Book Marks: Good Egg

Good Egg is a cheery and diverse cookery and lifestyle store in the Kensington market. Julie Powell’s latest, Cleaving, sits front and center at the store, right next to Vegan Comfort Food and Nigel Slater’s Real Food Fast.

Open since late 2008, Good Egg was designed to serve what owner Mika Bareket felt was an area in need of a local bookstore. However, when This Ain’t the Rosedale Library announced their move to the area, Mika needed to rethink her general bookstore strategy. Hence, Good Egg. “I was certainly not going to compete with them,” she admitted. The competition challenged the lifelong book buyer’s concept and the result was a more focused store that moved beyond the book into the food and lifestyle community.

The selection process for what hits the shelves is as eclectic and whimsical as the products themselves, relying on recommendations and personal taste. “It’s very complicated and filled with whim,” Mika revealed, acknowledging that her customers play a large role in determining the inventory. “Many of my customers will recommend things to me. If two or three people ask for something, then I usually order it. It’s based on my interests too. It’s a very personal process.”

The clientele varies from students exploring eating-for-one alternatives beyond mac-and-cheese, young moms looking at healthful cooking for their families, food professionals, artists, designers and more. The selection is surprisingly diverse for such a small space, and the larger-than-average sections for specialty diets, vegans, carnivores, international cooking, and food literature means there’s something for everyone.

However, Good Egg does more than cook books and food writing. Sales of books are supplemented with cookware, cooking gadgets and kitchen trinkets for all ages (Wooden oven anyone?), with about half the sales coming from non-book items.

The stuff they sell is original, quirky, unpredictable and fun. “We sell a lot of novelty,” Mika said. “Our absolute bestseller is Poo Log. If you think about it, it’s food related. It’s a book about excrements and what that tells you about your health.”

Good Egg even offers culinary classes. Their knife skills course, taught by Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts grad Olivia Go, is extremely popular and Mika hopes to expand their curriculum. Their special wine tasting event with Kathryn Borel Jr., author of Corked, was a great success and there are plans to launch a series of basic cooking classes this spring. “We look for things that have a wide appeal and start with the basics. A lot of culinary basics aren’t taught in schools and people simply don’t have these kinds of skills,” Mika said.

There’s fondness for Nigel Slater and ambivalence for Julie Powell, meaning this little store should right up every food lover’s alley. With a staff that’s knowledgeable and passionate about food, Good Egg is the just the place to fulfill your literary foodie needs.

“I’m so surprised and excited that people are cooking now. It’s a huge trend,” Mika said with a smile. “People’s eyes light up when they ask me what I do for a living. Food is something people are becoming passionate about and that’s awesome.”

Visit the Good Egg online, follow them on Twitter or visit them in person at 267 Augusta Avenue. Hours are Saturday to Wednesday, 11-6, Thursday and Friday, 11-8.