Salt & Spine
290 episodes - English - Latest episode: 2 months ago - ★★★★ - 185 ratingsWe tell the compelling stories behind cookbooks you won't get anywhere else. Featuring interviews with leading authors, we explore the art and craft of cookbooks, looking at both new and vintage cookbooks and the inspirations behind them … the compelling people who create them … and their impact on home cooks and the culinary world.
saltandspine.substack.com
Homepage Apple Podcasts Google Podcasts Overcast Castro Pocket Casts RSS feed
Episodes
'The State of California Cuisine' is Native, Black, Arab, and More
February 13, 2024 17:43 - 57 minutes - 39.2 MBWell, hello there! It’s been a minute. The Salt + Spine team has been busy taking some much-needed rest—and, of course, planning for an inspiring year ahead. What’s in store? Amazing podcast episodes, naturally, and all the typical goods: exclusive recipes, cookbook giveaways, and behind-the-spine content you won’t find anywhere else. But there’s more brewing. Big stuff! I can’t spill all the beans yet—but stay tuned for a cookbook lover’s dream, coming this summer. Woo! I hope your 2024 is...
From yuck cakes to vodka sawce, how Dan Pelosi built the Grossy universe
November 30, 2023 19:44 - 41 minutes - 30 MBHi there, I hope those of you who celebrated Thanksgiving had a relaxing and delicious moment of gratitude. Or maybe you went hard like I did? By the way: I’m so thankful for all of you, the Salt + Spine community. After six years, it’s incredible to continue to hear from you all—what you’re cooking, something in our interviews that stood out to you, and getting the chance to meet you at our events and live shows. 🍪 COOKIE SWAP! Speaking of events… our annual Cookie Swap is just around ...
LIVE at Hog Island Oyster Co. with co-founder John Finger and chef John Ash
November 10, 2023 20:17 - 43 minutes - 31.4 MBHi there. First today: We’re remembering beloved photographer Aubrie Pick, who tragically passed away last week after a battle with cancer. Aubrie’s work was stunning and personal, and she was a visionary creative force in the Bay Area. Elana Kadvany writes in the San Francisco Chronicle: Pick’s images — vibrant and charismatic, like the photographer herself, collaborators said — have left an indelible mark on the national food scene, and particularly in the Bay Area. Pick photographed num...
In Their Words: Hetty Lui McKinnon reads from Tenderheart
November 02, 2023 16:35 - 2 minutes - 1.88 MBThis is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit saltandspine.substack.com/subscribe
Hetty Lui McKinnon on her deeply personal Tenderheart—and how home cooks can break free of their 'vegetable handcuffs'
October 31, 2023 20:49 - 54 minutes - 38.5 MBHi, long time! Phew, October is always the wildest cookbook month—it’s even officially dubbed National Cookbook Month—and we’ve been a bit quiet around here. With two little ones running around the house, germs have been rampant, and my voice just hasn’t been cooperating. So we’re catching back after falling a bit behind on our fall release schedule and thrilled to share today’s chat with Hetty Lui McKinnon with all of you. And now, somehow, it’s Oct. 31 - Halloween! I’m a sucker for anythi...
Deb Perelman on building Smitten Kitchen and what makes a "keeper" recipe
October 05, 2023 20:24 - 40 minutes - 29 MBHi there, happy Thursday! We’ve got a great chat with Smitten Kitchen herself (aka Deb Perelman) this week, so let’s cut right to it: Episode 161: Deb Perelman In this week’s episode, of and I discuss: * Her initial foray into blogging—from her short stint chronicling her dating life in New York City and shifting the focus to cooking; * How she approaches cookbook writing, from her initial reluctance to write a cookbook to what makes “keeper recipes;” * Where she finds inspiration, in...
Katie Parla on the Italian islands, shepherd culture, and diving for urchin
September 22, 2023 19:27 - 40 minutes - 29.1 MBHappy Friday folks! This week’s episode is a wee bit late because it’s a live show (!!!) which means the audio gave us a slight technical run-around. But it’s a fun one, for sure, in which we chat with Katie Parla in front of a live audience at our beloved Omnivore Books in San Francisco. First — last week, I shared the New York Times profile of B. Dylan Hollis, and this week the NYT is back (via Salt + Spine friend Priya Krishna) with a full feature on TikTok stars and how they’re changi...
