Everything Cookbooks

Originally aired on April 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

Tina Ujlaki

Nigella Lawson

Nigel Slater

David Lebovitz

Dorie Greenspan

 

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

Originally aired on April 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:

Kristin spreadsheet template

Bryan Ford

 

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

Kate, Molly, Andrea and Kristin begin the episode with an apology about a technical snafu that plagued our website's Contact page and some corrections. They go through some listener questions and discuss copyeditors and the other roles editors can play, share advice, ideas, theories and encouragements about a range of topics, share insights on how to survive the submission process and thoughts on genre mash-ups. This episode closes out Season 8 but we'll be back very soon with Season 9! Thank you for listening and participating!
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 
Mentions
Kristin Donnelly's Cookbook Coaching Services
Will This Make You Happy, by Tanya Bush
KitchenBookshelf on Instagram
CultFlave on YouTube
The Marketing Hustle Podcast Episode 70: Building a Global Brand Without Paid Media: The CMO behind Ottolenghi’s Growth Strategy
Publishers Marketplace
 
Sally Ekus' Substack
Jenna Helwig's Substack

Episode 122: Start With Who
Episode 137: Being a Cookbook Editor with Sarah Billingsley of Chronicle Books
Episode 158: Cookbook Marketing and Publicity with Brianne Sperber and Felix Cruz
 
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Dirt Candy by Amanda Cohen
Heartland Masala by Jyoti Mukharji and Auyon Mukharji
Will This Make You Happy, by Tanya Bush

Kristin and Molly speak with journalist and cookbook co-author Korsha Wilson about her experiences in the world of food media. Korsha shares the magazine that sparked her initial interest, her educational approach and a behind the scenes look at some of her projects. She talks about her evolving views on recipes, what her hopes are for her work and how she approaches the research portion of a project. She discusses weaving together the design and content portions of a book, the process of mimicking voices in a collaboration along with establishing her own before sharing some freelancing insights and a peek into her upcoming project, ending the episode with advice she has for aspiring food writers.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 
Mentions
Korsha Wilson
Website
A Hungry Society Podcast
Instagram
 
What a Food Trip to Ghana Taught Me About My Black American Identity, by Korsha Wilson
Honeysuckle
Episode 108: Live at Cookbook Fest: Toriano Gordon and Anna Voloshnya
 
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Ghana to the World, by Eric Adjepong with Korsha Wilson
Vegan Mob, by Toriano Gordon with Korsha Wilson

Molly and Kristin speak about merging the physical act of cooking with emotional and spiritual intentionality with Nicki Sizemore, the author of Mind, Body, Spirit, Food. Nicki shares her personal journey and the life changing process she went through that eventually led to this new focus. Battling creative burnout and the uninspired work of writing for the algorithm, Nicki learned to tune into her body, prioritize pleasure and get creative which eventually transformed her blog into a newsletter, podcast and this book. She talks about the thought behind its specific release date, the innovative recipe variations, mindful intentions, design and photography process and her aversion to the word 'wellness'. She then discusses her thoughts on audience outreach, promotion, the power of intentionality and the ripple effect of nourishment before leaving us with some advice.
Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen
Editor: Abby Cerquitella

 
Mentions
Nicki Sizemore
Substack
Blog
Podcast
Instagram
 
Storey Publishing
These Cookbooks Explore the Link Between Mindful Cooking and Self-Care by Jamie Feldmar
 
Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show
Mind, Body, Spirit, Food, by Nicki Sizemore
Build-A-Bowl, by Nicki Sizemore
Fresh Flavors for the Slow Cooker, by Nicki Sizemore