This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Lisa Donovan, James Beard Award–winning author of Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger, now widely regarded as one of the definitive food memoirs of our time. We talk about hunger as both subject and structure — emotional, creative, intellectual, and literal — and dig into the discipline of memoir, writing food as personal narrative, and claiming authority in a voice shaped by appetite, loss, labor, and desire. The conversation moves through literary lineage, publishing realities, and why food writing endures when it tells the truth plainly, without performance.

Mentioned in this episode:
• Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger by Lisa Donovan
• David Black Literary Agency
• Dear Women: Own Your Stories by Lisa Donovan for Food & Wine
• M. F. K. Fisher
• Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton
• When French Women Cook by Madeleine Kamman
• Everything Is Under Control by Phyllis Grant
• Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison
• Heartburn by Nora Ephron
• Desserts by Pierre Hermé and Dorie Greenspan
• Bernard Clayton Jr. (books)
• Artisan Baking by Maggie Glezer
• Samin Nosrat

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Tanya Bush, author of Will This Make You Happy, to talk about baking as a way of moving through a year — emotionally, creatively, and practically. We discuss what it means to write from inside your own life, how recipes can hold both structure and feeling, and how Tanya expands the cookbook form through narrative, gently pushing against its traditional boundaries. We talk about what it means to break the mold without losing usefulness, and why baking often becomes a way to ask questions rather than answer them. The conversation moves between storytelling, routine, and the quiet search for meaning in everyday acts of making.

Mentioned in this episode:

Will This Make You Happy: Stories and Recipes from a Year of Baking by Tanya Bush

“Party Girl” (1995) Trailer

Brooks Headley's Fancy Desserts: The Recipes of Del Posto’s James Beard Award–Winning Pastry Chef by Brooks Headley

Cooking As Though You Might Cook Again by Daniel Licht

Ruby Tandoh

Chloe Rose Crabtree, Bake Street London

Oliver Lee Costello, Toad Bakery

Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen: A Memoir and Cookbook by Laurie Colwin

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Maria Zizka to talk about the art of collaboration in cookbook publishing. We dig into Maria’s own canon alongside the many influential books she’s helped bring into the world as a co-author, ghostwriter, and translator — working closely with some of the industry’s most respected voices. From shaping tone and structure to translating vision across cultures, projects, and personalities, Maria shares what it means to be a steady creative partner, how trust is built behind the scenes, and why some of the most enduring cookbooks are the result of deep, generous collaboration rather than singular authorship.

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Carrie Bachman, a renowned publicist and longtime champion of cookbook authors, to talk about advocacy, trust, and the quiet power behind a book’s success. From shaping long-term author careers to navigating launches, festivals, and press cycles, Carrie shares how taste, timing, and deep belief in a project help books find their readers — and why publicity, at its best, is about stewardship as much as strategy.

Mentioned in this episode:
• Big Bites: Wholesome, Comforting Recipes That Are Big on Flavor, Nourishment, and Fun by Kat Ashmore
• Gluten-Free Orange-Ricotta Company Cake (Kat Ashmore)
• Dorie Greenspan (including Dorie’s Anytime Cakes)
• Ina Garten
• Marcella Hazan
• Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen
• The Betty Crocker Cookbook
• William Morrow (now part of HarperCollins)
• Barbara Kafka
• Julia Child
• Jacques Pépin
• Emeril Lagasse
• Heartland Masala by Jyoti Mukharji
• Umma by Sarah Ahn and Nam Soon Ahn
• American Library Association Conference
• Fancy Food Show
• Sisterly Love Collective
• The New Making of a Cook by Madeleine Kamman
• Nathan Myhrvold
• Darlingside

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Claire Gilhuly to talk about the editor’s role in shaping a cookbook from idea to finished pages. We dig into how Claire works with authors to refine voice, structure recipes, and build books that feel cohesive, usable, and distinct. The conversation moves through what makes a proposal stand out, how editorial vision develops across a list, and the balance between guiding a project and protecting what makes it singular. Claire also guides us through the full editorial team behind a book — bringing into view the many hands, roles, and decisions that shape a cookbook from the margins, often out of sight.

Mentioned in this episode:
• Après All Day by Kelley Epstein
• The Butter Book by Anna Stockwell
• Cake Picnic by Elisa Sunga
• Party Tricks and Tin to Table by Anna Hezel
• The Flavor of Fire by Kelsey Barnard Clark
• Every Season Is Soup Season and Platters and Boards by Shelly Westerhausen Worcel
• By Heart by Hailee Catalano
• Black Sea by Caroline Eden
• Ama by Josef Centeno
• Dobre Dobre by Laurel Kratochvila
• The Silver Palate Cookbook by Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso
• Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson
• Mochitsuki by Kristen Morita
• Small Victories by Julia Turshen
• Le Sud by Rebekah Peppler
• Islas by Von Diaz
• The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum
• Tenderheart by Hetty McKinnon
• Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker
• Will This Make You Happy by Tanya Bush

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Aran Goyoaga, the James Beard Award–winning creator of Cannelle et Vanille and author of multiple groundbreaking gluten-free baking books, including The Art of Gluten-Free Bread. We talk about building technical authority in a space once dismissed as niche, how Aran’s work has reshaped expectations around gluten-free bread and pastry, and what it means to evolve from blogger to bestselling author while holding onto craft. We also cover Aran's evolution, workflow and recommended practices for someone who wants to photogragh their own books. The conversation moves through innovation, testing, photography, and the discipline required to make alternative baking feel both rigorous and deeply nourishing.

