Everything Cookbooks

This episode is quite special. In fall 2025, Kristin and Kate spoke with longtime book designer Debbie Berne about her work in progress, Cookbooking: A Fan's Guide. She told us about the book in 2024, and we knew back then that it was a book for us. Author Michael Chabon called it a “theme-park ride through Cookbookland" — and he's right: the book is crammed with stories about food fads, hippy cooking, books for dudes, cooking "bibles," and so much more.
While Debbie was writing Cookbooking, she was also grappling with a form of incurable brain cancer. We recorded this interview when we did so she could tell us about the book in her own words. She passed away in December 2025, but her indomitable spirt and humor lives on in the pages of Cookbooking.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella


Mentions
Debbie Berne
Website

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Cookbooking: a Fan's Guide by Debbie Berne
The Design of Books by Debbie Berne

Welcome to Season 10! Kate, Kristin, Andrea and Molly discuss the upcoming fall cookbook season and some of their thoughts about the current publishing landscape. They talk about price hikes and cookbook sales, AI recipes and their appreciation for the human touch and some of the obstacles that publishing is currently encountering. They share their thoughts and musings about what they see as the ups and downs in the wider world of books, and within the niche corner of cookbooks, before getting celebrating their new releases and upcoming projects.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella





Mentions



Episode 144: The Author-Agent Relationship with Peter J. Kim and David Black

Episode 62: Single Subject Cookbooks with Martha Holmberg

Episode 178: Comic Book Cookbooks with Sarah Becan

Episode 135: The Manuscript is In. Now What? with Martin Sorge

Read it and Eat

Not so Secret Agent with Sally Ekus

Headnotes with Frances Baca

Cookbookery Collective with Jenna Helwig

Dianne Jacob's Newsletter

The Dinner Plan with Maggie Hoffman

Has the Restaurant Cookbook Boom Gone Bust?

Subscribe to our weekly Substack newsletter for more information about each episode and a peek at what's coming up.



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

Cooking Thai by Andrea Nguyen and Pim Techamuanvivit

Food in Jars by Marisa McClellan

Simply Tomato by Martha Holmberg

Hand Taste by Esther Choi

Great Bakes by Martin Sorge

This is a live conversation recorded in April 2026 during the first Cookbook Week in San Francisco, a city-wide event co-founded by Brian Hogan Stewart (of the Salt + Spine podcast), Jodi Liano, and Leslie Jonath. Here, Leslie leads the conversation with Jenny Wapner, publisher of Hardie Grant North America, and Kate Leahy, an author, to discuss all things cookbooks. Jenny and Kate share how they got their start, what their day to day tasks look like and the recent projects that have most resonated with them. They all speak about the frantic, trend-focused nature of publishing, how the current political climate can affect a book and those glorious instances of unexpected success that keep them excited about the industry. The panelists highlight a few of their recent favorite projects and end by taking a few questions from the audience.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions
Brian Hogan Stewart
Salt & Spine Podcast
Salt & Spine Substack
Instagram

Cookbook Week
Episode 65: Podcasting about Cookbooks with Brian Hogan Stewart
Episode 145: Eva Kolenko on Photographing Cookbooks
Subscribe to our weekly Substack newsletter for more information about each episode and a peek at what's coming up.

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
My Egypt by Michael Mina with Kate Leahy
Hand Taste by Esther Choi
Feed your People by Leslie Jonath
Elvira's Cookbook from Hell by Cassandra Petersen
Full Belly Farm & Kitchen by Jenna Muller and Amon Muller
Cookbooking by Debbie Berne
The Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen

Happy New Year! Molly, Kristin, Kate and Andrea take a look at the past year in cookbooks and share their thoughts on the trends they predict for 2025. They discuss how the pandemic affected the cookbook market, how they see production costs and finances changing and share some insights from editors and agents about what publishers are looking for in 2025 (hint: platform!). They talk about speciality markets, single subject expertise, branded and restaurant books before sharing a few teasers of our upcoming season. [Originally aired 1/1/2025]

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

 

Mentions

110: Sarah Fennel on bringing an online platform to the page

Attention Economy Substack

The Dinner Plan Podcast

 

Subscribe to our weekly Substack newsletter for more information about each episode and a peek at what's coming up.

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

Champagne by Peter Liem

The Bean Book

King Arthur Baking Company

The Red Boat Fish Sauce Cookbook

The Cake Bible

Africali

Islas

Kalaya's Southern Thai Kitchen: A Cookbook

The French Laundry Cookbook

Coastal

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. [Originally aired 9/25/2024]

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 

Mentions

Book Larder

Website

Instagram

Podcast

YouTube Channel

 

Book Larder Podcast: Molly Stevens

Book Larder Podcast: Kate Leahy

 

Subscribe to our weekly Substack newsletter for more information about each episode and a peek at what's coming up.

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