Kate and Kristin speak all things platform building and content creation with Sarah Fennel as we learn what should come first, the audience or the book? Sarah shares her definition of 'content', her path from hobbyist blogger to business owner and what areas she focused on on to build her platform. She speaks about tipping points in her career, how she balances creating persona forward vs food forward content and why she decided now was the best time to write a cookbook. Finally, she talks about shooting the photos for the book, working with her team and leaves us with some wise and inspiring advice and a hint into what she is working on next.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Sarah Fennel

• Website
• Instagram
• TikTok

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

• Sweet Tooth by Sarah Fennel
• Hungry Authors by Liz Morrow and Ariel Curry
  

Kristin and Molly speak about the newest release from America's Test Kitchen "When Southern Women Cook" with its editor, Morgan Bolling, and its forward writer, Toni Tipton-Martin. This is a newer format for ATK so Morgan and Toni share its journey from idea to publication, where the concept and title came from and how late night conversations inspired its creation. They talk about working with a historical consultant, the process of balancing over 300 recipes with all of the contributing essays and how it was almost split into two volumes. They share the lessons learned for the future, how investigative curiosity is involved in both recipe development and story writing and the pride they felt in bringing the expertise of so many individuals to this project.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Southern Foodways Alliance

Cook's Country

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

• When Southern Women Cook by ATK, foreword by Toni Tipton-Martin, edited by Morgan Bolling
• Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking by Toni Tipton-Martin
• Juke Joints, Jazz Clubs, and Juice by Toni Tipton-Martin
  

We're pleased to share our very first live show with all of our listeners! Kate, Andrea and Kristin spoke with Toriano Gordon and Anna Voloshnya at the Napa Valley Cookbook Fest earlier this year where they spoke about their individual cookbook journeys and career paths, the challenges that came with their projects and the ways the process felt fulfilling. They share their goals of representing and sharing the people, places and culture they came from, the importance of community and all about recipe creation, writing and naming. Finally they share a few instances of editorial pushback, their cover stories and the one question they encourage aspiring authors to ask themselves before starting their own cookbook journey.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Napa Valley CookbookFest

Episode 25: Inside a Ukrainian Kitchen with Anna Voloshyna

Toriano Gordon

Anna Voloshnya

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

• Vegan Mob by Toriano Gordon
• Budmo! by Anna Voloshyna

Kristin and Kate speak with chef, artist, teacher and writer Caroline Choe about her debut cookbook, Banchan. Caroline shares her career journey and how her teaching experience and art background informs her work today. After a confluence of events caused her to declare that she was quitting the industry, ultimately she was hired to write this cookbook and brought her personal story, family recipes and illustration skills into the project. She talks about the importance of including family photos, not compromising on the title and jumping into the brand new experience of a cookbook photoshoot as well as her dedication to prioritizing working with women and the AAPI community.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Caroline Choe

• Instagram

Episode 63: On Rejection and Recovery

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

• Banchan: 60 Korean American Recipes for Delicious, Shareable Sides by Caroline Choe

Molly and Andrea speak with Substack's number one food and drink writer, Caroline Chambers, about her experience building a successful following that led to the release of her new cookbook, What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking. Caroline shares how the pandemic spurred her shift from freelance recipe developer to newsletter writer in spite of past rejections of her cookbook proposal. She talks about her ethos, writing voice, building an audience, why she prioritizes instruction and how she balances realism and professionalism within the newsletter along with the most important piece of advice she has for aspiring platform builders.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Caro Chambers

• Substack
• Instagram
• Podcast
• Website

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

• What to Cook When you Don't Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers

Kate and Molly speak about cookbook clubs and career shifts with debut author Bebe Carminito. Bebe shares what inspired her love of food and her various career changes, from makeup artist to pastry assistant to food stylist to cookbook author. She followed her curiosity, gathering contacts, classes and experience over the years which eventually led to a beautiful full circle moment with this book, The Curated Board. She talks about starting a cookbook club and how that led to joining, or starting, four others as well as the ins and outs of running them and what grabs her attention when selecting a title. She discusses the experience of styling her own book, working with her photographer and with contributors for the book's recipes before leaving us with some truly inspirational advice.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Bebe Carminito

• Website
• Instagram

Mechanics Cookbook Club

qb Cucina

The Proof Collective

Mimi Thorisson

The Whisk and Spoon

Leslie Jonath

Lauren Ruben

Susan Spungen

Shelley Lindgren

Christine Gallary

The Jam Lab

Marie Reginato

Kim Laidlaw

Anna Voloshyna

Emily Cooper

Molly DeCoudreaux

Anne's Toum

Balcony People by Joyce Landorf Heatherley

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

• The Curated Board by Bebe Black Carminito

Molly and Kate dive back into the topic of cookbook reviews as they chat with Leslie Brenner, an experienced critic, journalist, editor and consultant in the food media space. Leslie shares how she got into food writing, the inspiration and motivation behind her website and why she focuses on the home cook. She speaks on the mental and physical toll of restaurant reviewing and why she sees cookbook reviews as important before explaining her process and the mechanics involved as well as the rule she abides by while bringing a critical eye to the work. She talks about the role voice plays, the red flags she looks for and what she wishes authors would do before sharing the upcoming cookbook trends and titles she is excited to see in the marketplace.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Leslie Brenner

• Website
• Instagram
• Cooks Without Borders
• Cooks Without Borders Newsletter
• Cooks Without Borders Instagram

Episode 84: Do We Need Cookbook Reviews?

Crave by Ludo Lefebvre

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

• The Memory of Taste by Tu David Phu and Soleil Ho
• Tu Casa Mi Casa: Mexican Recipes for the Home Cook by Enrique Olvera
• First Generation: Recipes from my Taiwanese-American Home by Frankie Gaw
• Niçoise: Market-Inspired Cooking from France's Sunniest City by Rosa Jackson
• The Bean Book from the Rancho Gordo Kitchen by Steven Santo with Julia Newberry
• Mastering the Art of Plant-Based Cooking by Joe Yonan
• Our South: Black Food Through My Lens by Ashleigh Shanti
• Les Halles by Anthony Bourdain
• Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi
• Crazy Water Pickled Lemons by Diana Henry

Molly and Kate speak with Betty Liu about the process of creating her second cookbook which she photographed while juggling a demanding day job. She shares how she ventured into the cookbook sphere from her career in wedding photography, blogging and surgical residency as well as where the idea for her first book came from. She talks about why she wanted to showcase Shanghainese food, why she focuses on cooking authentic, not traditional, food and how she incorporates medical school's "see one do one teach one" approach into her books. With her skilled eye for design she was deeply involved in the visual aspects of the book, photographing it all herself, and she talks about the importance of the linguistic and illustration elements to make this the exact book she wanted to write.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Betty Liu

• Website
• Instagram

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

• The Chinese Way by Betty Liu
• My Shanghai by Betty Liu