Everything Cookbooks

Latest Episodes:

142: In Which We Get Into AI, Recipe Testing, Cookbook Comp Titles, and more Oct 01, 2025

Show notes

Kate, Kristin, Molly and Andrea meet up to launch Season 8 with a grab bag of topics, including free speech in the cookbook space, thoughts around using Chat GPT and AI as tools for writing and recipe creation, and checking in on 'Happy Robot Voice'. They discuss the need for friction in writing and the development of personal voice, taste and expertise before diving into thoughts around the current state of cookbook design. They share some ideas for social media growth, selling book projects, and what to keep in mind for an effective and empowered recipe testing process before teasing a few upcoming episodes for Season 8. Stay tuned!

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Everything Cookbooks Episode List

Everything Cookbooks: Cookbook Comp Titles: What They Are

Kristin's newsletter

Anthropic's Claude

Jane Black's article in the Wall Street Journal about AI-written recipes

The Deep Life podcast by Cal Newport

AI Episode

Happier podcast with Gretchen Rubin

When Your Comp Isn't a Book post by Neon Publishing

Kathleen Schmidt, Publishing Confidential

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30: Making a Moving Cookbook Memoir with Eric Kim [re-release] Sep 24, 2025

Show notes

Originally aired on November 23, 2022

Andrea and Kristin talk with Eric Kim about his intensely personal and remarkable book, Korean American. He shares his inspirations and motivations for the essay format, how he wrote his family as characters and the potential and limits of memoir writing. He talks about the idea of authenticity in food, what goes into naming recipes and the unpredictability of a viral recipe.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Eric Kim

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39: Toya Boudy on Storytelling Through Recipes [re-release] Sep 17, 2025

Show notes

Originally aired onFebruary 1, 2023

Molly and Kate dive deep into the journey and person that is chef/writer/artist/activist/culinary ambassador (and more), Toya Boudy. She shares how her talents as an artist and wordsmith, along with the interwoven nature of life, resulted in her latest cookbook, "Cooking for the Culture". She discusses her creation process, the unconventional schedule for the book and her family's contribution as she explains her mission to build community and empower the artist inside.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Toya Boudy

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58: David Lebovitz on the Writing Life in Paris [re-release] Sep 10, 2025

Show notes

Originally aired on July 19, 2023

Kate and Kristin talk with writer David Lebovitz about his career and life in France. He discusses how he went from pastry chef to food writer, how blogging strengthened his writing voice and why he pivoted to video during the pandemic. He shares his decision to write "the hardest book he ever wrote", the advice he gives to aspiring writers and his choice to move his writing to Substack. Finally, he tells us how decides what stories to tell and reveals a glimpse into a few new potential projects.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

David Lebovitz

The Idle Hour

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Drinking French by David Lebovitz
L’Appart by David Lebovitz
My Paris Kitchen by David Lebovitz
The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz
Ready for Dessert by David Lebovitz
The Sweet Life in Paris by David Lebovitz
The Great Book of Chocolate by David Lebovitz
The Lost Kitchen by Erin French

37: Managing a Voice of Authority with Kenji López-Alt [re-release] Sep 03, 2025

Show notes

Originally aired on January 18, 2023

Molly and Andrea talk with Kenji López-Alt, author and Chief Culinary Advisor for Serious Eats, about creating and maintaining a voice of authority. He shares his career path, where his interest in food got started and the work that has influenced his own. He describes the relationship he has with his followers, how (or if) to curb enthusiasm while doing topic deep dives and a glimpse inside the creation of his best-selling books.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions
Kenji López-Alt

Cookwise & Bakewise by Shirley Corriher

Complete Techniques by Jacques Pépin

Mr Wizard's World

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

29: Finding Your Voice with Tori Ritchie [re-release] Aug 27, 2025

Show notes

Originally aired on November 16, 2022

Kate and Molly chat with cookbook teacher, author and editor Tori Ritchie about her career trajectory and how she developed her personal writing voice after years of working on branded cookbooks. She shares insights and tips about developing a voice and the bad habits to avoid in writing before revealing a few of the writers she assigns to her students. Finally everyone shares the three words that best describe their own singular writing style.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Tori Ritchie

Instagram

Website

How to Write a Cookbook Course

Books

Vibration Cooking by Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor

Michael Twitty

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Osso Buco by Billy Collins

I Wrote a Good Omelet by Nikki Giovanni

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

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22: What Does it Mean to Craft a Voice? [re-release] Aug 20, 2025

Show notes

Originally aired on September 28, 2022

Kristin starts out today's episode asking Molly, Kate and Andrea about the books that inspired them to follow this career path and how they'd define the idea of "voice" in writing. They discuss the difference between tone and voice, the tools they've use to craft their own and how to inject it into recipe writing. They reveal some writing exercises and advice on how to find and improve voice in your own writing.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Johnny Apple / R.W. Apple Jr.

The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo

The Way to Cook by Julia Child

The American Baker by Jim Dodge

Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl

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141: Season 7 Highlights Aug 13, 2025

Show notes

Molly, Kate and Kristin get together to celebrate the end of Season 7 and over 140 episodes of Everything Cookbooks! They chat about the highlights and takeaways from this season, what topics and guest insights stood out to them and even wade back into the waters of comp titles for a beat. They are delighted to see how the show has helped authors create their cookbooks over the past few years and share a few things they are excited to see out in the world very soon. We'll be back for Season 8 this fall!

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Cookbook Comp Titles: What They Are newsletter post

Kristin's Newsletter

Everything Cookbooks Substack

Episode 42: How to Write Recipe Titles

Episode 01: Should You Write a Cookbook?

Episode 63: On Rejection and Recovery

Episode 03: Cookbook Proposal Writing Tips

Episode 113: Food, Romance, and Fiction with Sarah Chamberlain

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

The Nordic Cookbook by Magnus Nilsson
Jubilee by Toni Tipton-Martin
Feast: Food of the Islamic World by Anissa Helou

140: The Italian Summer Kitchen with Cathy Whims and Kate Lewis Aug 06, 2025

Show notes

Molly and Kate speak with chef and author Cathy Whims and illustrator Kate Lewis about their new cookbook The Italian Summer Kitchen. They share the inspiration behind the book, how it evolved after a few setbacks and why they landed on an illustrated version instead of a photographed one. Her first time working on a cookbook, Kate shares the process of creating the watercolor illustrations and their inspiration while Cathy describes why this particular style worked perfectly for this book. They speak about their workflow and process, how all the moving parts were managed and where some of the recipe ideas came from. Finally they share the intentions they had with this project and the season they'd like to tackle next.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Cathy Whims

Kate Lewis

Leslie Forbes books

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

The Italian Summer Kitchen by Cathy Whims
The Secret Garden illustrated by Kate Lewis

139: Green Gold with Sarah Allaback and Monique F. Parsons Jul 30, 2025

Show notes

Kate and Molly speak with co-authors Sarah Allaback and Monique F. Parsons about their new book Green Gold. With backgrounds in scholarship, journalism and avocado farming this duo was uniquely qualified to write all about avocados; their history, agricultural background and the characters that helped mainstream this ingredient. They share why decided to write this book, the false starts and character threads that drew them in and the role recipes played in making the information accessible to readers. Sarah and Monique describe how they worked together, the discoveries that surprised them and the goal they had for the book as well as why it was important for this project to be released right now.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Hathi Trust

Newspapers.com

Stacey Glick, literary agent

Brokaw Ranch

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