Kristin and Molly speak with Kathy Gunst, a prolific cookbook author, teacher and now leader of food writing retreats, about her varied career and new project. Kathy shares how she got started in the food world by attending London's Le Cordon Bleu, what it is like being the resident chef for NPR's Here & Now and how she deals with creative burnout. She explains the ins and outs of running a writers retreat; the logistics, planning, travel and teaching that goes on behind the scenes and how much she's taken to this new venture. She gives us insights about how the retreat is set up, the way students respond, learn and grow their confidence and the types of writing she likes to foster. She leaves us with advice and a call for writers to invest in themselves, their talent and their future.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Kathy Gunst

• Website
• Instagram
• Tours
• NPR's Here & Now
• Hewnoaks Artist Residency

Food Friends Podcast Newsletter

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Rage Baking by Katherine Alford and Kathy Gunst

Kate and Molly speak with Domenica Marchetti about her newest book and finding a niche in the crowded Italian cookbook category. Domenica shares how she got her start as a food writer, bringing her journalistic background and other interests and experiences together in a unique way, and then talks about the personal importance of some of her early work. She gets into how a cookie captured her imagination, inspiring this new cookbook all about the history, stories and bakeries that create singular Italian cookies. We discuss her research, recipe development and writing process as well as the adventure of baking all of the cookies for the photoshoot (!). And we conclude with a discussion about how her newsletter figures into her professional life.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Domenica Marchetti

• Website
• Buona Domenica Substack
• Instagram

Glorious Soups and Stews of Italy, by Domenica Marchetti

Food Friends Podcast Newsletter

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Italian Cookies, by Domenica Marchetti
• Preserving Italy, by Domenica Marchetti
• Ciao Biscotti, by Domenica Marchetti
• The Glorious Pasta of Italy, by Domenica Marchetti
• Everyday Italian Cookbook, by Domenica Marchetti
• The Italian Baker, by Carol Field

Kate and Kristin speak with Ifrah F. Ahmed about how the culmination of her expertise in a culture and a cuisine led to her debut cookbook, Soomaaliya. Ifrah shares how a trip to Somalia inspired her to leave law school, create a magazine dedicated to Somali women and start a wildly successful pop-up before turning her attention towards a book. She takes us through her deeply intentional cookbook process from coming up with the idea, getting an agent, writing the proposal, the drama of a publisher auction to the writing, recipe development, photography and design process. She talks about her goal, her primary audience and their reactions as well as how she decided to weave together history, interviews, personal essays with the recipes. Finally she touches on her decision of how much of herself to include in the book and the very special interactions she's had while writing it.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Food Friends Podcast Newsletter

Ifrah F. Ahmed

• Website
• Instagram
• Milk & Myrrh pop up

This Is TASTE 728: A Delicious Deep Dive Into Somali Food with Ifrah F. Ahmed

Somali Cuisine by Barlin Ali

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Soomaaliya by Ifrah F. Ahmed