Molly and Kate speak with mother and son duo, Auyon & Jyoti Mukharji, about their new cookbook Heartland Masala. Jyoti shares how her popular cooking classes inspired a book and Auyon describes how he got involved and how the project eventually took on a life of its own. They talk about working together (for better or for worse), what skills they each brought to the project and how it progressed from idea to fully realized book. They explain why traditional publishing wasn't going to work for this book, how the hybrid model resulted in the book of their dreams and what the recipe creation, writing, testing and photographing process was like. They talk about the book's illustrations, its art direction and cover and how they crafted the friendly, knowledgeable and funny tone that enhances this very special book.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Join The Local Palate Cookbook Club

Auyon Mukharji

Jyoti Mukharji - jmukharji -at- gmail.com

Heartland Masala HQ Substack : At Noon We Fight

Print Your Own Map from Heartland Masala HQ

The Collective Book Studio

Frances Baca book designer

Olivier Kugler illustrator

Wendy MacNaughton illustrator

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

• Heartland Masala by Auyon Mukharji & Jyoti Mukharji
• My Bombay Kitchen, by Niloufer Ichaporia King
• Salt Fat Acid Heat, by Samin Nosrat

Kate and Kristin speak with Raquel Pelzel and Michael Szczerban about bringing an iconic Italian cookbook to America. The Talisman of Happiness was written in the 1920s by Ada Boni, "one of the most groundbreaking, pioneering women in food history." The book has influenced some of the most beloved pillars of Italian cuisine. Michael shares what drew him to this book and inspired his years-long quest to publish it in America while Raquel talks her process of editing over(!) 1600 recipes post-translation. They discuss editing by hand, recipe testing, translation, focusing on an American audience and the timeline they had to accomplish this massive undertaking. Finally, they share how the book changed their own cooking, why it is so special to the, and the types of books that Voracious publishes.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Voracious imprint

Join The Local Palate Cookbook Club

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

• The Talisman of Happiness by Ada Boni

Kristin and Kate welcome the food director of Real Simple, Jenna Helwig, to discuss her newsletter, The Cookbookery Collective, and her thoughts on the current cookbook landscape. Jenna shares her career path, why she fell in love with food and how she paired writing cookbooks with working as a private chef. She talks about covering food at Real Simple, the role magazines play in our current food media climate and her thoughts on building a social media presence and how that led to starting her newsletter. After talking about assembling the massive list of Fall 2025 titles she shares some thoughts on marketing copy, subtitles, influencer cookbooks and the upcoming trends she's excited (or not so excited) to see. Finally she extends some advice and reveals her level of interest in writing another book.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Jenna Helwig

• Website
• Cookbookery Collective Substack
• Fall 2025 Cookbook list

Real Simple Magazine

Join The Local Palate Cookbook Club

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

• Bare Minimum Dinners by Jenna Helwig
• Baby-Led Feeding by Jenna Helwig
• Baking and the Meaning of Life by Helen Goh
• Dorie's Anytime Cakes by Dorie Greenspan
• Six Seasons of Pasta by Josh McFadden
• Recipes from the American South by Michael Twitty
• Good Things by Samin Nosrat
• Hot Date by Rawaan Alkhatib
• Chesnok by Polina Chesnakova