Established in 1983 by Eileen Campbell on Blenheim Crescent in Notting Hill, Books for Cooks is the world's premier specialist culinary bookstore. Stocking thousands of new, rare, and out-of-print international cookbooks, the shop became internationally legendary for incorporating an operational test kitchen in the back of the store where recipes from the books are tested daily and served to customers. It served as an essential gathering place for food writers, chefs, and culinary historians from across the globe.