Originally aired on June 19, 2024

Kate, Kristin and Molly venture back into the user experience arena as they discuss recipe presentation in cookbooks. They highlight the need for this section to delight not distract and prioritize form over function as well as the need to write with a specific audience in mind. They discuss their thoughts as a consumer and developer on elements like: ingredients, equipment, serving size, prep time, method, sub-recipes, headnotes and bursts. Finally, they share their advice for recipe developers on things to think through and ways to research to bring clarity and individuality to their own work.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

• Episode 91: The UX of Cookbook Design
• Episode 28: All About Headnotes
• Episode 42: How to Write Recipe Titles
• Episode 24: Genius Recipes with Kristin Miglore
• Episode 59: Lerato Umah-Shaylor on Africana
• Episode 33: Becoming the Writer You Want to Be with Andy Baraghani
• Episode 93: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson
• Episode 88: On Being a First-Time Cookbook Author with Michelle Braxton

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

• Genius Recipes by Kristin Miglore
• Brooks Headley's Fancy Desserts by Brooks Headley

Originally aired on November 9, 2022

Today, Andrea tackles the topic of the ever elusive headnote with Molly, Kate and Kristin. They discuss what a headnote is, how they go about writing them and the pitfalls to avoid while composing. They bring examples of some favorites and also their pet peeves as they chat about the format, design and variety that goes into these important cookbook ingredients.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Kristin's newsletter - Mission Dinner

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

• All About Braising by Molly Stevens
• All About Dinner by Molly Stevens
• Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking by Marcella Hazan
• Ever-Green Vietnamese by Andrea Nguyen
• Greenfeast by Nigel Slater
• Rice Is Life by Kristin Donnelly
• Silver Palate Cookbook by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins
• Slow Mediterranean Cooking by Paula Wolfert
• Small Victories by Julie Turshen
• The Chef’s Garden by Farmer Lee Jones and Kristin Donnelly
• The Taste of Country Cooking by Edna Lewis
• Wine Style by Kate Leahy

Originally aired on February 22, 2023

Kate talks with Molly, Andrea and Kristin all about recipe titles. They share what makes one stand out, what is an immediate veto and how these have evolved over the years. They discuss the importance of indexing, the challenge of translation and how grammar, structure and formatting are used in titling along with some of their own that they'd like to revisit.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

• Gourmet Cookbook
• Boston Cooking School / Fanny Farmer Series
• Cook it in a Casserole
• Cooking Bold and Fearless Recipes from Sunset Chefs of the West
• The Book of Yogurt
• Secret Ingredients
• Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook

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

• Change of Appetite by Diana Henry
• Nigel Slater
• Vietnamese Food Any Day by Andrea Nguyen
• Ever-Green Vietnamese by Andrea Nguyen
• Mi Cocina by Rick Martinez
• The Woks of Life by Sarah Leung, Bill Leung
• Rice is Life by Caryl Levine, Ken Lee, Kristin Donnelly

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