Andrea and Molly speak with Alison Roman and Britt Cobb, the designer of her new book, Something from Nothing about their collaboration. Alison speaks about her unique approach to her work, how she leans into personhood instead of branding and why this new book is different than her previous works. Alison and Britt describe how they connected and then get into the nitty gritty of working together; from the idea phase to the process of choosing everything from font styles, cover color, pairing illustrations with photography to trim size, prop selection and paper texture. They each share their views on the longevity and tactile nature of book creation and some insights on their design choices, tastes and ideas.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

How Not To Write a Cookbook, by Brooks Headley in Bon Appétit

Alison Roman

• Website
• YouTube
• Newsletter

Britt Cobb, Cobbco Design

Chris Bernabeo, photographer

Rosie McGuinness, illustrator

The Skinny Font Taking Over Tech Companies and the White House - The Wall Street Journal

Food Friends Newsletter

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

• Something From Nothing, by Alison Roman
• Sweet Enough, by Alison Roman
• Nothing Fancy, by Alison Roman
• Dining In, by Alison Roman

Molly and Kate speak with Rachel Brown, acquisitions editor at Appetite, an imprint of Penguin Random House Canada, about her career journey and insights into the Canadian cookbook landscape. Rachel talks about her education and early editing experience before taking us behind the scenes about Appetite titles specifically. She shares what types of books they publish, how the team works, what they are looking for in a proposal and how Canadian readers love to support local authors. She talks about working with other countries' markets, the upcoming books she is excited about and the themes she'd like to see more of before leaving us with a few words of advice for those who aspire to work in the editing sphere.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Appetite by Random House

Mary Berg

136: Cooking the Food of Nigeria with Ozoz Sokoh

Jason Hudson

Food Friends Newsletter

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

• My Cypriot Table, by Irene Matys

To kick off Season 9 Molly, Andrea, Kate and Kristin discuss e-cookbooks vs physical editions before diving into front matter; all of the sections of a cookbook that come before the recipes. They talk about the purpose, process and planning that goes into the preface, prologue, forward, introduction and pantry section and ask whether these are even necessary. Each of them talk about their own experiences and approach to front matter as well as the unique ways other books have utilized these sections. They speak about the differences between the sections, their frustrations and rejections, how front matter has evolved and the importance of being creative and (sometimes) going rogue to keep readers interested and not intimidated to dive into the rest of the book.

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

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Why the Cookbook Endures by Shaan Merchant in Taste

Episode 28: All About Recipe Headnotes

Food Friends Newsletter

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

• Classic Indian Cooking, by Julie Sahni
• Rice is Life, by Caryl Levine, Ken Lee, Kristin Donnelly
• Down South + East by Ron Hsu
• Something from Nothing by Alison Roman
• Chop Chop by Ozoz
• All About Roasting by Molly Stevens
• All About Braising by Molly Stevens
• Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin
• Ghana to the World by Eric Adjepong, Korsha Wilson