Episode 363: 3 Questions Cookbook Writers Are Asking in 2025: Adaptation, Action, and Pricing
Release Date: 08/21/2025
Episode 390: From Guesswork to Clarity: The Path to a Traditional Cookbook Deal
Cookbook Love Podcast
Many aspiring cookbook authors believe they need to finish writing their book before pitching it to publishers. It sounds logical — but it often leads to years of uncertainty, backtracking, and stalled momentum. In this episode, Maggie explains why traditional cookbook publishing is a process, not a guessing game, and how clarity — not a finished manuscript — is what leads to a book deal and an advance. You’ll learn: • why publishers buy concepts, positioning, and authors — not finished manuscripts • how lack of clarity creates hesitation for agents and editors • the hidden...
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Episode 389: From Yacht Chef to Global Kitchen — Abby Cheshire’s Passport to Flavor
Cookbook Love Podcast
Today I’m excited to have an interview with Abby Cheshire. Abby is a private chef, culinary educator, and content creator best known for her social media presence as @abbyinthegalley. With experience cooking on luxury yachts and for private clients, Abby shares what it’s really like to work as a chef from high-pressure yacht kitchens to immersive dinner events while teaching accessible global recipes and telling stories through food. Before we get started, I want to share a quick invitation. If you are a food, nutrition, or culinary expert — a chef, dietitian, food blogger, culinary...
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Episode 388: Being a Cookbook Writer: Italy in a Glass with Susan Gravely
Cookbook Love Podcast
Hello, and welcome to another episode of the podcast. Before we dive into our interview today, I want to let you know I have a very special masterclass coming up called How to Get Paid to Write a Cookbook. In this clas,s I will help you: Discover what traditional publishers want in 2026 Position yourself for a publishing deal without years of trial & error Craft a viable cookbook concept that attracts agents & publishers Build three deal-ready essentials to help you feel prepared To register, head over to Today on the podcast, I’m excited to have an...
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Episode 387: From Restaurant Legacy to Published Cookbook: Nina Greipel and Gasthaus Cookbook
Cookbook Love Podcast
In today’s episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast, Maggie sits down with former student and now published cookbook author Nina Greipel, creator of Gasthaus: Cookbook & Memories. Before we dive in, I want to invite you to register for my upcoming masterclass — Get Paid to Write a Cookbook. If you’re a food, nutrition, or culinary expert who dreams of writing a cookbook and attracting a traditional publishing deal, this masterclass will walk you through what publishers are looking for in 2026, how to craft a cookbook concept that stands out, and how advances really work. You can register...
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Episode 386: From Diagnosis to Cookbook: Emily Maxon’s Journey to Real Food, Every Day
Cookbook Love Podcast
In today’s episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast, Maggie sits down with chef and cookbook author Emily Maxon, whose newest book Real Food, Every Day was born out of a life-changing health journey. Emily is a trained chef and lifelong food lover who, at age 28, was diagnosed with Crohn’s disease. That diagnosis led her to the Specific Carbohydrate Diet — a rigorous way of eating designed to support gut health and healing. Drawing on her years of experience as a chef and caterer, Emily made it her mission to create recipes that not only met the diet’s strict guidelines but also tasted...
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Episode 385: Being a Cookbook Writer: Uplifting Indigenous Culture & Traditions with Pyet DeSpain
Cookbook Love Podcast
Today on the Cookbook Love Podcast, I am honored to welcome Pyet Despain, a member of the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation Tribe, award-winning global private chef, and the first winner of Gordon Ramsay’s groundbreaking competition series Next Level Chef. Pyets’s life and work are rooted in Indigenous fusion cuisine, where she weaves together the food traditions of her Native American and Mexican heritage. Through her cooking, storytelling, and travel, Pyet is dedicated to uplifting Indigenous culture and honoring the traditions passed down through generations. Originally from the Osage...
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Episode 384: Being a Cookbook Writer: Abstaining with the Saints with Michael Foley
Cookbook Love Podcast
In today’s episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast, I’m joined by Dr. Michael P. Foley, Catholic theologian, professor, and author of Abstaining with the Saints. Michael is best known for his beloved Drinking with the Saints series, and in this new book, he turns his attention to alcohol-free celebrations that are just as meaningful, festive, and rooted in the liturgical year. Abstaining with the Saints offers nearly 200 thoughtfully crafted mocktail recipes, along with alcohol-free beer, wine, and spirit suggestions that align with Catholic feast days and seasons. Each recipe is paired with...
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Episode 383: Being a Cookbook Writer: Ins and Outs for 2026
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome to another episode of the podcast. Today, I have a fun episode called the Ins and Outs for 2026. This episode was inspired by the Ins and Outs list I did last year and focuses on things I did in 2025 that I want to do again, and new stuff I want to try. The outs are things I don’t want to bring forward into the new year that no longer serve me, or don’t help me live the life I want to live, or that use my precious time and life thinking, feeling, or doing. Things We Mention In This Episode:
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Episode 382: Eating to Thrive During Menopause with Jenn Huber, RD, ND
Cookbook Love Podcast
Hello and Happy New Year to everyone! Welcome to 2026 and to a new year of podcast episodes. Today, we kick off the new year with a brand new episode with registered dietitian, naturopath doctor, and intuitive eating counselor Jenn Huber. Jenn is the author of Eating to Thrive During Menopause, and on today’s show, we talk all about: How not being able to use HRT prompted Jenn to learn about nutrition and menopause Jenn’s experience writing a nutrition cookbook that isn’t a diet book The “5 Key Ingredients” framework and how it shaped the recipes Starting 2026 with a...
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Episode 381: Peace on Earth, Goodwill to All
Cookbook Love Podcast
Hello and Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings to all! Today I share a message of peace and our shared love of cookbooks. For this special holiday episode, I share some holiday cookbook recommendations, a wintertime story, and the music of Daniel Kantor and the St. Olaf Choir. Things We Mention in This Episode:
info_outlineWelcome to another episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast. Today on the podcast I share three questions that came up during Recipe Week LIVE 2025: how to ethically adapt recipes, how to move from passive learning to active doing, and how to price a self-published print cookbook on Amazon with confidence.
Today on the show, I share:
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Adaptation & attribution: Why ingredient lists and basic processes aren’t generally copyrightable and how your expression (voice, headnotes, tips, stories, history, technique rationale) creates protectable originality. Simple, honest “inspired by/adapted from” credit keeps you on solid ethical ground.
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From learning to doing: Why passive learning feels comfortable, and how small, courageous actions (blank page → draft → test → iterate) build momentum. Use tools like a Pre-Recipe Tool or documentation is the bridge to capture ideas and start writing.
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Pricing with confidence: Why $25–$40 is common for premium print cookbooks, how color and page count affect your KDP print costs, and why price is a signal of value and not a race to the bottom with a lost cost book. Consider your margin and own your profit goal.
Things We Mention in This Episode:
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