Episode 402: Hawaiian Family Cooking That Feels Like Home with Chef Sheldon Simeon
Release Date: 05/21/2026
Episode 423: Thriving After Breast Cancer, One Forkful at a Time with Ellyn Caruso
Cookbook Love Podcast
If your dream is a publisher’s yes, with a team behind you and a publisher who pays you to write, I’d love for you to join me for my free From Kitchen to Book Deal Masterclass, starting Tuesday, October 20. You’ll learn 3 insider truths about traditional publishing so you can say yes to your dream without saying goodbye to your savings. This week I’m joined by Ellyn Caruso, and the timing couldn’t be more fitting. October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and Ellyn wrote her book for women who have walked through breast cancer and want to live their most vibrant life on the other...
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Episode 422: How to Publish a Cookbook Without Knowing How to Do Everything
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome to another episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast. If you have a cookbook idea but find yourself wondering how you’re ever going to write, edit, photograph, design, publish, and market an entire book, today’s episode is for you. In this episode, we discuss: Why you don’t need to become an expert in every part of cookbook production to become a cookbook author. What you really need to focus on before you have a book deal: your cookbook concept and your connection with readers. What happens after a traditional publisher says yes—and the team of editors, designers,...
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Episode 421: How to Start a Podcast and Stick With It, 8 Years Later
Cookbook Love Podcast
When I started this show 8 years ago, podcasting was still something people had to explain to their friends. Today it's mainstream. The global audience for podcasts has grown, and in the U.S. alone, more than half the population, roughly 158 million people, tune in every month. The number of shows has exploded too. There are now over 4.5 million podcasts worldwide. But here's the number that matters most for today's episode: only about 10 to 15% of those shows are still actively publishing. Nearly half of all podcasts stop at 3 episodes or fewer, and industry researchers cite a "90/90 rule."...
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Episode 420: Honoring Debbie Berne: Cookbook Designer & Author of Cookbooking: A Fan's Guide
Cookbook Love Podcast
Today I welcome David Murray and Leslie Jonath. David and Leslie are here to honor the life and work of Debbie Berne, a cookbook and book designer who passed away in December, and to share news of her recently published book, Cookbooking: A Fan's Guide, which all listeners of this show are going to love. Cookbooking is a visually stunning pop-history that traces cookbooks from their earliest days to their most iconic and downright wackiest moments, told through photographs, listicles, graphics, and Debbie’s writing. At its heart, Cookbooking celebrates the genre, explores what makes it so...
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Episode 419: Being a Cookbook Author & Publisher: Justin Ellen of @EverythingJustBaked
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome back to the Cookbook Love Podcast! This week I sit down with Justin Ellen, the baker and content creator behind Everything Just Baked, whose fun, chaotic, personality-filled approach to baking has captured the attention of millions of people across social media. We talk all about his beautiful new cookbook, Better Than Grandma's: Comfort Desserts We Grew Up Loving, his path from posting cake photos on Instagram at sixteen to building a following in the millions, and the leap from social media into an independently published book, including the vulnerability of showing up on camera, the...
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Episode 418: Cookbook Publicity Secrets: What Top PR Agents Want Cookbook Authors to Know
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome back to another episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast! Today's episode pulls together the best publicity advice from top cookbook PR agents who've been on this show. These experts have worked with names like Jacques Pepin, Julia Child, and Ina Garten, and have helped first time authors build a following from scratch. When I laid their advice side by side, the overlap was clear, and that's what this episode is built around: what to focus your time and energy on, and what to let go of, and what’s working in 2026. After this episode, you will: Know where to put your time and energy,...
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Episode 417: Publishers Are Waiting For You
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome back to another episode of Cookbook Love Podcast. Today I'm tackling a belief I encourage every one of my students to hold: publishers and agents aren't just open to your ideas, they're actively waiting for them. I share the real story behind my first book deal, including the year I spent sitting on a business card before I found the courage to send my idea, and how that single decision led to four cookbooks with three different publishers over the next ten years and a life built around writing cookbooks and coaching cookbook writers. In this episode, we discuss: The stainless steel...
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Episode 416: Are There Too Many Cookbooks?
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome back to another episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast! Today I'm talking about something I hear all the time, from people who visit my table at events and from readers on my own email list: the belief that there are already too many cookbooks. I went through a season where I believed this myself. I really did not think there was a need for any more cookbooks, mine included. If that thought has ever crossed your mind, I want you to know you are not alone, and I want to tell you why I no longer believe it. In this episode, we discuss: Why nobody ever says there are too many romance...
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Episode 415: Common Obstacles That Keep Cookbook Writers Stuck
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome back to the Cookbook Love Podcast! Before I launched my recent masterclass about how to grow your audience for a cookbook, I sent my email list two questions: what's holding you back from growing your audience, and what do you want answered in the class? In this solo episode, I'm sharing the answers my readers sent in, along with a mindset shift for each one, so you can see whether you're standing in the same gap they are. In this episode, I discuss: Why writing a blog isn't a barrier to your email list, it's one step away from it Why consistency isn't a personality trait, it's a...
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Episode 414: 5 Myths About Your Cookbook Audience
Cookbook Love Podcast
Welcome back to another episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast! Today we're getting into the myths I hear most often about what it actually takes to grow a cookbook audience. Over the years, I keep hearing the same things repeated as if they're facts, and these are costly. They cost time, momentum, a book deal, book sales, or even the book itself. So today I'm walking through five of the biggest myths about audience growth, what's actually true underneath them, and why clearing them up now (not later) matters so much for cookbook authors. In this episode, we discuss: Why your follower...
info_outlineWelcome to another episode of the Cookbook Love Podcast. Today on the show I present an interview with Sheldon Simeon about his new cookbook, Ohana Style.
Born and raised in Maui, Sheldon is a chef, restaurateur, husband, father, and former Top Chef competitor. Alongside his wife Tiffany, he owns Tiffany's and Tin Roof Maui. In this conversation, Sheldon shares the deeper meaning of “ohana” and how the spirit of hospitality, family, and community shaped both his life and his cooking.
Listeners will hear:
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The difference between indigenous Hawaiian cuisine and plantation-era immigrant influences
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Why Sheldon wanted the cookbook to feel approachable and welcoming
- Stories about his father, Papa Ray, and the community cookbook influence behind many recipes
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Creative techniques for building smoky flavor and layered texture at home
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Plant-based alternatives inspired by traditional Hawaiian dishes
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The inspiration behind recipes like Papa Ray’s Tuna Patties, Furikake Animal Crackers, Pork Belly Tocino, and Mandarin Microwave Mochi
Sheldon also talks about growing up in a house where people constantly gathered around food and how those experiences shaped his understanding of generosity and connection. This episode is a reminder that cookbooks are about more than recipes. They preserve stories, culture, memory, and belonging.
Things We Mention in This Episode:
Chef Sheldon Simeon