Frankie Gaw on Olive Garden, Lion's Head Big Macs, and learning to love yourself
September 14, 2023 16:35 - 46 minutes - 33.2 MBHi there, fellow cookbook lover. I’m here with great news: We’rrrreeee bacccckkkkk, baby! Season 13 (but who’s counting?) of Salt + Spine starts right here, and we’ve got an awesome line-up of conversations headed your way this fall. Plus, loads of new featured recipes, bonus content, events, and more. We’ve got Deb Perelman. Dan Pelosi. Katie Parla. Hetty McKinnon. AND MORE! Like I said, “we’re bacccccckkkk, baby!” If you’re not yet a paid subscriber to Salt + Spine, I’d love to extend a s...
Preserving Tradition, One Nonna at a Time, with Pasta Grannies' Vicky Bennison
June 02, 2023 16:30 - 33 minutes - 23.8 MBEpisode 158: Vicky Bennison In this week’s episode, Vicky and I discuss: * Growing up for several years on a farm in Kenya, where her father was working in agricultural development, and how she formed a relationship with food at an early age; * Her nearly-decade-long project, Pasta Grannies, to document the time-honored techniques and recipes passed down through generations of nonnas, the Italian grandmothers; * The diversity of regional pasta and cooking styles around Italy, and the sto...
Don't panic! Unlocking the secrets of pantry cooking with Noah Galuten
May 23, 2023 19:13 - 34 minutes - 24.6 MBEpisode 157: Noah Galuten In this week’s episode, Noah and I discuss: * His early interest in both food television (Lidia Bastianich, Ming Tsai) and cookbooks (Marcella Hazan, Edna Lewis), * How he fell into opening up new locations of Bludso’s BBQ and then teaming up with Kevin Bludso to co-author Bludso's BBQ Cookbook: A Family Affair in Smoke and Soul … and then with chef Jeremy Fox to write On Vegetables: Modern Recipes for the Home Kitchen, * The pandemic-inspired “Don’t Panic Pantr...
Breathing freshness into Midwestern fare with Maren Ellingboe King
May 04, 2023 15:55 - 33 minutes - 23.6 MBThis week, Maren Ellingboe King joins us to #TalkCookbooks. But first… In today’s episode, Maren and I discuss: * How her upbringing in the Midwest influenced her decision to pursue a career in food. * Her work at food media outlets like Food & Wine and Sunset magazine as well as culinary events companies like Just Add Salt. * The inspiration behind her first cookbook, Fresh Midwest, including how a collection of family recipes compelled her to tackle the project. Plus, as always, we pu...
Mission Possible: Danny Bowien's vegan revolution arrives, in cookbook form
April 26, 2023 18:50 - 1 hour - 43 MBThe Chat! In today’s episode, Danny Bowien and I discuss: * Growing up in Oklahoma after being adopted from his birthplace of South Korea, and a lingering nostalgia for Olive Garden. * His journey to becoming a chef, from an early job at a pizza shop to culinary school to winning the Genova Pesto World Championship. * The process of opening Mission Chinese Food and how he handled being catapulted to a new level of fame. * The inspiration behind his latest cookbook, Mission Vegan, and so...
Claire Saffitz Returns! Unleashing the power of nostalgia (and stovetop desserts)
April 18, 2023 18:00 - 45 minutes - 31.4 MBHi there! Our Spring 2023 season of the Salt + Spine podcast kicks off right here, right now, with a marvelous returning guest: the delightful Claire Saffitz. In today’s episode, Claire and I discuss: * How she’s worked to create dessert recipes that speak to everyone—from sweet to tart, simple to complex. * The impact of the pandemic on her creative process as she embarked on writing book No. 2, What’s for Dessert. * Which cookbook authors inspire Claire, and which books she turns to t...
