Everything Cookbooks

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167: Ifrah F. Ahmed on the Making of Soomaaliya May 06, 2026

Show notes

Kate and Kristin speak with Ifrah F. Ahmed about how the culmination of her expertise in a culture and a cuisine led to her debut cookbook, Soomaaliya. Ifrah shares how a trip to Somalia inspired her to leave law school, create a magazine dedicated to Somali women and start a wildly successful pop-up before turning her attention towards a book. She takes us through her deeply intentional cookbook process from coming up with the idea, getting an agent, writing the proposal, the drama of a publisher auction to the writing, recipe development, photography and design process. She talks about her goal, her primary audience and their reactions as well as how she decided to weave together history, interviews, personal essays with the recipes. Finally she touches on her decision of how much of herself to include in the book and the very special interactions she's had while writing it.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Food Friends Podcast Newsletter

Ifrah F. Ahmed

This Is TASTE 728: A Delicious Deep Dive Into Somali Food with Ifrah F. Ahmed

Somali Cuisine by Barlin Ali

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

Soomaaliya by Ifrah F. Ahmed

166: Natasha Pickowicz on Writing the Second Book Apr 29, 2026

Show notes

Kate and Andrea speak with cookbook author Natasha Pickowicz about her second book, how it differed from her first and what she learned during the process. Natasha takes us on her journey from the kitchen to the keyboard as she talks about how her first book came to be, the false starts it went through and the role the pandemic played in its evolution. She then shares some behind the scenes on her second book; how publishers reacted to her topic shift, its structure, the historical inclusions and its single subject concentration. We learn about working with her parents on the book, how it deepened their connection and what they each brought to the project. Natasha gets into the challenges of the photoshoot, how she created recipes for a 'recipe-less' meal and what she's learned this time around before leaving us with some advice for other writers embarking on their sophomore books.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Episode 150: Entertaining Cookbooks

Natasha Pickowicz

Food Friends Newsletter

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More than Cake by Natasha Pickowicz
Everyone Hot Pot by Natasha Pickowicz

165: Inside the Alison Roman and Britt Cobb Design Universe Apr 22, 2026

Show notes

Andrea and Molly speak with Alison Roman and Britt Cobb, the designer of her new book, Something from Nothing about their collaboration. Alison speaks about her unique approach to her work, how she leans into personhood instead of branding and why this new book is different than her previous works. Alison and Britt describe how they connected and then get into the nitty gritty of working together; from the idea phase to the process of choosing everything from font styles, cover color, pairing illustrations with photography to trim size, prop selection and paper texture. They each share their views on the longevity and tactile nature of book creation and some insights on their design choices, tastes and ideas.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

How Not To Write a Cookbook, by Brooks Headley in Bon Appétit

Alison Roman

Britt Cobb, Cobbco Design

Chris Bernabeo, photographer

Rosie McGuinness, illustrator

The Skinny Font Taking Over Tech Companies and the White House - The Wall Street Journal

Food Friends Newsletter

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

Something From Nothing, by Alison Roman
Sweet Enough, by Alison Roman
Nothing Fancy, by Alison Roman
Dining In, by Alison Roman

164: Being a Cookbook Editor with Rachel Brown of Appetite Apr 15, 2026

Show notes

Molly and Kate speak with Rachel Brown, acquisitions editor at Appetite, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada, about her career journey and insights into the Canadian cookbook landscape. Rachel talks about her education and early editing experience before taking us behind the scenes about Appetite titles specifically. She shares what types of books they publish, how the team works, what they are looking for in a proposal and how Canadian readers love to support local authors. She talks about working with other countries' markets, the upcoming books she is excited about and the themes she'd like to see more of before leaving us with a few words of advice for those who aspire to work in the editing sphere.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Appetite by Random House

Mary Berg

136: Cooking the Food of Nigeria with Ozoz Sokoh

Jason Hudson

Food Friends Newsletter

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My Cypriot Table, by Irene Matys

163: Before the Recipes: Cookbook Introductions and Front Matter Apr 08, 2026

Show notes

To kick off Season 9 Molly, Andrea, Kate and Kristin discuss e-cookbooks vs physical editions before diving into front matter; all of the sections of a cookbook that come before the recipes. They talk about the purpose, process and planning that goes into the preface, prologue, forward, introduction and pantry section and ask whether these are even necessary. Each of them talk about their own experiences and approach to front matter as well as the unique ways other books have utilized these sections. They speak about the differences between the sections, their frustrations and rejections, how front matter has evolved and the importance of being creative and (sometimes) going rogue to keep readers interested and not intimidated to dive into the rest of the book.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Why the Cookbook Endures by Shaan Merchant in Taste

Episode 28: All About Recipe Headnotes

Food Friends Newsletter

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

Classic Indian Cooking, by Julie Sahni
Rice is Life, by Caryl Levine, Ken Lee, Kristin Donnelly
Down South + East by Ron Hsu
Something from Nothing by Alison Roman
Chop Chop by Ozoz
All About Roasting by Molly Stevens
All About Braising by Molly Stevens
Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin
Ghana to the World by Eric Adjepong, Korsha Wilson

95: Recipe Writing with Real Cooks in Mind [re-release] Apr 01, 2026

Show notes

Originally aired onJune 19, 2024

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

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

Genius Recipes by Kristin Miglore
Brooks Headley's Fancy Desserts by Brooks Headley

28: All About Recipe Headnotes [re-release] Mar 25, 2026

Show notes

Originally aired onNovember 9, 2022

Today, Andrea tackles the topic of the ever elusive headnote with Molly, Kate and Kristin. They discuss what a headnote is, how they go about writing them and the pitfalls to avoid while composing. They bring examples of some favorites and also their pet peeves as they chat about the format, design and variety that goes into these important cookbook ingredients.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Kristin's newsletter - Mission Dinner

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

42: How to Write Recipe Titles [re-release] Mar 18, 2026

Show notes

Originally aired onFebruary 22, 2023

Kate talks with Molly, Andrea and Kristin all about recipe titles. They share what makes one stand out, what is an immediate veto and how these have evolved over the years. They discuss the importance of indexing, the challenge of translation and how grammar, structure and formatting are used in titling along with some of their own that they'd like to revisit.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

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

06: Getting Your Recipes in Shape with Tina Ujlaki [re-release] Mar 11, 2026

Show notes

Originally aired onApril 20, 2022

Kristin gets into the fundamentals of recipe writing as she chats with Tina Ujlaki, her mentor and the former executive editor at Food & Wine magazine. Tina explains her recipe writing philosophy, how testing can be the antithesis to cooking and the what bothers her about the format's evolution. She shares her thoughts on voice, headnotes, titles and the top 3 things to do before sharing recipes with the world.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

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

05: Getting Started Writing Your Recipes [re-release] Mar 04, 2026

Show notes

Originally aired onApril 13, 2022

Kate leads today's discussion about the recipe development, curation and testing that go into creating a cookbook. Andrea, Molly and Kristin each share their individual recipe writing processes and the tools used behind the scenes to keep everything organized. They discuss sticking to theme, finding your audience and what can take away from the magic of cooking as well as the juggling act of attribution and importance of recipe testers. Finally, Molly tells us about a recent cookbook that has her inspired.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions:

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

Colombiana: A Rediscovery of Recipes & Rituals from the Soul of Colombia, by Marian Velásquez

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