Founded by San Francisco-based Sri Bodanapu, the books explore Indian cities not through landmarks, but through the food cultures and personal histories that quietly shape them.
The series began with ‘Mumbai’, which launched worldwide in May 2025 and went on to win the Gourmand Awards – often referred to as the “Oscars” of food-culture publishing. The book captures the city through its many food worlds, from street stalls and Irani cafés to home kitchens and contemporary dining spaces.
The second title, ‘Kolkata’ is set to launch globally on April 28, 2026. This edition expands the exploration of how food, culture, and history intersect, tracing the layers of colonial influence and local tradition that have shaped Kolkata’s distinct culinary identity.
Across both books, recipes, essays, photography, and illustration come together to tell stories of families, communities, and evolving urban life. Key Contributors include well-renowned voices in the culinary industry, including Rushina Munshaw-Ghildiyal, Smitha Menon, Dr. Mohsina Mukadam, Nikhil Merchant, Roshni Bajaj-Sanghvi, Antoine Lewis, and Sayoni Bhaduri, among others.
At a time when cultural archiving feels fleeting, Heirloom Cities is intentionally working in print to create deeply researched, visually rich coffee-table books designed to be lasting objects, to further draw people back to the experience of reading and engaging with the written word.
Read the full story that first appeared in The Global Indian here:
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