Kate and Molly speak with historian and professor Ken Albala about his varied publishing experiences and newest book, The World Atlas of Fermented Food and Drinks. Ken, the author of 30 books, bridges scholarship and food within geographic, historical and cultural contexts. He tells us how he balances teaching, writing, research and hobbies, the classes and programs he's run and how the publishing landscape has shifted in recent years. He takes us behind the scenes of some of his books and shares his experiences with different publishing models— popular and academic—including why one works over the other for specific projects. Finally he reveals of few of the more unconventional dishes he's created and leaves us with his dream book topic.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Salt TikTok

Ken Albala

• Ken's Food Rants
• Publishing models blog post

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

• Salt by Mark Kurlansky
• The World Atlas of Fermented Foods and Drinks, by Ken Albala
• Beans, by Ken Albala

Kristin and Molly speak with previous Insider Series guest, Rebecca Eisenberg, about her evolution from blogger to author. After working in media for years, she eventually decided to write for herself and talks about turning The Practical Kitchen blog into a business and all that entailed. Ever practical and operating under the mantra 'do it messy, clean it later', she learned on the job and shares what her day to day looks like now, how she addressed going viral and the work it takes to keep up with the ever shifting demands of SEO, the algorithm and AI. Rebecca discusses her decision to write a book based on only a subset of her blog topics and the behind the scenes experience of crafting a proposal, getting an agent, going to auction, selecting a publisher and then the work of recipe testing, writing and photographing. Finally, she talks about her innovative and interactive marketing campaign and the lessons learned from her first cookbook experience.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Rebecca Eisenberg

• The Practical Kitchen
• Instagram
• Workshop with Rebecca about Growing a Platform with Short Form Video

6 Tips for Feeding and Discarding Sourdough Starter

Purchase a recording of Rebecca's Insider Series here

Kristin's Cookbook Courses

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

• Small Batch Breads by Rebecca Eisenberg

We're turning the hosting reins over to Charlotte Druckman today to learn about Andrea Nguyen and Pim Techamuanvivit's experience collaborating on their new 'instant classic' cookbook, Cooking Thai. Pim shares her original idea for the book, how it evolved and the mission statement she settled on while Andrea explains why she felt drawn to work on her first collaboration with this project. They speak about recipe testing, the writing process and how they worked together, speaking on task division, communication styles and working through tension to create a product they're immensely proud of. Pim and Andrea each share what they learned from the other, how they challenged each other, the books they were inspired by and how they landed on an approachable yet educational tone before leaving us with some advice and a sneak peak.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Charlotte Druckman

• Website
• Instagram
• Sweethearts Newsletter

Pim Techamuanvivit

• Instagram

Andrea Nguyen

• Website
• Newsletter
• Instagram

Subscribe to our weekly Substack newsletter for more information about each episode and a peek at what's coming up.

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

• Cooking Thai by Andrea Nguyen and Pim Techamuanvivit
• Dishoom by Kavi Thakrar, Naved Nasir, and Shamil Thakrar
• Kitchen Remix by Charlotte Druckman
• Love in the Afternoon by Charlotte Druckman
• Cooking without Borders by Anita Lo with Charlotte Druckman