Uliks Fehmiu on his beloved bakery, born from war-forged friendships
January 23, 2023 18:05 - 53 minutes - 24.3 MBEpisode 153: Uliks Fehmiu Uliks Fehmiu is a co-founder of the beloved bakery Pain D’Avignon, which sprang up on Cape Cod over three decades ago. But the story of the bakery begins back in Uliks’ childhood and his early friendships in war-torn Belgrade. What Uliks calls an “improbable journey into baking” is shared, for the first time in this format, with his recent cookbook: The Pain d'Avignon Baking Book: A War, An Unlikely Bakery, and a Master Class in Bread. The book offers an in-person...
An education in pies and community with Maya-Camille Broussard's Justice of the Pies
January 10, 2023 18:30 - 41 minutes - 19.2 MBEpisode 152: Maya-Camille Broussard Maya-Camille is the creative force behind Justice of the Pies, her Chicago bakery that’s become known for inventive and unmatched flavors (Lemon Espresso Pie … Blue Cheese Praline Pear Pie … and so on). Much of Maya-Camille’s work traces back to her roots, with a significant influence from her father, the self-dubbed “Pie Master,” who worked as a criminal defense attorney by day. As with many family stories, Maya-Camille’s is complex and dotted with both...
Brian Noyes' celebration of rural baked goods & Virginia farmhouse cooking
December 23, 2022 22:38 - 41 minutes - 18.9 MBHi there, today we’re excited to release the fifth episode in our 2022 Baking Month. Thanks for your patience, as our team was under the weather! Today’s guest is Brian Noyes, whose latest cookbook is The Red Truck Bakery Farmhouse Cookbook. For all of December, we’ll be celebrating some of the year’s best baking books with a handful of author interviews, dozens of featured recipes, excerpts, and more. Read on! * Do you love Salt + Spine? We’d love if you shared this email with a friend who...
Laurel Kratochvila illuminates a new type of baking, rooted in tradition
December 14, 2022 18:30 - 40 minutes - 18.5 MBHi there, today we’re excited to release the fourth episode in our 2022 Baking Month. Today’s guest is Laurel Kratochvila, whose debut cookbook, New European Baking, is out now. For all of December, we’ll be celebrating some of the year’s best baking books with a handful of author interviews, dozens of featured recipes, excerpts, and more. Read on! * Do you love Salt + Spine? We’d love if you shared this email with a friend who might want to #TalkCookbooks with us, too: Episode 150: Laurel...
Erin Jeanne McDowell's 'salt tooth' inspired her latest, Savory Baking
December 09, 2022 19:00 - 39 minutes - 27.1 MBHi there, today we’re excited to release the third episode in our 2022 Baking Month. Today’s guest is Erin Jeanne McDowell, whose latest cookbook, Savory Baking, is out now. For all of December, we’ll be celebrating some of the year’s best baking books with a handful of author interviews, dozens of featured recipes, excerpts, and more. Read on! * Do you love Salt + Spine? We’d love if you shared this email with a friend who might want to #TalkCookbooks with us, too: Episode 149: Erin Jeann...
Brian Levy leans into natural sweeteners in debut Good & Sweet
December 07, 2022 23:00 - 35 minutes - 24.3 MBHi there, today we’re excited to release the second episode in our 2022 Baking Month. Today’s guest is Brian Levy, whose sugar-free baking book, Good & Sweet, is out now. For all of December, we’ll be celebrating some of the year’s best baking books with a handful of author interviews, dozens of featured recipes, excerpts, and more. Read on! * Do you love Salt + Spine? We’d love if you shared this email with a friend who might want to #TalkCookbooks with us, too: Episode 148: Brian Levy ...
Rose Levy Beranbaum & Woody Wolston return—with cookies!
December 05, 2022 18:30 - 50 minutes - 34.9 MBIt’s our annual Baking Month, and we’re kicking things off with some return guests! Back on the show today are Rose Levy Beranbaum and her collaborator-turned-hubby Woody Wolston. They’re joining Brian in-studio to talk about their latest work, The Cookie Bible. Episode 147: Rose Levy Beranbaum Rose likely needs no introduction to those in the cookbook world. But here’s what you need to know: * She published the ground-breaking The Cake Bible in 1988, changing how many home and profession...
