June 14: A Recipe Writing Workshop (Virtual)

Free for paid subscribers of this newsletter

These are the jottings, from an old restaurant job, that later became my favorite biscotti

Hi everyone,

Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to lead a recipe writing workshop as part of the New York Public Library’s World Literature & Arts Festival. You probably know that I’ve written several cookbooks, and over the years I’ve also worked with countless cookbook writers on their proposals, manuscripts, and recipes. But I’d never put myself in the teacher seat.

So I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed the opportunity. To prepare, I scrutinized hundreds of different recipes to find examples to share. Then I formally laid out what I believe is critically important in a well written recipe.

I wasn’t sure what attendees would expect from the workshop — were they aspiring cookbook authors? Information-gathering published writers? Curious foodies? It turned out people came from all walks, and I really enjoyed all the strong opinions that I heard.

The main thing I wanted to impress was that in recipes, there are so many more choices and considerations than you might be aware of. Regardless of whether or not you want to write a cookbook of your own, having an appreciation for those choices and considerations will undoubtedly make reading recipes and cookbooks more enriching.

A few newsletters ago, I asked if you’d be interested in attending a workshop like this, and enough of you said that you would, so I figure — let’s do it! Here are the details:

• When: Saturday, June 14, 12:30 to 1:30pm EST

• Where: Virtually, over Zoom (you’ll get the link a few days beforehand, via the signup form below)

• Who: Aspiring or established cookbook authors, bloggers, Substackers, or content creators. Cookbook and recipe obsessives. Protectors of beloved family recipes. Anyone who is a paid subscribers of this newsletter.

• What to expect: A day or two beforehand, I’ll share a workshop PDF packet. We will review an assortment of recipes together and talk through what we notice. Then I’ll lead you through my “anatomy of a (well-written) recipe” point by point. There will be plenty of interaction and opportunity for questions and feedback.

• If you can’t attend but want to: I’ll do my best to record it and share a link, but I have to caution you that I haven’t always been able to do this successfully.

I definitely want this workshop to be interactive — so if you have questions, please bring them. You can sign up by entering your details on this form: