
- For Grandma, who fed everyone who walked through her door, invited or not.
- For Nana, who never measured anything and never got it wrong.
- To my mother, the first and best cook I ever knew.
- For Mom. You always said the secret was love. We suspect it was butter.
For a father or grandfather
- For Dad, keeper of the grill and the Saturday pancakes.
- For Grandpa, who taught us to cook low and slow, and to wait.
- To Pop, who believed every meal deserved a second helping.
In memory of someone
- In memory of Grandma Rose. Her kitchen is still the warmest room we know.
- For Dad, who is at every table where these recipes are made.
- In loving memory of Aunt Jo. Now everyone can make her pie, but nobody will make it like she did.
- For the cooks who came before us. We are still setting your places.
For a child leaving home
- For Sam, so you can always taste home.
- For our kids: the dinners you grew up on, now yours to make.
- For Emma, heading out the door. Call if the sauce looks wrong.
For a wedding or a new couple
- For Alex and Jordan, to start your own table with ours.
- For the newlyweds: a lifetime of dinners, starting with these.
- Welcome to the family. Here is what we eat.
For the whole family
- For everyone who ever asked for the recipe.
- For the Millers, past, present and still to come.
- For the family that gathers around food, and stays for the stories.
- To everyone who has ever stood in our kitchen and said “what can I do?”
Adding a dedication in Snap and Simmer
In your cookbook, tap ✏️ Book setup and type it into Dedication. It gets its own page, right after the title page and before the introduction. See how a cookbook comes together.
Questions
How long should a cookbook dedication be?
Usually one or two lines. It sits alone on its own page, so short reads best.
Where does the dedication go in a cookbook?
On its own page near the front, after the title page and before the introduction and contents.
Can a cookbook be dedicated to more than one person?
Yes. Name them together, “For Mom and Dad,” or dedicate it to the whole family.
What is the difference between a dedication and an introduction?
The dedication is a line or two for the person the book is for. The introduction is a page or so about the family, the cooks and how the book came together.
Keep going
Write a cookbook introduction
What to say on the first page of a family cookbook, with an example.
See how ›🗂️What to put in a family cookbook
The recipes, the stories and the pages that turn a stack of recipes into a book.
See how ›📖Make a family cookbook
Chapters, a dedication, an introduction and a print-ready PDF.
See how ›Good food is better shared.
Start your kitchen, save your first recipe and invite the people you cook with.
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