Melissa Clark on bringing one-pan (and one-pot, one-tray, one-dish…) meals to the masses
November 30, 2022 19:01 - 46 minutes - 31.7 MBHi there, exciting show for you this week. Melissa Clark, one of the most prolific cookbook writers of the modern era, joins us. Read on! * Do you love Salt + Spine? We’d love if you shared this email with a friend who might want to #TalkCookbooks with us, too: Episode 146: Melissa Clark This week, Melissa Clark joins us to #TalkCookbooks! When we launched Salt + Spine, I wrote a short list of our dream guests — the cookbook authors who, at the time, I felt were pushing the industry in n...
Odette Williams on pasta, pleasure, and… more pasta!
November 15, 2022 18:10 - 46 minutes - 63.4 MBHi there! After a short break last week, we’re back with new episodes and bonus content for subscribers. This week, cookbook author Odette Williams joined us in our studio at The Civic Kitchen in San Francisco to talk pasta. * Do you love Salt + Spine? We’d love if you shared this email with a friend who might want to #TalkCookbooks with us, too: Episode 145: Odette Williams This week, Odette Williams joins us on Salt + Spine to #TalkCookbooks! Odette was an actor long before she started...
Vote—then bake your feelings with Becca Rea-Tucker
November 08, 2022 18:40 - 23 minutes - 31.7 MBHi there! It’s Election Day in America, so we’re bringing you a special episode today that’s all about baking with a political and emotional spin. If you haven’t voted yet, find your polling place here. If you’ve already voted, it’s always a good time to donate to organizations like the ACLU or Color of Change to protect our voting and civil rights. * Do you love Salt + Spine? We’d love if you shared this email with a friend who might want to #TalkCookbooks with us, too: Episode 144: Becca...
It's simple, genius. Kristen Miglore returns with her latest, Simply Genius
October 27, 2022 19:30 - 43 minutes - 59.1 MBHi there! This week’s episode is coming to you a bit later than normal, as I’ve been under the weather fighting what feels like my 47th sinus infection over the last few years. Thankfully, we recorded this chat with the wonderful Kristen Miglore several weeks ago—with both a live audience and a non-nasally host. That said, we’ve got a great show for you: Kristen is back for the second time on the pod, this time sharing a new batch of Genius tips and tricks (and hacks, if you will). Plus, rec...
🌽 Jorge Gaviria on the third wave of masa
October 19, 2022 17:07 - 51 minutes - 70.3 MBEpisode 142: Jorge Gaviria This week, we’re thrilled to welcome Masienda founder Jorge Gaviria to #TalkCookbooks with us. Jorge’s first cookbook, Masa: Techniques, Recipes, and Reflections on a Timeless Staple, explores the deep history and significance of masa—the dough made of nixtamalized corn that goes on to become tortillas, tamales, sopes, and many more Mexican and global staples. It all started with a realization while apprenticing at Blue Hill at Stone Barns. Jorge started to dre...
How Italians find joy in doing nothing, with author Sophie Minchilli
October 12, 2022 21:34 - 32 minutes - 45 MBEpisode #141: Sophie Minchilli This week, Sophie Minchilli joins us to #TalkCookbooks. Sophie leads food tours around Italy with her mother, cookbook author and previous Salt + Spine guest Elizabeth Minchilli. The two lead food lovers through Rome, Umbria, Puglia, and other destinations. Growing up in Italy with a cookbook author as a mother, Sophie’s life has always revolved around food. She left briefly for university in London, before moving back home to Rome to devote her career to fo...
Erin Gleeson takes The Forest Feast on the road
October 04, 2022 18:10 - 52 minutes - 71.7 MBEpisode 140: Erin Gleeson This week, Erin Gleeson joins us to #TalkCookbooks. What a fun episode! I packed up our recorder and microphones and headed south from San Francisco and into the woody, serene drive to Erin Gleeson’s charming cabin-esque home in the South Bay. Just look at this enviable set-up—I wish we could record every episode here! And Erin even prepped us a plate of lavender shortbread, which is featured in her latest cookbook, and a warm pot of coffee: Anyway — we were a...
