Articles and Explorations

In what is clearly an emerging trend, Kickstarter, the crowdfunding website, has helped several cookbooks go from idea to actual product, with at least one traditional publishing deal resulting.

It wasn’t long ago that the journey from blog to cookbook was the big story, with popular cooking bloggers (from Julie & Julia to Pioneer Woman and Smitten Kitchen) ending up with cookbook deals. Another route to cookbook publishing success opened up to prospective writers. From a publisher’s perspective, the risk of taking a chance on a cookbook was reduced as popular bloggers come with existing fan bases and a built-in marketing tool.

And now, Kickstarter. If you’re not familar with the site, check it out – it’s fascinating. Essentially, people pitch their ideas to the public, looking for funding. In return for helping fund an independent film, for example, if you pledge $20 you might get a copy of the DVD. Pledging $100 might also get a T-Shirt and a thanks on the credits, and higher pledges might result in producer credit, invitation to the premiere etc. If the funding target is not reached in the time allotted, your money is refunded.

There have been some amazing succcess stories, including new electronic products and movies. Quite a few authors have raised money to produce a new book – essentially pre-selling their title and reducing the risk of self-publishing or producing a new product. This process enables a creator to bypass the publishing industry completely, not just establishing an audience as a food blogger might, but also guaranteeing sales of the book itself before it’s even created.

So, what has been funded in the cookbook arena? There’s an amazing range of projects, from Just Food, the creation of a group of high-school students who raised $445 to the Blackbird Bakery Community Cookbook, ‘the first gluten-free community cookbook’, which raised over $30,000 from 119 backers. Most are in the several thousand dollar range, though the highest, an app & cookbook from chef John Sundstrom and Lark restaurant gained $54,437 and 562 backers.

Publishers shouldn’t be quaking in their boots just yet: there have been just 88 cookbook projects pitched on the site, and of this, only 27 met their target funding (4 are still open for backers to commit to), giving a success rate of about 1 in 3. Still, these are all projects which have had their costs successfully covered and reached a willing audience – one author used his funds to print 10,000 copies of his book with only a few hundred backers.

For one author, Adrien Sala, his title Cooking to Get Laid (yes, it’s exactly what you’d think from the title, though not in a creepy sort of way) not only got funded, but as he noted on the Kickstarter page for his project, attracted so much attention that a big publisher got in touch.

As you might expect, as the latest, greatest Internet Thing, there’s lots of hype and buzz about Kickstarter projects, quite a bit of it well earned, but some hyperbolic. I doubt this model will displace the traditional publishing process, just as food blogs and recipe websites have not destroyed paper cookbooks.

It’s certainly not easy: the author has to work very hard to get funding – there’s an art to creating a Kickstarter pitch, including creating an engaging video to present the idea. Successful ones attract attention, have the potential to go ‘viral’ and have to get funding from people outside the author’s immediate circle of family and friends (there’s a cut taken by Kickstarter from each successful project).

However, for an author, it’s definitely a great way to test out the marketability of an idea, and honing your pitching skills is never bad, even if your idea isn’t funded. It’s no secret that publishers regularly pass on ideas which eventually end up being hits, and there are only so many books they can publish each season.

It’s also important to remember that publishers are not just people who arrange for the printing and distribution of books – with cookbooks in particular, there is (or at least there really should be) a system of testing and editorial feedback which is vital to creating a successful cookbook. I’ve certainly been burned more than once buying a self-published cookbook which turned out to be poorly tested and riddled with errors. Kickstarter-funded cookbooks will, in the end, be like any other self-published book and have to live and die on their own merits.

What I’m curious to see is if an already successful cookbook author will jump ship from traditional publishing and use Kickstarter to get their existing readership to commit to a new book. When that happens I think we’ll truly be seeing something that will give traditional publishers the shivers.

There may not be a flood of cookbooks going online or turning into iPad apps (How to Cook Everything is still the gold standard, as far as I’m concerned), but cooking apps and food magazines continue to dip their toes in the digital waters. The newest food magazine to go online is Cook’s Illustrated, which is an Apple App of the Week and has also launched for the Nook and Kindle e-readers.

Cook’s Illustrated already had an iPhone app, which has a mix of free material and bonuses for existing Cook’s Illustrated members, but this is the first time the bimonthly magazine itself has offered itself electronically through Apple’s app store.

Flipping through the preview, it looks very much like the print edition – clean and uncluttered, but with the enhancement of videos, slide shows and expanded reviews of equipment. For $19.99 per year, it compares well to the cost of the print edition at $24.95 and is a much better deal for international subscribers, who pay as much as $36.95 per year.

