With the maturing of the food culture in Brisbane, the timing could not be better to open a bookshop specialising in books about food. Julie Tjiandra and Reyna Portillo have spotted the opportunity and opened Scrumptious Reads in the new precinct on the corner of James and Robertson Streets.
The shop opened just over three weeks ago and the owners are still sourcing specialist stock from overseas and building up the collection. Julie talks about the shop as an extension to her own library. ‘I read and collect old books,’ she said, ‘particularly books about food, including the history of food, food science and food and travel.’ As well as a beautiful collection of cooking books, the shop has reference books on food and books on specialist topics such as tea and wine.
As expected, a few chefs have made their way through the door, but the majority of customers are curious browsers looking through the collection.
Julie and Reyna intend to make Scrumptious Reads a centre for food culture. They are working with experts in different fields and are developing a calendar of events with appreciation classes and information evenings.
If you are after a classic cookbook or want to deepen you understanding in one area of food, Scrumptious Reads meets those needs. And like all bookshops, there is the chance for the serendipitous moment when you find exactly the book you need, even though you didn’t realise it before you walked in the door.
Scrumptious Reads
Shop 5 and 6, 19 James Street
Fortitude Valley Qld 4006
Phone: 07 38710199
New Farm Food Stories 
Thanks for doing the legwork on finding all these great places.
The lazy food disciple.
What’s the name of that biography of RKFisher? The naive food disciple.