Eitan Bernath takes us around the world in comfort food
September 28, 2022 18:20 - 44 minutes - 61.4 MBEpisode 139: Eitan Bernath This week, Eitan Benath joins us to #TalkCookbooks! Eitan is one of the most visible people in food media today. At just 20 years old, he’s amassed a remarkable 8+ million social media followers. Odds are, if you have a social media account, you’ve seen Eitan. Whether on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, or even Snapchat, where he’s hosted three cooking shows. Last year, his original content reached more than 350 million people with 3 billion views. It all started ...
Nicole Taylor on building legacy, centering Black joy in food media
September 20, 2022 16:50 - 50 minutes - 68.9 MBHi there, happy Tuesday! This week, Nicole Taylor joins us in studio to talk Watermelon & Red Birds. Plus: We chat with Carla Lalli-Music later in the week—and bring you featured recipes and highlight new release cookbooks. Read on! Do you love Salt + Spine? We’d love if you shared this email with a friend who might want to #TalkCookbooks with us, too: Episode 138: Nicole Taylor Nicole Taylor—author of Watermelon & Red Birds—joins us this week to #TalkCookbooks. A Georgia native, Nicole ...
Ali Slagle literally does dream of dinner
September 13, 2022 17:00 - 34 minutes - 47.9 MBEpisode 137: Ali Slagle This week’s episode is a fun one — our first live event since pre-pandemic! Ali Slagle joined me in front of a live audience at Omnivore Books in San Francisco recently. A Los Angeles native and UC-Berkeley grad, Ali started her career at Ten Speed Press, where she worked on several cookbooks as an editorial assistant. She joined the Food52 team after working on their Genius Recipes cookbooks (featured here in our 2018 chat with Kristen Miglore!) and later went sol...
Kristina Cho celebrates Chinese bakery recipes in debut cookbook
September 07, 2022 22:49 - 42 minutes - 58.3 MBEpisode 136: Kristina Cho This week, we’re joined by Kristina Cho to discuss her debut cookbook, Mooncakes and Milk Bread: Sweet and Savory Recipes Inspired by Chinese Bakeries. Kristina is a Bay Area-based recipe developer and writer who grew up in a restaurant family in Cleveland, Ohio. After a degree in architecture left her longing for something more, she turned to food blogging and launched Eat Cho Food. As her recipes grew in popularity, she realized some of the hits were items yo...
Celebrating your Sunday Best with chef Adrienne Cheatham
July 19, 2022 18:50 - 41 minutes - 57.3 MBHi there — happy Tuesday! We’ve got a great conversation for you today with author Adrienne Cheatham on her first cookbook, Sunday Best. Check out the episode and more—featured recipes!—below. But first, a few announcements: * Our Summer Cookbook Club is in full swing and we’re baking our way through Jessie Sheehan’s Snackable Bakes. Next Tuesday, we’ll come together on Zoom with Jessie to make a cherry clafoutis (if you’d like) and to discuss cookbooks, sweets, and more. Reserve your seat ...
Andy Baraghani on becoming the cook he wants all of us to be
July 07, 2022 17:16 - 51 minutes - 71.3 MBHey there, We’re back with a very special episode for you: Today’s episode was the first we’ve been able to record in-person in 899 days! We met Bay-Area native Andy Baraghani at The Civic Kitchen (our studio home in San Francisco) to hear about his first cookbook, The Cook You Want To Be. We’d almost forgotten how magical in-person interviews are. While we’re grateful to have been able to bring you great conversations, recorded remotely, during the pandemic, there’s something special ab...
Peeps! We're talking easy, peasy, 'snackable bakes' with Jessie Sheehan
June 23, 2022 18:46 - 49 minutesHi there, Thrilled to share this week’s conversation with you—we’ve got Jessie Sheehan in the virtual studio! And stay tuned: we’ve got an exciting Cookbook Club announcement coming your way shortly. Episode 133: Jessie Sheehan Peeps! We’ve got the easy-peasy baking star Jessie Sheehan on the show this week. You may know her from her beloved previous cookbook, The Vintage Baker, or from the recipes she’s developed for numerous media outlets. Or, perhaps you too were sucked into TikTok a...