However, I see from the grumbling on the user reviews that they’ve made the unpopular choice of not providing free access to the app for print subscribers. Although not every magazine provides free access, many people have come to be expect it when magazines launch digital versions (especially in the US), and like it or not (and they most definitely are defending this decision based on their lack of advertising revenue), Cook’s Illustrated is going to continue to get customer flak from this.

If you like digital magazines and don’t have a print or web subscription to Cook’s Illustrated, this is definitely worth considering, and you can even buy individual issues at $5.99 each (or subscribe monthly for $1.99, which seems like a good deal considering there’s an issue every two months).

A few other food magazines on the iTunes magazine store:

Martha Stewart Everyday Food ($11.99 per year / free for print subscribers)
Food Network Magazine ($19.99 per year / not free for print subscribers)
Food & Wine ($19.99 per year / free for print subscribers)
BBC Good Food ($22.99 per year / free for print subscribers)
Donna Hay Magazine – Australia ($18.99 US ($19.99 AU) / not free for print subscribers)
Saveur ($19.99 per year / not free for print subscribers)
Cooking Light ($4.99 per issue / free for print subscribers)
Super Food Ideas – Australia ($14.99 AU per year / not free for print subscribers)
Cook Vegetarian – UK (£22.99 per year / not free for print subscribers)
epicure Magazine ($29.99 per year / not free for print subscribers)
Olive Magazine – UK (£29.99 per year / not free for print subscribers)

Who’s Buying Cookbooks?

Publisher’s Weekly highlights a study by Bowkers about who actually is doing the cookbook purchasing in the US (and by a general extension, other similar markets, I’d imagine). Interestingly, hardcovers are still the majority of purchases (I’d imagine because so many more cookbooks are published as hardcovers, and because there’s a general expectation that cookbooks be hardcovers, being that they’re working books). And half of the buyers are under 44 years old, which initially surprised me.

There’s not a lot of analysis in the article, though, and no sense on how this market has been changing. And changing it is – cookbooks continue to be a bright light in a publishing industry which has been hit by the recession and by changes in how people buy and read books (e-books in particular).

Not only have cookbook sales increased each year, even as other categories have dropped, but the people purchasing books have changed too. Interviewed in a 2011 article in the San Francisco Chronicle, the inimitable Celia Sacks, owner of Omnivore Books on Food told the paper that she’d seen her audience get younger and more sophisticated, even in just the couple of years she’d been open.

After I thought about the survey a little, the numbers made more sense. The foodie trend continues, as does the DIY trend. And in trying economic times, it’s a lot cheaper (and more fun) to buy a few great cookbooks and entertain at home than to blow the budget on a fancy restaurant.

We recently published our best of 2011 roundup, gathering best-of lists from the pundits of the web and print media. Now it’s the turn of the bookstore owners.

These are the people who love cookbooks, who live and breathe them. They see all the new books, they talk to their customers, they meet the authors and chefs who make the books, they taste the food. They see which books are selling, which books delight people and are destined to become stained and tattered kitchen companions. Take their word for it! And please support your independent bookstores by buying some books from them. Bookselling is a tough business. This is the time of year where they make most of their money, and cookbooks are excellent gifts.

I find it interesting that there are some strong divergences between the newspaper/blog lists and the cookbook store lists. With the cookbook store lists there are often titles which may not have received as much publicity or food community buzz, but are being hand-sold by store owners – hidden gems, if you will.

Note: all prices are publisher’s list price. Some stores may sell for less.


Omnivore Books on Food – San Francisco, CA

3885a Cesar Chavez Street
San Francisco, CA
Tel: 415-282-4712
info@omnivorebooks.com
www.omnivorebooks.com

Celia Sack:

I’m getting ready for the Christmas onslaught, and thinking about which cookbooks to recommend to customers this season. There are so many to love this year, so I thought I’d discuss some of the cookbooks that actually made it into my kitchen.

The Mozza Cookbook by Nancy Silverton and Matt Molina($35)  has quickly become dog-eared and splattered in our house. Stir Frying to the Sky’s Edge by Grace Young ($35). Grace’s talk at Omnivore finally motivated me to go down to Chinatown and buy a wok. Easy and fun, and lightning-fast. The Fearless Baker by Emily Luchetti & Lisa Weiss ($30). Emily invited me and Paula to be live testers for some of the recipes in this fabulous baking book, because we are admittedly terrified of baking. Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi ($35). After spending our summer vacation in London and visiting Mr. Ottolenghi’s eponymous restaurant in Notting Hill, we couldn’t wait to jump into the cookbook, despite the fact that we rarely cook vegetarian. Canal House Cooking, Vol. 7 (La Dolce Vita) by Melissa Hamilton & Christopher Hirsheimer ($20) is not on shelves yet, but the authors handed us a preview copy, and let me tell you, you will want this when it comes out. And finally, Turkey by Leanne Kitchen (import – price varies). Okay, in all honesty, I haven’t made anything from this cookbook yet. But after my trip to Turkey last fall, I fell in love with this gorgeous Australian import, and I really do plan to tackle the Slow-roasted Lamb with Apples Poached in Pomegranate on a cold San Francisco night soon. It’s just too beautiful to spatter quite yet. Continue Reading »

