Meet Vanny Cradock — our mobile food bookshop, converted from a library van and wrapped in beautiful imagery of book spines featuring some of the titles we love most. Throughout 2026, Vanny will be touring the country, bringing expert bookselling to events where chefs, writers and food lovers are gathering. Come and find us for a carefully curated collection of food writing, cookbooks and kitchen fiction.

The Kitchen Table opened in Shaftesbury, Dorset in August 2023 with a simple belief: a bookshop can be a cultural hub, and food writing deserves the same seriousness, joy, and conversation as any other genre. We exist because people still want places that are human, generous, and rooted in connection. For us, food is the universal language. 

The Kitchen Table, wherever you find us.

At our heart we are an indie bookshop specialising in food and cookery, one of only three in the UK and the only one to be shortlisted for the prestigious Indie Bookshop Awards this year.  A fantastic addition to the Festival of Food and Drink, Sarah and Jon will deliver a curated bookshop – an inviting space for our audiences and guests with a thoughtfully designed and engaging display of books for all to enjoy. We will invite our guest TV chefs to join them for a pop-up book signing experience.