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

Molly and Kate speak with Lara Hamilton, the owner of Book Larder Seattle's community cookbook store. Lara shares the motivations behind opening the store, why Seattle was the perfect base and how she sees the connection between food and books. We learn the origins behind the name, location and design of the store as well as some behind the scenes insights into ordering, event planning and curating its unique selection. Lara talks about her thoughts on trends, author platforms and building a space that is a must stop on author tour before revealing her most anticipated Fall titles.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Book Larder

• Website
• Instagram
• Podcast
• YouTube Channel

Book Larder Podcast: Molly Stevens

Book Larder Podcast: Kate Leahy

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

• Bodega Bakes by Paola Velez
• Easy Wins by Anna Jones
• What Goes with What by Julia Turshen
• A Splash of Soy by Lara Lee
• Chinese Enough by Kristina Cho
• Sift by Nicola Lamb
• Bake with Benoit Blin by Benoit Blin
• My Life in France by Julia Child
• Butter by Asako Yuzuki and translated by Polly Barton

We're back and starting off Season 6 with grab bag of topics with all our hosts. Kristin, Molly, Kate and Andrea discuss the pros and cons of the (potentially overfull) Fall cookbook season and how to emotionally prepare but keep expectations realistic on pub day while prioritizing celebration. We share our insights and experiences on contracts, printed errors, correction pages and wade into some existential territory as we discuss optional ingredients in recipe writing before diving back into one of our favorite topics, platform. Finally, we talk about the the current cookbook trends we're loving, upcoming releases we're looking forward to and court some potential controversy with our thoughts on pumpkin spice.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Monique of Hardcover Cooks

The Bojon Gourmet Pumpkin Spice Mix

Cookbook Chronicles: The Science and Art and of Recipe Development, by Martin Sorge

If Desired, by Joy Manning

The Truth About Platform, by Kathleen Schmidt

Kristin Donnelly's Newsletter

52: Matt Sartwell of Kitchen Arts and Letters

100: Advice from Our Listeners and Season 5 Wrap-Up

42: How to Write Recipe Titles

93: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson

69: Writing a Menu Cookbook with Amy Thielen

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

• Hungry Authors: The Indispensable Guide to Planning, Writing, and Publishing a Nonfiction Book by Liz Morrow and Ariel Curry
• Banjan: 60 Korean American Recipes for Delicious, Shareable Sides by Caroline Choe
• The Chinese Way by Betty Liu

To close out Season Five and celebrate 100(!) episodes, we're sharing some advice, tips and ideas from our listeners for our listeners. Molly, Andrea, Kate and Kristin discuss some of the terrific insights that our listeners have submitted to help aspiring cookbook authors and share their own thoughts on topics like: writing classes, caring the most for your project, the inevitable "dip" in the process, headnote workflow, photography ROI, self-editing and two-book deals.

Thanks so much for joining us for 100 episodes! We'll be back with Season 6 soon!

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Episode 29: Finding Your Voice with Tori Ritchie

Episode 15: Will Write for Food with Dianne Jacob

Episode 02: Do You Need a Cookbook Agent?

Episode 82: Craft Books for Cookbook Writers

Episode 01: Should You Write a Cookbook?

Episode 18: Pro Tips from Cookbook Critic Paula Forbes

Episode 88: On Being a First-Time Cookbook Author with Michelle Braxton

Episode 69: Writing a Menu Cookbook with Amy Thielen

Episode 94: Insights from Literary Agent Lori Galvin

Episode 27: When Less is More: Ali Slagle on the Art of Short Recipes

Episode 63: On Rejection and Recovery

Episode 93: The Secret of Cooking with Bee Wilson

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

Molly and Kate speak with two members of the cookbook indexing website Eat Your Books team; Jane Kelly, co-founder and CEO and Jenny Hartin, Director of Publicity. Jane shares where she got the idea to create the website, the way it works and how its grown since its inception with now over 2.5 million recipes indexed. We learn how vital the community experience of the site is and ways authors can use the site in their own work. Jenny talks about the various indexing issues that can arise, the benefits to the manual process, how she chooses which of the myriad of releases to highlight and a peek into the EYB/publisher relationship. They both share how this is still a passion of theirs, what books they've been cooking from lately and the titles they are excited about this fall. Stick around for an exclusive promo code for EVCB listeners to try out Eat Your Books for themselves!

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Eat Your Books website

2024 Cookbook Releases

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

Recipe Tin Eats by Nagi Maehashi

A Thousand Feasts by Nigel Slater

Mooncakes and Milk Bread by Kristina Cho

Open Wide by Benny Blanco

Desi Bakes by Hetal Vasavada

Cook Simply, Live Fully by Yasmin Fahr

Ottolenghi Comfort by Yotam Ottolenghi

Chicano Bakes by Esteban Castillo

Bodega Bakes by Paola Velez

Milk and Cardamom by Hetal Vasavada