Originally aired on November 16, 2022

Kate and Molly chat with cookbook teacher, author and editor Tori Ritchie about her career trajectory and how she developed her personal writing voice after years of working on branded cookbooks. She shares insights and tips about developing a voice and the bad habits to avoid in writing before revealing a few of the writers she assigns to her students. Finally everyone shares the three words that best describe their own singular writing style.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Tori Ritchie

Instagram

Website

How to Write a Cookbook Course

Books

Vibration Cooking by Vertamae Smart-Grosvenor

Michael Twitty

Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner

Osso Buco by Billy Collins

I Wrote a Good Omelet by Nikki Giovanni

Heartburn by Nora Ephron

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

• Life Is What You Bake It by Vallery Lomas
• Six California Kitchens by Sally Schmitt

Originally aired on September 28, 2022

Kristin starts out today's episode asking Molly, Kate and Andrea about the books that inspired them to follow this career path and how they'd define the idea of "voice" in writing. They discuss the difference between tone and voice, the tools they've use to craft their own and how to inject it into recipe writing. They reveal some writing exercises and advice on how to find and improve voice in your own writing.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Johnny Apple / R.W. Apple Jr.

The Key to Chinese Cooking by Irene Kuo

The Way to Cook by Julia Child

The American Baker by Jim Dodge

Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl

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

• James Beard's American Cookery
• On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee
• Home Cooking by Laurie Colwin
• Writing Tools by Roy Peter Clark
• The Elements of Style by Strunk and White
• Will Write for Food by Dianne Jacob

Molly, Kate and Kristin get together to celebrate the end of Season 7 and over 140 episodes of Everything Cookbooks! They chat about the highlights and takeaways from this season, what topics and guest insights stood out to them and even wade back into the waters of comp titles for a beat. They are delighted to see how the show has helped authors create their cookbooks over the past few years and share a few things they are excited to see out in the world very soon. We'll be back for Season 8 this fall!

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Cookbook Comp Titles: What They Are newsletter post

Kristin's Newsletter

Everything Cookbooks Substack

Episode 42: How to Write Recipe Titles

Episode 01: Should You Write a Cookbook?

Episode 63: On Rejection and Recovery

Episode 03: Cookbook Proposal Writing Tips

Episode 113: Food, Romance, and Fiction with Sarah Chamberlain

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

• The Nordic Cookbook by Magnus Nilsson 
• Jubilee by Toni Tipton-Martin 
• Feast: Food of the Islamic World by Anissa Helou 

Molly and Kate speak with chef and author Cathy Whims and illustrator Kate Lewis about their new cookbook The Italian Summer Kitchen. They share the inspiration behind the book, how it evolved after a few setbacks and why they landed on an illustrated version instead of a photographed one. Her first time working on a cookbook, Kate shares the process of creating the watercolor illustrations and their inspiration while Cathy describes why this particular style worked perfectly for this book. They speak about their workflow and process, how all the moving parts were managed and where some of the recipe ideas came from. Finally they share the intentions they had with this project and the season they'd like to tackle next.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Cathy Whims

Kate Lewis

Leslie Forbes books

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

• The Italian Summer Kitchen by Cathy Whims
• The Secret Garden illustrated by Kate Lewis

Kate and Molly speak with co-authors Sarah Allaback and Monique F. Parsons about their new book Green Gold. With backgrounds in scholarship, journalism and avocado farming this duo was uniquely qualified to write all about avocados; their history, agricultural background and the characters that helped mainstream this ingredient. They share why decided to write this book, the false starts and character threads that drew them in and the role recipes played in making the information accessible to readers. Sarah and Monique describe how they worked together, the discoveries that surprised them and the goal they had for the book as well as why it was important for this project to be released right now.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Hathi Trust

Newspapers.com

Stacey Glick, literary agent

Brokaw Ranch
 

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

• Green Gold, by Sarah Allaback and Monique F. Parsons
• Absolutely Avocados, by Gaby Dalkin

Kristin and Kate speak with Pooja Bavishi, the founder of Malai Ice Cream, about her debut cookbook. They ask Pooja about her company's history from stand to scoop shop, why she wanted to revolutionize ice cream by highlighting South Asian flavors and why now was the right time to write a book—even when many publishing professionals told her to wait a year or two. She takes us through the expectations vs. the realities that came up while writing, how she got connected to her agent and why the photoshoot was wildly different from what she expected. Finally she shares her thoughts behind the formatting and the advice she has for other business owners who are interested in writing their own cookbook.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella
 