This is Kwame Onwuachi's America (and we're just living in it)
June 15, 2022 17:12 - 33 minutesHi there, Apologies for the silence last week! The COVID fairy finally pulled my card, and it knocked me (and my family) down for a number of days. We’re all recovering over here, and I’m excited to share this week’s conversation with you now! I hope you’ll forgive the delay. Read on for more on my recent chat with Kwame Onwuachi—and make sure you’re subscribed to our Substack to access exclusive recipes from Kwame’s My America later this week. –Brian Episode 132: Kwame Onwuachi It reall...
Sheldon Simeon on feeding your 'ohana and the true tastes of Hawaiian cuisine
June 02, 2022 00:35 - 33 minutesHi there — Happy June! This always feels like the best month to me (spoiler alert: it’s my birthday month! 🦀). It’s probably still a holdout, many many years later, of the school’s-out-and-summer-is-here bliss, but the days feel long, the dinners feel relaxed and homey, and I feel energized. How are you feeling this June? Whatever you’re feeling, we’ve got a great show for you this week: Episode 131: Sheldon Simeon This week, we’re joined by chef and author Sheldon Simeon to discuss hi...
Fanny Singer reflects on a life defined by food in culinary memoir, Always Home
May 24, 2022 16:20 - 37 minutesHi there, Memorial Day is this weekend and if, like me, you’re just getting around to thinking about food, we can help. We dug into our Salt + Spine archives for some grill-tastic options: * How about some Smoked Chicken or Pork T-Bones (two prime mains from pitmaster Rodney Scott)? * Stacey Adimando’s got a side dish covered with her Blackened Summer Squash with Buttermilk Cream Sauce, Rosemary, and Chives. * And wash it down with Grilled Margaritas from Maggie Hoffman! And to ring i...
Fanny Singer // Always Home
May 24, 2022 08:29 - 37 minutes - 30 MBFor full episode descriptions and recipes, visit saltandspine.substack.com. See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Traveling the world, one bite at a time, in Renee Erickson's Getaway
May 18, 2022 16:05 - 50 minutesHi there, Hope you are doing well — I am finally (I hope) recovering from a little non-COVID infection that took my voice fully away for a good 24 hours. Every podcast host’s nightmare! But it’s back-ish (bear with me) in time to tee up this week’s conversation, which I’m thrilled to share with all of you. My long-overdue conversation with chef and author Renee Erickson is hitting the podcast waves today. We recorded our chat quite some time ago and, sadly, the world got in the way and it’...
Renee Erickson // Getaway
May 18, 2022 16:00 - 50 minutes - 40.9 MBFor episode details: https://saltandspine.substack.com/p/renee-erickson Getaway: Food & Drink to Transport You Get Cooking Today: Order via Bookshop or Omnivore Books See acast.com/privacy for privacy and opt-out information.
Chef Peter Hoffman, a decade after Savoy, still knows What's Good
May 10, 2022 16:15 - 45 minutesHi there, I’m excited to share today’s episode with you: We’re joined by chef Peter Hoffman—of the legendary New York City restaurant Savoy, and then of others—to discuss his career and first book. Today’s Guest: Peter Hoffman Peter Hoffman was the chef-owner of Savoy, the farm-to-table eatery in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood he opened in 1990 and that upended ideas about fine dining at the time. Savoy ran for two decades before Peter shut the doors in 2011. (His other restaurants c...
Peter Hoffman // What's Good
May 10, 2022 16:10 - 45 minutes - 36.3 MBWe’re joined today by chef Peter Hoffman—of the legendary New York City restaurant Savoy, and then of others—to discuss his career and first book. To get featured recipes, subscribe to our Substack today. Today’s Guest: Peter Hoffman Peter Hoffman was the chef-owner of Savoy, the farm-to-table eatery in New York City’s SoHo neighborhood he opened in 1990 and that upended ideas about fine dining at the time. Savoy ran for two decades before Peter shut the doors in 2011. (His other restaur...
