Kate and Kristin speak with Raquel Pelzel and Michael Szczerban about bringing an iconic Italian cookbook to America. The Talisman of Happiness was written in the 1920s by Ada Boni, "one of the most groundbreaking, pioneering women in food history." The book has influenced some of the most beloved pillars of Italian cuisine. Michael shares what drew him to this book and inspired his years-long quest to publish it in America while Raquel talks her process of editing over(!) 1600 recipes post-translation. They discuss editing by hand, recipe testing, translation, focusing on an American audience and the timeline they had to accomplish this massive undertaking. Finally, they share how the book changed their own cooking, why it is so special to the, and the types of books that Voracious publishes.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Voracious imprint

Join The Local Palate Cookbook Club

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

• The Talisman of Happiness by Ada Boni

Kristin and Kate welcome the food director of Real Simple, Jenna Helwig, to discuss her newsletter, The Cookbookery Collective, and her thoughts on the current cookbook landscape. Jenna shares her career path, why she fell in love with food and how she paired writing cookbooks with working as a private chef. She talks about covering food at Real Simple, the role magazines play in our current food media climate and her thoughts on building a social media presence and how that led to starting her newsletter. After talking about assembling the massive list of Fall 2025 titles she shares some thoughts on marketing copy, subtitles, influencer cookbooks and the upcoming trends she's excited (or not so excited) to see. Finally she extends some advice and reveals her level of interest in writing another book.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Jenna Helwig

• Website
• Cookbookery Collective Substack
• Fall 2025 Cookbook list

Real Simple Magazine

Join The Local Palate Cookbook Club

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

• Bare Minimum Dinners by Jenna Helwig
• Baby-Led Feeding by Jenna Helwig
• Baking and the Meaning of Life by Helen Goh
• Dorie's Anytime Cakes by Dorie Greenspan
• Six Seasons of Pasta by Josh McFadden
• Recipes from the American South by Michael Twitty
• Good Things by Samin Nosrat
• Hot Date by Rawaan Alkhatib
• Chesnok by Polina Chesnakova

Kate and Kristin get into all things food photography with Eva Kolenko, the photographer of over 50 cookbooks. Eva talks about her new studio setup, how she got her start as a photographer after a wandering path as an artist and how she made the jump to actually making a living with her talent. She shares what she wished she knew before starting this line of work, how she approaches each new project and the essential tools of the task that make it run smoothly. Finally she discusses what she'd like authors to know about the photography experience, what she wishes they would do and consider while on set and the advice (and pet peeves!) she has for aspiring photographers.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Eva Kolenko

• Website
• Substack: Inside the Food Studio

Join The Local Palate Cookbook Club

106: Caroline Chambers on Building a Substack Platform

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

• Yogurt by Janet Fletcher, photos by Eva Kolenko
• Shaq's Family Style photos by Eva Kolenko
• What to Cook When You Don't Feel Like Cooking by Caroline Chambers, photos by Eva Kolenko

Kate and Molly speak with both an author and an agent about their collaboration process. We talk to Peter J. Kim about his debut cookbook, The Instant Ramen Kitchen, and to David Black about working as a literary agent and why this project caught his attention. David shares his thoughts about cookbook proposal revisions, speciality stores and what agents and publishers look for in a book while Peter shares why this particular food was so important to him, why he settled on 'recipe templates to show off ramen's potential, how his background in music and museum work influenced the end result and what he is working on next.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Peter J. Kim

David Black Literary Agency

Counterjam podcast

137: Being a Cookbook Editor with Sarah Billingsley of Chronicle Books

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

• The Instant Ramen Kitchen by Peter J. Kim

Molly and Kristin speak with the iconic Jacques Pépin about his latest book which includes recipes along with original artwork. Jacques, the writer of over 30 cookbooks since 1967, shares memories and inspirations behind his work, his take on recipe creation over the years and his thoughts on the similarities and differences between cooking and painting. He talks about the gradual inclusion of his art in his books, what his relationship with painting and cooking looks like today and shares information about his foundation and the current initiative to celebrate his upcoming 90th birthday. Finally he shares his view on food as a means of connection and some wise advice.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Jaques Pepin

• Website
• Jacques Pépin Foundation
• 90 chefs/90 dinners
• How to host your own event
  

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

• The Art of Jacques Pépin by Jaques Pepin
• Fast Food My Way by Jaques Pepin
• Essential Pépin by Jaques Pepin

Kate, Kristin, Molly and Andrea meet up to launch Season 8 with a grab bag of topics, including free speech in the cookbook space, thoughts around using Chat GPT and AI as tools for writing and recipe creation, and checking in on 'Happy Robot Voice'. They discuss the need for friction in writing and the development of personal voice, taste and expertise before diving into thoughts around the current state of cookbook design. They share some ideas for social media growth, selling book projects, and what to keep in mind for an effective and empowered recipe testing process before teasing a few upcoming episodes for Season 8. Stay tuned!

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Everything Cookbooks Episode List

Everything Cookbooks: Cookbook Comp Titles: What They Are

Kristin's newsletter

Anthropic's Claude

Jane Black's article in the Wall Street Journal about AI-written recipes

The Deep Life podcast by Cal Newport

AI Episode

Happier podcast with Gretchen Rubin

When Your Comp Isn't a Book post by Neon Publishing

Kathleen Schmidt, Publishing Confidential

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

Originally aired on November 23, 2022

Andrea and Kristin talk with Eric Kim about his intensely personal and remarkable book, Korean American. He shares his inspirations and motivations for the essay format, how he wrote his family as characters and the potential and limits of memoir writing. He talks about the idea of authenticity in food, what goes into naming recipes and the unpredictability of a viral recipe.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Eric Kim

• Website
• Instagram
• New York Times Column
• "When I Came Out to My Parents, Kimchi Fried Rice Held Us Together" on Food52
• Food52 Recipes
  

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

• Korean American by Eric Kim
• Risotto with Nettles by Anna Del Conte

Originally aired on February 1, 2023

Molly and Kate dive deep into the journey and person that is chef/writer/artist/activist/culinary ambassador (and more), Toya Boudy. She shares how her talents as an artist and wordsmith, along with the interwoven nature of life, resulted in her latest cookbook, "Cooking for the Culture". She discusses her creation process, the unconventional schedule for the book and her family's contribution as she explains her mission to build community and empower the artist inside.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Toya Boudy

• Website
• YouTube Channel
• Podcast
• Instagram
• Her first book "Cook Like a New Orleanian"

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

• Cooking for the Culture by Toya Boudy
• Bress 'n' Nyams by Matthew Raiford