Totally Booked with Zibby Episode: Jake Cohen, DINNER PARTY ANIMAL: Recipes to Make Every Day a Celebration
Host: Zibby Owens
Guest: Jake Cohen
September 30, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features an engaging conversation between Zibby Owens and bestselling cookbook author Jake Cohen about his latest release, Dinner Party Animal: Recipes to Make Every Day a Celebration. Together, they explore Jake’s passion for food, the power of gathering through dinner parties (with a particular nod to Shabbat), the importance of community, and how he built his cooking and media career from humble beginnings to foodie stardom. Jake also shares signature recipes, event details, and his uniquely openhearted approach to food, life, and hosting.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Jake’s Backstory: From Shy Kid to Culinary Star

• Building community through cooking:
  • Jake grew up in Queens with a passion for food, but never expected a professional path in it.
  • As a shy high schooler, he watched Food Network for hours, then started hosting dinner parties to facilitate friendships.
  • Quote:

    "I started throwing these little dinner parties for my friends and... for people I wanted to become friends with. It was this way that I actually learned how to grow community and truly, like, socialize..." (04:13)

  • These early gatherings gave him confidence and a sense of belonging.
• Education and career:
  • Only applied to the Culinary Institute of America.
  • Began working in renowned NYC restaurants (Daniel, ABC Kitchen) but realized his dream was media, not running a restaurant.

The Power and Purpose of Gathering

• Dinner parties as community-building:
  • Hosting became a lifelong means to fight loneliness and self-doubt.
  • Zibby reads a touching excerpt from Jake’s introduction:

    “I need community like I need air, but it doesn’t come as easily as breathing… That dinner party was the first time my doubting inner voice was silenced.” (05:30)

  • Jake says:

    “It’s still true to this day… People get in their head a lot of stress around [hosting] and the comparison.” (06:44)

Lowering the Barriers to Hosting

• Practice not perfection:
  • Jake compares cooking to yoga: it’s a discipline and shouldn’t be about beating yourself up.

    “It’s a practice. It’s a discipline, and you’re not necessarily going to… just knock it out of the park the first time. But that doesn’t matter.” (07:26)

  • His book provides resources beyond recipes: grocery lists, timing, music suggestions, and more.

Jake’s Rise Through Media and Social

• Leveraging social media:
  • After leaving restaurants, Jake worked at food media brands including Saveur and Tasting Table.
  • Social media, once dismissed by many editors, became the gamechanger:

    “Social was always this through line… I knew what I wanted to do social wise to help promote [the first book]… did 18 days of giveaways and Instagram lives with celebrities.” (08:48)

  • Word of mouth is everything in cookbooks—his aim is to create recipes people want to share.

Recipes, Ritual, and the Meaning of Shabbat

• Signature dishes and inclusivity:
  • Jake’s Dinner Party Animal includes approachable, showstopping recipes (like Parker House rolls and tiramisu cake) and celebrity guest-contributed menus.
  • The book (his first not solely Jewish-focused) has many Jewish-leaning menus, honoring the role of Shabbat in gathering.
• On Shabbat’s significance:
  • Shabbat became Jake’s adult framework for community-building:

    “Shabbat was like my entryway into dinner parties as an adult... The ancient Jewish wisdom around gathering those you love and being present.” (12:11)

  • He works with OneTable, a nonprofit helping young adults create sustainable Shabbat traditions.

The External World & Meal Gatherings

• Context of recent events:
  • Jake reflects on hosting in turbulent times, especially post-October 7th:

    “My mission was... to spread joy and pride around Jewish culture separate from everything else… rituals that are gonna help us through this as it has every other trial.” (15:45)

  • He aims to be authentic, not to please everyone:

    “If you are for everyone, you’re doing mediocre work. Really, it’s about creating people that can see me and be like, ‘You know what? That’s my style.’” (17:30)

Memorable Quotes & Moments

• On hosting despite insecurity:

  “To my surprise, after I cooked for people, it seemed that they liked me more, so I liked me more. That holds true to this day.” – Read by Zibby (05:30)

• On cooking as intimacy:

  “I find cooking for people an incredibly intimate act... I don’t think I would ever do it for money. I’d be much more likely, probably, to get into sex work than... cooking for strangers.” – Jake (21:06)

• On the ‘joie de vivre’ of parties:

  “I both love a dinner party, but I’m also kind of a party animal. So I wanted to do something to engage young people in New York. I had this idea of like, New York’s hottest club is a synagogue.” – Jake on hosting a rave at Temple Emanuel (22:49)

• On kitchen confidence:

  “I want everyone to feel like they can do it because I am literally behind them, whispering in their ear, you got this. And that’s just it. Because it’s not that deep. Like, we’re cooking.” – Jake (26:16)

Event Announcements & Book Tour (approx. 22:49–25:21)

• Upcoming events in LA, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and NYC:
  • Guests at events include Benj Pasek, Alex Edelman, Jesse Ware, Jenji Kohan, Mike Solomonov, Baked by Melissa, and comedians Judy Gold, Modi, and more.
  • Highlight: NYC launch at Temple Emanuel with a disco rave for 20–40-year-olds.

    “Afterwards for the youths, for people 20 to 40, I’ll be throwing pretty much a disco rave in the basement of Temple Emanuel...” (22:49)

Noteworthy Recipes & Food Content

• Parker House Rolls with brown butter and honey (08:12)
• Tiramisu cake and one-pan gnocchi bake (18:58)
• Blueberry corn muffins (20:21)
  • Made for cast members of RHONY reboot.

Spirited Closing Thoughts

• Zibby praises Jake’s energy and the vital joy he brings:

  “Honestly, this sort of joie de vivre that you have... is so needed right now... You’re just—this positivity is so needed right now.” (25:21)

• Jake:

  “I’m very woo woo, very into manifestation, very into all the energy... You gotta be putting out positivity.” (25:44)

Useful Timestamps for Segments

• Jake’s background and finding community: 04:13–05:25
• Excerpt from the book’s introduction: 05:29–06:44
• Hosting as a practice, not a test: 06:44–07:52
• Media career and social media strategy: 08:48–11:38
• Shabbat’s personal importance: 12:11–14:06
• Being authentic in a polarized world: 15:45–18:51
• Favorite recipes and story behind them: 18:58–20:51
• Book events and unique disco rave: 22:49–25:21
• Final encouragement for listeners: 26:16–26:57

Tone & Style

Jake is warm, funny, candid, and approachable, blending practical culinary advice with a big-hearted, inclusive ethos. Zibby keeps the tone lively and admiring, guiding the discussion to foster both warmth and actionable inspiration for listeners.

[End of Summary]