Everything Cookbooks

Latest Episodes:

104: Cookbook Criticism with Leslie Brenner Oct 09, 2024

Show notes

Molly and Kate dive back into the topic of cookbook reviews as they chat with Leslie Brenner, an experienced critic, journalist, editor and consultant in the food media space. Leslie shares how she got into food writing, the inspiration and motivation behind her website and why she focuses on the home cook. She speaks on the mental and physical toll of restaurant reviewing and why she sees cookbook reviews as important before explaining her process and the mechanics involved as well as the rule she abides by while bringing a critical eye to the work. She talks about the role voice plays, the red flags she looks for and what she wishes authors would do before sharing the upcoming cookbook trends and titles she is excited to see in the marketplace.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Leslie Brenner

Episode 84: Do We Need Cookbook Reviews?

Crave by Ludo Lefebvre

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

The Memory of Taste by Tu David Phu and Soleil Ho
Tu Casa Mi Casa: Mexican Recipes for the Home Cook by Enrique Olvera
First Generation: Recipes from my Taiwanese-American Home by Frankie Gaw
Niçoise: Market-Inspired Cooking from France's Sunniest City by Rosa Jackson
The Bean Book from the Rancho Gordo Kitchen by Steven Santo with Julia Newberry
Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking by Joe Yonan
Our South: Black Food Through My Lens by Ashleigh Shanti
Les Halles by Anthony Bourdain
Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi
Crazy Water Pickled Lemons by Diana Henry

103: Propping, Styling, and Photographing Your Own Cookbooks with Betty Liu Oct 02, 2024

Show notes

Molly and Kate speak with Betty Liu about the process of creating her second cookbook which she photographed while juggling a demanding day job. She shares how she ventured into the cookbook sphere from her career in wedding photography, blogging and surgical residency as well as where the idea for her first book came from. She talks about why she wanted to showcase Shanghainese food, why she focuses on cooking authentic, not traditional, food and how she incorporates medical school's "see one do one teach one" approach into her books. With her skilled eye for design she was deeply involved in the visual aspects of the book, photographing it all herself, and she talks about the importance of the linguistic and illustration elements to make this the exact book she wanted to write.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Betty Liu

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

The Chinese Way by Betty Liu
My Shanghai by Betty Liu

102: Lara Hamilton of Book Larder Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

Molly and Kate speak with Lara Hamilton, the owner of Book Larder Seattle's community cookbook store. Lara shares the motivations behind opening the store, why Seattle was the perfect base and how she sees the connection between food and books. We learn the origins behind the name, location and design of the store as well as some behind the scenes insights into ordering, event planning and curating its unique selection. Lara talks about her thoughts on trends, author platforms and building a space that is a must stop on author tour before revealing her most anticipated Fall titles.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Book Larder

Book Larder Podcast: Molly Stevens

Book Larder Podcast: Kate Leahy

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Bodega Bakes by Paola Velez
Easy Wins by Anna Jones
What Goes with What by Julia Turshen
A Splash of Soy by Lara Lee
Chinese Enough by Kristina Cho
Sift by Nicola Lamb
Bake with Benoit Blin by Benoit Blin
My Life in France by Julia Child
Butter by Asako Yuzuki and translated by Polly Barton

101: Pumpkin Spice and Hot Takes Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

We're back and starting off Season 6 with grab bag of topics with all our hosts. Kristin, Molly, Kate and Andrea discuss the pros and cons of the (potentially overfull) Fall cookbook season and how to emotionally prepare but keep expectations realistic on pub day while prioritizing celebration. We share our insights and experiences on contracts, printed errors, correction pages and wade into some existential territory as we discuss optional ingredients in recipe writing before diving back into one of our favorite topics, platform. Finally, we talk about the the current cookbook trends we're loving, upcoming releases we're looking forward to and court some potential controversy with our thoughts on pumpkin spice.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Monique of Hardcover Cooks

The Bojon Gourmet Pumpkin Spice Mix

Cookbook Chronicles: The Science and Art and of Recipe Development, by Martin Sorge

If Desired, by Joy Manning

The Truth About Platform, by Kathleen Schmidt

Kristin Donnelly's Newsletter

52: Matt Sartwell of Kitchen Arts and Letters

100: Advice from Our Listeners and Season 5 Wrap-Up

42: How to Write Recipe Titles

93: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson

69: Writing a Menu Cookbook with Amy Thielen

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Writing, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book by Liz Morrow and Ariel Curry
Banchan: 60 Korean American Recipes for Delicious, Shareable Sides by Caroline Choe
The Chinese Way by Betty Liu

100: Advice from Our Listeners and Season 5 Wrap-Up Jul 31, 2024

Show notes

To close out Season Five and celebrate 100(!) episodes, we're sharing some advice, tips and ideas from our listeners for our listeners. Molly, Andrea, Kate and Kristin discuss some of the terrific insights that our listeners have submitted to help aspiring cookbook authors and share their own thoughts on topics like: writing classes, caring the most for your project, the inevitable "dip" in the process, headnote workflow, photography ROI, self-editing and two-book deals.

Thanks so much for joining us for 100 episodes! We'll be back with Season 6 soon!

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Episode 29: Finding Your Voice with Tori Ritchie

Episode 15: Will Write for Food with Dianne Jacob

Episode 02: Do You Need a Cookbook Agent?