Mentioned in this episode:
• The Art of Gluten-Free Bread
• Cannelle et Vanille
• Small Plates and Sweet Treats
• Cannelle et Vanille
• Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple
• 101 Cookbooks by Heidi Swanson
• Orangette by Molly Wizenberg
• Smitten Kitchen
• Dorothy Brand
• Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan
• The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond
• Justine Doiron
• Hetty McKinnon
• America’s Test Kitchen

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Jennifer Chong, cookbook and commercial photographer and host of the Photo Dump podcast, to talk about the role images play in how a cookbook is understood, used, and remembered. From shaping first impressions to guiding how a recipe is cooked, we dig into why photography is not secondary to the text, but integral to a book’s success. We also explore how Jennifer’s approach shifts between cookbooks and commercial work, what makes a strong image on the page, and how collaboration, trust, and clarity on set translate into photographs that hold up over time.

Mentioned in this episode:
• Jennifer Chong — website
• The Help Yourself Cookbook for Kids by Ruby Roth
• Cook This Book by Molly Baz
• Gjelina Cooks by Travis Lett
• Ren Fuller
• Photo Dump

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Maxine McCrann to talk about her work on By Heart — including the now-iconic cover — and what it’s like to build visual language for a cookbook versus other forms of commercial work. We dig into the slower, more intimate rhythm of cookbook making, how trust and authorship shape creative decisions, and what changes when an image is meant to live with a reader over time rather than circulate quickly.

Mentioned in this episode:
• The Newlywed Table
• One-Bowl Meals
• Boards, Platters, Plates
• Cook Color
• The Hostess Handbook
• Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin
• Tartine by Liz Prueitt and Chad Robertson
• Yotam Ottolenghi (all books)
• Baking and the Meaning of Life by Helen Goh
• Sift by Nicola Lamb
• A Thousand Feasts by Nigel Slater
• Acme Bread Company
• I Love You by Pamela Anderson and Maria Zizka
• Panadería Rosetta
• Chez Panisse cookbooks
• Cooking by Hand by Paul Bertolli
• Deborah Madison (all books)

In Part 2 of our cookbook deep dive, we zoom out from the writing and into the ecosystem that actually gets a book into the world. Photography. Editing. Design. Illustration. Marketing. Pub Day and Book tours. Translation. Ghostwriting.

We talk about when you move from the lonely writing to working with the essential teams! How to work with each team, keep your voice focused and stay organized.

We call out titles Will This Make You Happy by Tanya Bush, Small Victories by Julia Turshen, Good Things by Samin Nosrat, By Heart by Hailee Catalano, and memoir-driven hybrids like Prune, Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger, and Everything Is Under Control. We explore the editorial voices of Maria Zizka, the visual storytelling of artists like Asami Watanabei, prop styling worlds like Three Bird Props, and the broader industry network — from agencies to publications like Edible LA.

If Part 1 was about writing the book, Part 2 is about everything that makes it real — and what it actually takes for a cookbook to last. This is the full machine behind the magic.

Mentioned in this episode:

Will This Make You Happy: Stories and Recipes from a Year of Baking by Tanya Bush

Small Victories by Julia Turshen

Rebecca Stumpf

Jennifer Chong 

Proplink (no longer open)

Three Bird Props

Nidia Cueva, Holl & Artists

Eat This Book by Stacy Michelson

Asami Watanabei (@artsami.w)

Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love by Samin Nosrat

Anna and David Posey, Elske

Maria Ziska

By Heart: Recipes to Hold Near and Dear by Hailee Catalano

Edible LA

Prune by Gabrielle Hamilton 

Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger by Lisa Donovan

Everything Is Under Control: A Memoir With Recipes by Phyllis Grant

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose sits down with Yossy Arefi  while Crystal takes a break— New York Times bestselling author, NYT contributor, and creator of the Substack Have a Little Something — to talk about what it means to fully author a baking book from the inside out. We dig into Yossy’s unique practice of writing, styling, and photographing her own work, how that continuity shapes voice and restraint, and why everyday baking resonates most when it’s grounded, seasonal, and deeply usable. How writing for a cookbook differs from her usual work with NYT, etc. The conversation moves between creative control, reader trust, and the quiet rigor behind recipes that feel effortless but are anything but.

Mentioned in this episode:
• Sweeter off the Vine: Fruit Desserts for Every Season
• Snacking Cakes: Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings
• Snacking Bakes: Simple Recipes for Cookies, Bars, Brownies, Cakes, and More
• Nigel Slater
• Yotam Ottolenghi
• Ron Ben-Israel
• The Last Course by Claudia Fleming
• Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich
• Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce
• Apartment 2B Baking Co.
• Apt 2 Bread by Carla Finley
• L’Appartement 4F
• Cherry Bombe — Cooks & Books event (2022)