It’s that time of year again. The holiday shopping season is upon us, as is the best-of list season (can’t have one without the other…). I know you’re going to buy some cookbooks this year – they make excellent gifts, and if you’re lucky the recipient might just cook you a fabulous meal in the new year.

To save you all that tedious Google searching, Cookbooker has gathered together this roundup of the best cookbooks of 2011 from some of our favorite sources online. And we’ll keep it updated as new reviews come in.

Going Shopping?

Prices are publisher’s list price only; some stores will sell for less. To find an excellent independent cookbook store near you and get some expert personal recommendations, use our comprehensive bookstore list.

If you prefer to shop at Amazon, we’d appreciate it if you click through using one of the following links; we’ll get a small tip which will help support Cookbooker.

Amazon US

Amazon Canada

Amazon UK

This article will be updated as more top-cookbook lists come in, with new items added. To prevent this page from becoming a mile long, I’ll provide links only for most new sources.

Updated: December 20, 2011 (adding Telegraph Christmas Cookery)

Best of the Best

These are the books picked most often as the best cookbooks of 2011, so if your eyes are too fatigued to go through all of these lovely lists here’s our distillation of the books which have shown up regularly on multiple lists, suggesting they gained a lot of fans this year.

Top Pick: Cookbooks of the Year

Based on the lists we’ve added so far, there’s a 3-way tie for best cookbook of the year. And the winners (with six appearances each) are:  Plenty, by Yotam Ottolenghi,  American Flavor, by Andrew Carmellini and Gwen Hyman and Essential Pepin, by Jacques Pépin.

Continue Reading »

Fall Cookbooks 2011

As we did this spring, we’re having a look through some of the enormous variety of cookbooks being published for the fall season 2011. With 413 listed (in the US), it’s impossible to fairly and fully explore them all, so instead I’m presenting a totally subjective look at some of the titles which caught my eye as I perused the list.

How did I choose these titles? I’m interested in authors and chefs who’ve done interesting things in the past, sometimes in interesting restaurants, though I’m wary of too many restaurant cookbooks, as they’re not always friendly to the home cook. I’m also captivated by cuisines I’ve not yet explored, and always by desserts and baking, though not run of the mill cake and cupcake books. My sweet tooth is looking for something a little different.

What does Fall 2011 look like?

Trends from spring continue, with more local eating and cooking, and attempts to coast on the popularity of cupcakes, cake pops and whoopie pies, as well as discover a new trend – will it be the Gob (a Pennsylvania bakesale staple)? The name alone probably dooms this one, though I thought the same about whoopie pies (I couldn’t help flashing back to the Newlywed Game every time I heard the name), and look how well they’ve done. I’ve also noted a rise in gluten-free cookbooks, and a maturing of the type of books in this category – now that it’s more mainstream we’re getting some interesting explorations of what can be done gluten-free, including Asian cooking and soul food. And there are more Korean books popping up, suggesting this is the next ‘hot’ Asian cuisine.

Note: if any of the text below appears in quotes, it is straight from the book catalog, and not my eloquent (or clumsy) phrasing.

Publisher’s Weekly Picks

Publisher’s Weekly has picked 8 titles from the fall list, so we’ll highlight them at the top before moving to our own picks of interest. Note: all blurbs are straight from the book catalog for these titles.

Continue Reading »

Clotilde Dusoulier is the Parisian proprietor of the renowned food blog Chocolate & Zucchini. Since 2003 she has shared her passion for all things food-related, with recipe ideas and cooking inspiration, as well as musings on quirky ingredients, cookbook acquisitions, nifty tools, and restaurant experiences.

Her articles and recipes have appeared in numerous publications including Bon Appétit, Martha Stewart Living, New York Times Magazine, Saveur, Elle (France) and Delicious (UK).

Clotilde is also the author of two books, Chocolate & Zucchini, and Clotilde’s Edible Adventure in Paris. She has also served as the consulting editor for two classic French cookbooks published by Phaidon, I Know How To Cook, and the upcoming The Art of French Baking, both by Ginette Mathiot.