Publishing experts demystify how a cookbook gets published
May 05, 2022 06:01 - 48 minutes"People ask me, 'What's something that's changed a lot in publishing, or what's the most important or hopeful part about publishing?' And my answer is that authors have more control now than they ever have had, but that also means they also have more work to do than they've ever had before." —Monika Woods, literary agent This is the final episode in our four-part series, Behind the Spine. Over the last four weeks, we've shifted our focus away from the authors to learn more about some of the...
Behind the Spine Part 4: Getting Published // Dianne Jacob, Rica Allannic, Monika Woods
May 04, 2022 22:13 - 48 minutes - 38.8 MBThis is the last episode in our 4-part series, Behind the Spine. Over the last four weeks, we've shifted our focus away from the authors to learn more about the other talented folks who work behind the scenes on the cookbooks we all love. You’ve already heard from the recipe testers, the photographers, the designers – in today’s episode, we’ll talk to the people who make cookbooks possible: the agents and the experts. Today, you’ll hear from Dianne Jacob, author of Will Write for Food: The...
Behind the Spine Part 3: The Design // Frances Baca & George McCalman
April 27, 2022 16:18 - 55 minutes - 44.6 MBThis is the third episode in our 4-part series, Behind the Spine. In this series, we've shifted focus away from the authors to hear from some of the talented folks who work behind the scenes to create the beautiful cookbooks that we all love. You’ve already heard from the recipe testers and photographers, and today we’ll hear from the folks who bring that content together into one book: the graphic designers. We’ll start with a peek into the mind of Frances Baca – she’ll teach us about ...
Cookbook designers shed light on their creative process
April 27, 2022 06:05 - 55 minutes"And so you're asking a lot of somebody who's reading a cookbook. You're kind of engaging them, you know, head, heart, and hands, really. It's this very different way of relating to a book than you are to an art book. And that's why I love designing cookbooks because there's a creative aspect to it, but there's also a very practical aspect, too. And you have to kind of keep that balance in mind whenever you're designing." —Frances Baca, book designer and creative director This is the third...
Food photographers dish the secrets behind their mouthwatering photos
April 20, 2022 06:31 - 40 minutes"I put myself in there so people of color can imagine themselves in the kitchen, making those dishes—because food is for everyone to cook. It's not restricted to a certain class of the population. I want everybody who wants to cook to be able to see themselves making things, enjoying them, and trying new things." –Nik Sharma, cookbook author and photographer Today's episode, part two in our Behind the Spine series, is all about the mouthwatering photography that draws us to our favorite coo...
Behind the Spine Part 2: The Photos // Eva Kolenko & Nik Sharma
April 19, 2022 23:45 - 40 minutes - 32.8 MBToday's episode is all about the mouthwatering photography that draws us to our favorite cookbooks. Our guests today are Eva Kolenko, an accomplished cookbook photographer, and Nik Sharma, cookbook author and photographer. Eva studied advertising photography and worked in editorial photography up until 8 years ago when she decided to transition into food photography. After shooting a couple of William Sonoma cookbooks, she moved full-time into doing food-centric photography work. Now...
Recipe testers demystify the process that creates successful, delicious recipes
April 13, 2022 06:41 - 51 minutes"No matter how perfectly the recipes are written, no matter how accurate you are with all the measurements—it's a different person, in a different place, using different ingredients so that they end up with something slightly different. And I used to think that that was a problem, that that was something I was trying to account for and correct in the testing and in the recipe writing. But I actually now see it as a really beautiful thing ." —Maria Zizka, recipe tester & developer Today's e...
Behind the Spine Part 1: The Recipes // Maria Zizka & Lidey Hueck
April 13, 2022 03:57 - 51 minutes - 40.9 MBToday's episode is the first in our four-part series Behind the Spine where we're stepping away from a focus on authors to hear from some of the other talented folks who help create the cookbooks that we all love. Our series will start where most cookbooks begin with the recipes and the people who perfect them. Our guests today are two incredible recipe testers and developers: Maria Zizka and Lidey Hueck. Maria Ziska is the author of three solo cookbooks and the co-author of numerous award-...