EXCLUSIVE: Trader Joe’s Cookbook Author Dishes on Fare and Fandom
Trader Joe’s has created a unique recipe for success that has fueled its ongoing expansion and increases in store visits. One longtime customer of the retailer’s first store in California has also garnered a following for her recipe books based on Trader Joe’s products.
Progressive Grocer recently spoke with Cherie Mercer Twohy, author of "The I Love Trader Joe’s Cookbook: 15th Anniversary Edition," updated by Ulysses Press in March 2025. She talked about how the collection of 150 recipes features fan favorites and reflects consumers’ simultaneous interests in cooking at home and using budget-friendly, quality ingredients.
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Twohy has been enamored with Trader Joe’s since 1967, when she shopped at the banner’s first store in Pasadena, Calif. “I remember when they had fresh-squeezed orange juice machine near the front, and the first thing you’d smell was that citrus scent,” she recalled. “I knew it was something special.”
She met Trader Joe’s founder, the late Joe Coulombe, a couple of times, too. “He was so engaged and knew his target audience well, like teachers who might not have the salary for fancy wines they enjoyed on their vacation,” she said.
Today, Twohy regularly visits Trader Joe’s outposts, even traveling a bit of a distance from her home to get there, to discover new offerings and take them home to try in a range of recipes.
“One of the things we love about Trader Joe’s is that they are discontinuous by nature – we fall in love with a product and they take those things away,” she said with a laugh, adding that is why she frequently updates her cookbooks. “But if something is discontinued, you can assume there is something similar on the shelf.
As other Trader Joe’s shoppers can attest, store team members have also proven helpful in their suggestions. “This has happened more than once when I go to check out: the cashier will say, ‘This is a new item and I heard it’s great but I haven’t tried it yet.’ I have been known to open something and sample it with the casher,” Twohy shared.
For the latest edition, the author used several recently offered items to create recipes like Thai Beef Salad, Potsticker Soup, Grilled Swordfish with Mango Salsa, Linguini with Leeks, and Almond-Plum Galette, to name a few.
“Every time I go, I am looking for new items and look at them as an ingredient instead of ‘open this jar and stick a chip in it.’ It’s really exciting and fun,” she told PG.
A culinary pro who ran her own cooking school for years, Twohy agreed that the trend of cooking at home has continued, especially as shoppers are trying to rein in cost with store brand items instead of going out to eat as often.
“People really did get in the habit during the pandemic and, in general, over the last 10 to 15 years, are also interested in different ways of eating,” she remarked. Those different ways of eating are evident in some of the newer recipes that are organic, paleo, vegan or gluten free.
If someone were to peek in her own refrigerator, freezer or pantry, they’d likely spot Trader Joe’s products. “Their frozen puff pastry is on my ‘desert island’ list,’ Twohy declared. “And I love the mini croissants.”
The book is not officially affiliated with the Trader Joe’s organization. “We have a ‘separation of church and state’, and I am very responsible about it,” Twohy explained. “All they requested was a disclaimer that it is an independently published work.”
The latest version of "The I Love Trader Joe’s Cookbook" is available at independent booksellers and other online and brick-and-mortar stores around the country.