Episode 82:Craft Books for Cookbook Writers

Episode 01: Should You Write a Cookbook?

Episode 18: Pro Tips from Cookbook Critic Paula Forbes

Episode 88: On Being a First-Time Cookbook Author with Michelle Braxton

Episode 69: Writing a Menu Cookbook with Amy Thielen

Episode 94: Insights from Literary Agent Lori Galvin

Episode 27: When Less is More: Ali Slagle on the Art of Short Recipes

Episode 63: On Rejection and Recovery

Episode 93: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

99: Eat Your Books Jul 24, 2024

Show notes

Molly and Kate speak with two members of the cookbook indexing website Eat Your Books team; Jane Kelly, co-founder and CEO and Jenny Hartin, Director of Publicity. Jane shares where she got the idea to create the website, the way it works and how its grown since its inception with now over 2.5 million recipes indexed. We learn how vital the community experience of the site is and ways authors can use the site in their own work. Jenny talks about the various indexing issues that can arise, the benefits to the manual process, how she chooses which of the myriad of releases to highlight and a peek into the EYB/publisher relationship. They both share how this is still a passion of theirs, what books they've been cooking from lately and the titles they are excited about this fall. Stick around for an exclusive promo code for EVCB listeners to try out Eat Your Books for themselves!

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Eat Your Books website

2024 Cookbook Releases

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Recipe Tin Eats by Nagi Maehashi

A Thousand Feasts by Nigel Slater

Mooncakes and Milk Bread by Kristina Cho

Open Wide by Benny Blanco

Desi Bakes by Hetal Vasavada

Cook Simply, Live Fully by Yasmin Fahr

Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi

Chicano Bakes by Esteban Castillo

Bodega Bakes by Paola Velez

Milk and Cardamom by Hetal Vasavada

98: Writing Regional Recipes for a Global Audience with Chris Tan Jul 17, 2024

Show notes

Kate and Andrea chat with Singapore based cookbook author Chris Tan about his new book, Nerd Baker 2 and his publishing process. He shares why he wanted to revisit the world of Nerd Baker, how he keeps international readers in mind while writing and how his experience as a cooking instructor informs his work. He talks about the climate obstacles he had while writing and photographing, where his research led him and why he seeks to demystify instructions for his readers and how he goes about doing it. Finally, he shares insights into his social media approach and how his books get internationally distributed along with a few wise words of advice.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Nerd Baker 2: Tales from the Yeast Indies by Chris Tan

Nerd Baker by Chris Tan

The Way of Kueh by Chris Tan

Chinese Cooking Demystified: Sourdough Youtube video

Kinokuniya

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

97: Teamwork=Dreamwork with Hot Sheet Authors Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine Jul 10, 2024

Show notes

Kate and Kristin tackle the topic of cookbook collaboration as they chat with Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine about their new book, Hot Sheet. Olga and Sanaë share a bit about their career paths, where the inspiration for this book came from and why partnering on it was the best way to go. They speak about the strengths and expertise each brought to the project, why they focused on sheet pans and go into the nitty gritty of how they worked together. Hint: spreadsheets! They talk about the recipe creating and testing process, the pre-work steps they took before embarking on the projects and advice they'd give to others interested in starting their own creative partnerships.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Olga Massov

Sanaë Lemoine

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Hot Sheet by Olga Massov and Sanaë Lemoine
The Margo Affair by Sanaë Lemoine

96: Ken and Michelle from Now Serving Bookstore Jun 26, 2024

Show notes

Molly and Kate speak with the owners of Los Angeles based cookbook store Now Serving, Ken Concepcion and Michelle Mungcal, about the crucial role that niche independent bookstores play in the marketplace. Ken shares how his chef background informed his love of cookbooks and led to opening the store and Michelle talks about curating their space to create a specific atmosphere for their community. They speak about what titles they choose to carry, their thoughts on event formats and release schedules along with the obstacles that arise in the retail space and the ones that come with running a small business. Finally, they discuss their thoughts on self published projects and promote their new cookbook club.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Now Serving Bookstore

Now Serving Bookclub

Plantasia: A Vegetarian Cookbook Through Asia by Pamelia Chia

Tacos CDMX by Guia Domingo

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

Bäco: Vivid Recipes from the Heart of Los Angeles by Betty Hallock and Josef Centeno
Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making by James Peterson
Flavorama by Arielle Johnson

95: Recipe Writing with Real Cooks in Mind Jun 19, 2024

Show notes

Kate, Kristin and Molly venture back into the user experience arena as they discuss recipe presentation in cookbooks. They highlight the need for this section to delight not distract and prioritize form over function as well as the need to write with a specific audience in mind. They discuss their thoughts as a consumer and developer on elements like: ingredients, equipment, serving size, prep time, method, sub-recipes, headnotes and bursts. Finally, they share their advice for recipe developers on things to think through and ways to research to bring clarity and individuality to their own work.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Episode 91: The UX of Cookbook Design

Episode 28: All About Headnotes

Episode 42: How to Write Recipe Titles

Episode 24: Genius Recipes with Kristin Miglore

Episode 59: Lerato Umah-Shaylor on Africana

Episode 33: Becoming the Writer You Want to Be with Andy Baraghani

Episode 93: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson

Episode 88: On Being a First-Time Cookbook Author with Michelle Braxton

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show