Cookbook Chronicles: Teamwork

Writing a cookbook can be solitary, but it's mostly a huge group project. Plus, two new apricot recipes!

I had the incredible opportunity to be a guest on the

Everything Cookbooks

podcast last week. (Listen here.) I chatted with Kate, Kristin, and Molly about my cookbook journey. Usually, they talk with authors after their books are published. I pitched them a while back, asking if I could chat with them (and ask their advice) while in the thick of the cookbook creation crunch. After a few persistent nudges, they agreed. I couldn't be more grateful for the opportunity to share my story and ask these amazing writers some questions.

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If you're here for recipes, never fear! I have two new recipes, just not here.

Marillenfleck, by me.

Marillenfleck, a simple Austrian-inspired apricot cake over at Trink Magazine—this is one of the easiest, most satisfying apricot-to-mouth vehicles I know.

Apricot and Rainier Cherry Crostata in the Chicago Tribune: a tangy-sweet, simple pastry to take advantage of the summer bounty.

Apricot & Cherry Crostata: Photo by E. Jason Wambsgans/Chicago Tribune.

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Nik Sharma

recently mentioned that making a cookbook isn't glamorous; it's hard work, it can be maddening, isolating, and a huge mess. (Do you know how many caramel-crusted dishes I've scrubbed?) However, when you're called to share recipes, teach techniques, and tell a story, you push through. But you don't (or shouldn't) do it alone.

The Team

When I got invited onto Everything Cookbooks, I wanted to highlight the band behind my cookbook-writing quest. Writing a cookbook, like any other business or creative endeavor, is a big group project. Your product is only as good as the entire crew behind it. Here's a bit about my team thus far.

The Informal Team

These are the individuals who helped me get to the place I'm at, but who are not officially on the squad making the book.

• The whole Everything Cookbooks team (

  Andrea Nguyen
  , Kate Laehy, Kristin Donnelly, and
  Molly Stevens
  ) helped me understand the sausage cookbook-making process, introduced me to my agent, and gave me so much to think about. Listen to their podcast and subscribe to their newsletter!

• Dianne Jacob
  ’s cookbook proposal course walked me through writing that 40+ page document that eventually sold my book. I can never thank her enough for helping hone my voice, too. Her editing and Sally's advice improved the final proposal. Frances Baca beautifully designed the proposal.

• Photographer Grant Kessler shot a handful of my recipes in 2023 that landed me some great writing gigs and features.

• My editors at other publications improved my writing and helped put my recipes in front of more people:

  Amy Cavanaugh
  at Chicago Magazine, Audrey and Chandra at Food & Wine, Kayla at the Chicago Tribune, and especially Valerie and Paula at Trink Magazine (two of the best writers and editors I know), and others.

• Writer and cookbook author

  Lukas Volger
  kindly provided advice as I started writing, and he responded to some frantic texts as I put finishing touches on the manuscript. Thank you, Lukas!

• My agent,

  Sally Ekus
  connects her clients with each other. I met several of her other clients in person (at the James Beard media awards), in group Zoom calls, and on social media. Her clients include authors who I've looked up to for years, like Toni Tipton Martin and Sandra Gutierrez, plus incredible creators like
  Phoebe Lapine
  , Frankie Gaw, Saeng Douangdara, and Rebecca AKA The Practical Kitchen and many more. These writers have all offered their support and encouragement, which goes such a long way. Sandra and another Ekus Group client and baker,
  Justin Burke
  , were been kind enough to hop on the phone to share input, advice, and encouragement.

• My whole Great American Baking Show gang played a big role. They tested recipes, gave feedback, and a few even stopped by the photo shoot. The support they provided during this grueling process has kept me going.

• Of course, I have to thank my family and friends. My husband and family provide feedback on recipes. How quickly Jason or nieces and nephew gobble up a bake is a good indicator of a keeper. A few recipes almost didn't make it into the manuscript, but when I saw my nephew going back for seconds and thirds, I knew that one had to be included.

• I’m probably forgetting someone…

The Formal Team

Then there are the folks who are officially part of the team—they had a hand in the final product. I've mentioned several of them before, but I can't thank them enough.

• Agent:

  Sally Ekus

• Publisher: Agate Publishing

• Photographer: Kevin Miyazaki

• Food & Prop Stylist: Mollie Hayward

• Baking & Food Styling Collaborator: Karis Stucker

• Recipe Testers: So many folks, but especially my lead tester, Stacie Nakamoto.

Many more folks will join this team in the next few months: editors, designers, marketing/PR folks, etc.

As I mentioned on the podcast, if everything goes as planned, the book will be published in the fall of 2026. For now, there's still a lot of work to do. In the next month, I will start editing, and we will photograph the second half of the book. While you wait, here's an incredible photograph that Kevin took of me in a field of organic Rye grown (and milled) by Janie's Mill in Ashkum, Illinois.

Happy Baking,
Martin