Mentions

Pooja Bavishi

• Malai Ice Cream website
• Instagram
   

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

• Malai Ice Cream by Pooja Bavishi

Molly and Kate speak with Sarah Billingsley, the publishing director of food and lifestyle at Chronicle Books, about moving up the ranks as an editor and her experience on the other side as an author of her own cookbooks. She talks about how her role has shifted over the years, the first book she acquired and what makes something a "Chronicle Book". We get a glimpse at what goes on during a typical publishing house meeting and learn her thoughts on the state of cookbooks today before she divulges what she's looking for in a book and no, its not just platform! Finally she shares her thoughts on what moves the needle sales wise and what she wants authors to know about the editorial process.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Chronicle Books

Chronicle Books Submissions
 

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

• Tartine Bread, by Chad Robertson
• Humphry Slocum Ice Cream Book
• Whoopie Pies, by Sarah Billingsley and Amy Treadwell
• Handheld Pies, by Sarah Billingsley and Rachel Wharton
• Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson
• Coastal by Betsy Andrews
• Lavash by Ara Zada and Kate Leahy
• Baking Yesteryear by B. Dylan Hollis
• Six California Kitchens, by Sally Schmitt
• Instant Ramen, by Peter Kim
• Dobre Dobre, Baking from Poland and Beyond, by Laurie Kratochvila

Kristin and Molly discuss how Ozoz Sokoh, an Ontario-based professor of food tourism and culinary anthropologist, went about creating her new book that explores the vastness that is Nigerian food. Ozoz shares her thoughts on Nigerian cuisine, why she loves it and where the inspiration for making this book a 'bridge' came from along with the trepidation she had for writing the proposal and the challenges of writing a project of this scope. We ask her about her audience, publishing in multiple markets and how she landed on the format and the language for the recipe titles and she speaks on how she changed over the course of the book's creation, the photography process and what she hopes to work on next.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Ozoz Sokoh

• Website
• Blog: Kitchen Butterfly
• Instagram
• Feast Afrique
• Journey By Plate Tedx Talk

James Ransom photography

Anne McBride

Enid Blyton, British children's author

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

• Chop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria, by Ozoz Sokoh
• Mallory Towers, by Enid Blyton

Molly, Kate and Kristin speak with Martin Sorge, the winner of The Great American Baking Show, about his debut cookbook while he is still in the thick of creating it. Martin talks about getting started on his baking journey, the role the show played in his career and what he's taken away from the experience before diving into the process of developing, pitching, testing and writing his cookbook. He shares specific pain points of the process, his approach and then turns the tables onto the hosts as he asks them for advice and insights as he begins this new venture.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella
 

Mentions

Martin Sorge

• Website
• Instagram
• TikTok
• Substack: Great Bakes

Sally Ekus

Dianne Jacob, writing coach, author and teacher
 

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

• The Secrets of Cooking by Bee Wilson
• Green City Market Cookbook
• Preservation Kitchen, by Paul Virant and Kate Leahy

Kate and Kristin speak with cookbook author Maria Zizka about writing her solo projects as well as the more than forty collaborations she's worked on so far in her career. They chat about the challenges inherent in collaborations, how Maria got her start in the food world and the role letter writing played in getting her incredible internship—recipe testing alongside Suzanne Goin. Maria shares how she balances collaborations and solo projects, the lessons, systems and habits she's established because of her range of experiences, and the projects she will and won't take on. She talks about the process of switching agents, why she celebrates even the little milestones and the advice she has for aspiring authors.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Maria Zizka

• Website
• Instagram
   

University of Gastronomic Sciences

Episode 32: Co-Authoring Cookbooks with JJ Goode

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

• The Newlywed Table by Maria Zizka
• Boards, Platters, Plates by Maria Zizka
• One-Bowl Meals by Maria Zizka
• Cook Color by Maria Zizka
• The Hostess Handbook by Maria Zizka
• Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin
• I Love You: Recipes from the Heart by Pamela Anderson