1. Do you remember the first cookbook you owned?

I believe the first cookbook I owned was a French cookbook by Andrée Zana-Murat called “Ils arrivent dans une heure!” meaning “They’ll be here in an hour!” It is full of quick and easy recipe ideas you can pull together in a short time before your friends arrive, even if you’re not a very experienced cook, with lots of advice on the kinds of things to keep in the pantry for such situations.

2. What cookbook would you say has made the biggest impression on you? English and/or French?

It’s hard to name just one because I feel I’ve drawn inspiration from every single cookbook I’ve ever owned, but I really enjoy Nigel Slater’s The Kitchen Diaries. It documents a year of his cooking, from the simplest no-recipe plates he assembles to (slightly) more elaborate dishes, and the sense of intimacy and coziness that emanates from the book is wonderful. It’s probably no surprise I like it so much when you stop to consider that the format of the book is, in fact, very similar to that of a food blog. Continue Reading »

A Summery Summary

It’s summertime, now, and thoughts of grilling fill the heads of many of us. I’m not immune to this, and recently gave into the temptation to upgrade my barbecue (to this  little beauty, which I’m very pleased with) and made a pledge to do more, and more interesting grilling this summer.

The fates must have been listening, as Latin Grilling, by Lourdes Castro arrived in my mailbox shortly afterwards, followed by The Japanese Grill, by Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat and The One Block Feast, by Margue True and the staff of Sunset Magazine. All three books have something new and intriguing to offer the summertime cook, and I’m going to enjoy exploring them over the next couple of months.

Latin Grilling
10 Speed Press: $22

I’ve been interested in Latin grilling since I saw a couple of travel shows on the cooking of the region, including Anthony Bourdain’s entertaining No Reservations, in which he and his brother travelled to Uruguay and had various adventures involving large amounts of grilled meat. This book is an excellent introduction to the regional cuisine, and I am impressed both by its breadth and layout.

Continue Reading »

The James Beard Awards were handed out tonight (May 6) and although the full info is on their website, I thought we’d quickly highlight the winners in the Books Category.

Cookbook Hall of Fame

Harold McGee

American Cooking

Winner: Pig: King of the Southern Table by James Villas (John Wiley & Sons)

Shortlisted: The Food, Folklore, and Art of Lowcountry Cooking by Joseph E. Dabney
The Frankies Spuntino Kitchen Companion & Cooking Manual by Frank Castronovo, Frank Falcinelli, and Peter Meehan

Baking and Dessert

Winner: Good to the Grain: Baking with Whole-Grain Flours by Kim Boyce (Stewart, Tabori & Chang)

Shortlisted: My Sweet Mexico: Recipes for Authentic Pastries, Breads, Candies, Beverages, and Frozen Treats by Fany Gerson
Sarabeth’s Bakery: From My Hands to Yours by Sarabeth Levine with Rick Rodgers

Continue Reading »

5 Questions: Deb Perelman

Deb Perelman is a self-taught home cook, photographer and the creator of the Smitten Kitchen website, a blog with a focus on stepped-up home cooking through unfussy ingredients. In previous iterations of her so-called career, she’s been a record store shift supervisor, a scrawler of “happy birthday” on bakery cakes, an art therapist and a technology reporter. She likes her current gig – the one where she wakes up and cooks whatever she feels like that day – the best. Her first cookbook, The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook, will be published by Knopf in 2012. Deb lives in New York City with her husband and delicious baby son.

Deb’s bio above doesn’t mention her lovely food photography, but you should definitely check it out – it’s another reason that Smitten Kitchen is such a great website.

Smitten Kitchen is the focus of our April/May 2011 Cookbooker Challenge. Cookbooker members cook from the website and we offer some funky prizes.


1. Do you remember the first cookbook you owned?

It was spiral bound and appeared to be handwritten with cute pictures; intended for kids. It introduced me to zucchini bread, which is still a favorite. Of course, I cannot remember the name but I’m sure it was just printed in a small batch.

2. What cookbook would you say had the greatest impression on you?

Mastering the Art of French Cooking. I used to think this was too obvious a choice, but I’ve realized recently that a lot of people who cook today don’t own it. For me, it is essential, full of so much information on the basic preparation of foods in a simple manner, and it doesn’t assume that you have access to the best beef or asparagus or butter. It accommodates for this, and even offers suggestions of what to do if you can only, say, get canned peas and want to improve their flavor. This is such an incredible thing. Also, my mother taught herself to cook by following the book. To this day, her go-to entertaining meal is Julia Child’s beef bourguignon and onion soup.

Continue Reading »

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