In this episode, I'm joined by chef, author, and vintage curator Spring Council to talk about her beautiful new book Southern Roots. Spring spent over 50 years working in her family's restaurant, Mama Dip's Kitchen, where she learned firsthand how food creates connection, community, and lasting memories. In our conversation, we talk about how that experience shaped her cookbook — from the stories she tells to the recipes she creates — and what it really looks like to bring a book like this to life.

In this episode, we talk about:

• What "Mama Dip's University" taught her about food, people, and hospitality

• How Southern Roots blends storytelling with recipes

• Her path through writing, rejection, and finding her voice

• How she develops recipes that honor tradition while making them her own

• The role of community in both her restaurant life and her cookbook

If you love cookbooks that feel personal, meaningful, and grounded in real experience, this is a conversation you don't want to miss.

If you want help turning your ideas into a cookbook—and getting paid to do it— join our waitlist for the next cohort of Get Paid to Get Published

Welcome to another episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast. Today I'm excited to have an interview with Hannah Dasher. Hannah is a country music artist, creator, and author of Stand By Your Pan.

Hannah built a loyal audience during quarantine by sharing nostalgic, personality-filled cooking videos—and has now turned that visibility into a cookbook rooted in Southern food, storytelling, and style.

In this conversation, we talk about how her online presence shaped her book, the recipes and traditions behind it, and the practical techniques that bring her cooking to life.

In this episode, we discuss:

• How Hannah's TikTok content grew into a cookbook

• Building a cooking brand through personality and nostalgia

• Recipes inspired by family, viral moments, and Southern traditions

• Stock your kitchen (bones, fats, and fresh ingredients)

• Practical cooking tips—from tomato pie to fried chicken livers to ham stock

• Why preserving recipes and food traditions still matters

If you've ever wondered how audience, voice, and recipes come together in a cookbook, this episode gives you a real example.

If you want help turning your ideas into a cookbook—and getting paid to do it— join our waitlist for the next cohort of Get Paid to Get Published

What if your cookbook idea doesn't match your profession? In this episode, I'm talking about one of the most common and costly questions I hear from aspiring cookbook authors, especially experts like dietitians, chefs, and health professionals. Many people assume their cookbook needs to match their credentials. That it should sound serious, clinical, or highly technical to be taken seriously. But publishing doesn't work that way.

Publishers are not buying credentials alone. They're looking for ideas readers care about and that often comes from something much more personal. In this episode, I share my own experience navigating this tension as a trained dietitian who wanted to write about seasonal home cooking in Kentucky. I also walk you through how cookbook deals actually work, and why the most compelling books combine both authority and humanity.

If you've been holding back on a cookbook idea because it doesn't feel "professional enough," this episode will give you a new way to think about it. In this episode, you'll hear:

• Why do so many experts feel pressure to write the "right" kind of book
• What publishers are actually looking for when they acquire cookbooks
• The three common paths cookbook deals follow
• Why passion creates reader connection in a way that credentials alone can't
• How to combine your expertise with a story readers care about
  
  

Your credentials matter. But they're not the whole story. The book you're meant to write might be the one you've been telling yourself you shouldn't.

If you want to prepare your deal-ready pitch package and get paid to write a cookbook, join our waitlist for the next cohort of Get Paid to Get Published