Podcast
Everything Cookbooks
Hosted by Andrea Nguyen, Molly Stevens, Kate Leahy, Kristin Donnelly · EN
A podcast for curious writers, readers, and cooks. Episodes provide behind-the-scenes information and stories about how cookbooks get made.
43episodes
Episodes
Newest firstAll episodes
155: Aran Goyoaga on the Art of Gluten-Free Bread
Jan 700:50:11Tap to summarizeKate and Molly speak with author and photographer Aran Goyoaga about her new, groundbreaking book The Art of Gluten Free Bread. Aran talks about her experience as a pastry chef, where her gluten free journey began and starting her blog Cannelle et Vanille. She discusses the inspiration behind this new book, the research & development process and how her inexperience with bread was actually an advantage. With the wide variance of gluten free flours on the market, Aran talks about the importance of beginning the book with a guide with the hopes that readers will eventually riff on her recipes and why she insisted on metric measurements. She gets into the photography process, how she arranged the photo schedule around rigorous testing and why it could get lonely at times. Finally she shares some hopes she has for the book, where she wants to see it on the shelf and what she plans for the future.Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea NguyenEditor: Abby Cerquitella MentionsJoin The Local Palate Cookbook ClubAran GoyoagaWebsiteInstagramCannelle et Vanille Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the showThe Art of Gluten Free Bread by Aran GoyoagaCannelle et Vanille by Aran GoyoagaCannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple by Aran Goyoaga
Transcribe →154: Cookbook Writing is a Long Game
Dec 3100:45:09Tap to summarizeKristin, Molly, Andrea and Kate look back at the cookbook media landscape of 2025 and discuss the Anthropic settlement, their thoughts about AI in the food media sphere and share their inclinations about its usage. Each of the hosts share some wins they had this year with Kristin speaking about working on the Turtle Island book and Andrea joining in to share her thoughts on finding balance in collaboration projects. With a dash of astrology and numerology each host reveals what keeps them following this creative path and what they've let go of over the years along with the role persistence and perseverance plays in this journey. Finally they end the episode by sharing some of the books, people and ideas they are excited to follow into 2026. Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea NguyenEditor: Abby Cerquitella MentionsJoin The Local Palate Cookbook ClubAnthropic SettlementAI Duped My Cookbook and Made a Mess, by Adam EraceKristin Donnelly on Co-Writing One of the Year's Biggest Books from Cookbookery Collective Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the showTurtle Island, by Sean Sherman. Kate Nelson & Kristin DonnellyHeart Shaped Tin, by Bee WilsonFeast on Your Life, by Tamar AdlerOn Eating, by Alicia KennedyThe Last Sweet Bite by Michael Shaikh
Transcribe →141: Season 7 Highlights
Aug 13, 202500:40:52Tap to summarizeMolly, 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 NguyenEditor: Abby Cerquitella Mentions Cookbook Comp Titles: What They Are newsletter postKristin's NewsletterEverything Cookbooks Substack Episode 42: How to Write Recipe TitlesEpisode 01: Should You Write a Cookbook?Episode 63: On Rejection and RecoveryEpisode 03: Cookbook Proposal Writing TipsEpisode 113: Food, Romance, and Fiction with Sarah Chamberlain Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the showThe Nordic Cookbook by Magnus Nilsson Jubilee by Toni Tipton-Martin Feast: Food of the Islamic World by Anissa Helou
Transcribe →140: The Italian Summer Kitchen with Cathy Whims and Kate Lewis
Aug 6, 202500:41:09Tap to summarizeMolly 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 NguyenEditor: Abby Cerquitella MentionsCathy WhimsKate LewisLeslie Forbes books Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the showThe Italian Summer Kitchen by Cathy WhimsThe Secret Garden illustrated by Kate Lewis
Transcribe →139: Green Gold with Sarah Allaback and Monique F. Parsons
Jul 30, 202500:47:52Tap to summarizeKate 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 NguyenEditor: Abby Cerquitella MentionsHathi TrustNewspapers.comStacey Glick, literary agentBrokaw Ranch Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the showGreen Gold, by Sarah Allaback and Monique F. ParsonsAbsolutely Avocados, by Gaby Dalkin
Transcribe →138: Writing a Cookbook Based Around Her Ice Cream Brand with Pooja Bavishi
Jul 23, 202500:43:43Tap to summarizeKristin 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 NguyenEditor: Abby Cerquitella MentionsPooja BavishiMalai Ice Cream websiteInstagram Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the showMalai Ice Cream by Pooja Bavishi
Transcribe →137: Being a Cookbook Editor with Sarah Billingsley of Chronicle Books
Jul 16, 202500:46:40Tap to summarizeMolly 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 NguyenEditor: Abby Cerquitella MentionsChronicle BooksChronicle Books Submissions Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the showTartine Bread, by Chad RobertsonHumphry Slocum Ice Cream BookWhoopie Pies, by Sarah Billingsley and Amy TreadwellHandheld Pies, by Sarah Billingsley and Rachel WhartonTartine Bread by Chad RobertsonCoastal by Betsy AndrewsLavash by Ara Zada and Kate LeahyBaking Yesteryear by B. Dylan HollisSix California Kitchens, by Sally SchmittInstant Ramen, by Peter KimDobre Dobre, Baking from Poland and Beyond, by Laurie Kratochvila
Transcribe →136: Cooking the Food of Nigeria with Ozoz Sokoh
Jul 9, 202500:45:13Tap to summarizeKristin 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 NguyenEditor: Abby Cerquitella MentionsOzoz SokohWebsiteBlog: Kitchen ButterflyInstagramFeast AfriqueJourney By Plate Tedx Talk James Ransom photographyAnne McBrideEnid Blyton, British children's author Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the showChop Chop: Cooking the Food of Nigeria, by Ozoz SokohMallory Towers, by Enid Blyton
Transcribe →135: The Manuscript is In. Now What? with Martin Sorge
Jul 2, 202500:45:45Tap to summarizeMolly, 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 NguyenEditor: Abby Cerquitella MentionsMartin SorgeWebsiteInstagramTikTokSubstack: Great BakesSally EkusDianne Jacob, writing coach, author and teacher Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the showThe Secrets of Cooking by Bee WilsonGreen City Market CookbookPreservation Kitchen, by Paul Virant and Kate Leahy
Transcribe →134: Cookbooks as a Career with Maria Zizka
Jun 25, 202500:53:41Tap to summarizeKate 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 NguyenEditor: Abby Cerquitella MentionsMaria ZizkaWebsiteInstagram University of Gastronomic SciencesEpisode 32: Co-Authoring Cookbooks with JJ Goode Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the showThe Newlywed Table by Maria ZizkaBoards, Platters, Plates by Maria ZizkaOne-Bowl Meals by Maria ZizkaCook Color by Maria ZizkaThe Hostess Handbook by Maria ZizkaSunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne GoinI Love You: Recipes from the Heart by Pamela Anderson
Transcribe →