When does reading become a feast for all your senses? I truly believe the answer lies in food writing. As a reader, your eyes hungrily devour the descriptions and pictures of dishes; your tongue tingles with the anticipation of tasting the recipe you tried out; and your nose? Well, if all that twitching is anything to go by, then your brain is already sending signals of olfactory delights! Add to it the feel of glossy paper that lends an added sheen to the food you are reading about, and the swish of each page as you turn it – and the feast is complete.
But it’s easier digested than cooked! While all of us at some point have browsed through cookbooks and picked up tips from Tarla Dalal to Nigella Lawson and Jamie Oliver to Sanjeev Kapoor, when it comes to actually writing a cookbook, a lot of ingredients need to go into the pan. Here’s a dekko.
Are you a foodie?
If you live to eat, enjoy cooking for hours in the kitchen, and talk about dinner as soon as lunch is done, then you have the passion required to write a cookbook. A passion for all things edible really helps in writing engagingly about cooking. So make sure you unleash that love for food on paper. Do not hold back in the belief that a clinical approach is best. In fact, if the reader can feel your enthusiasm for a particular dish through your recipe, consider your book sold!
What’s for dinner, honey?
Cooking is no longer the domain of women only. Readers of cookbooks include students who want quick, easy meals; men who love pottering about in the kitchen, older people wanting to try out new cuisines; and young working men and women who want healthy and tasty food. So whether it’s a housewife’s guide to simple Indian vegetarian fare, or an experimental gourmand’s quest for exquisite Italian and Spanish cooking – they all co-exist on the same shelf today at your nearest bookstore. The key is to write what you are confident about. Dishes that you have made many times over and know the various permutations and combinations to are the best to begin with. The more your experience with a particular recipe, the better you can write about it.
A twist of lime
With the abundance of Indian and international cook books available today, it is very important that you write something that stands out in the crowd. This of course, stands true for everything, but most of all for cookbooks where you are in danger of repeating the same Murg Makhni or Pasta Primavera recipe that your neighbor, your aunt, and the chef in a nearby restaurant – all swear by. So what do you do? My suggestion – add that extra twist of lime, or that little sprig of mint, and make your cookery book unique in look, taste, and positioning. And by that I mean not just adding a new ingredient to your dish, but writing about your brand of cooking in a new, unique way.
With the demand for cookbooks in India alone increasing by almost 40% in the last few years, the focus is on innovative themes. So take your time to figure out what your area of expertise is – is it packed lunches for school kids, or one-pot nutritious meals for the whole family, or maybe fine-dining that looks as good as it tastes? It could even be traditional and regional recipes with dollops of history. The array of choices is mouth-watering. So go ahead and take your pick.
A visual treat
A good dish is incomplete if it’s not garnished well. And a good cookbook is bland without great pictures. So make sure your plan for a cookbook includes photographs. Food photography is an art that could send even the most hardened of people into raptures. So this is one aspect you must pay attention to. Any bon vivant worth his salt will tell you that no matter fantastic your recipe may be, your cause is lost, if it is not accompanied by an equally enticing picture that does justice to the dish. In my experience, with all due respect to your cooking skills, it’s usually the picture that compels someone to read the recipe and then try out the dish.
The personal touch
Whatever be your choice of cuisine, make sure you are not just putting together a collection of recipes. Food is associated with memories, places, and journeys. The more personal you make your dishes, the more the reader will want to buy the book – because s/he is investing in not just recipes, but a collection of experiences. It could be anything - personal stories associated with a recipe, your travel tales that led you to discover the joys of eating/cooking or just simple tips on how to add that special something to a regular dish. Whatever your experience, make sure your readers enjoy that slice of your life.
Remember, a good cookbook can be an epicurean’s journey to nirvana! At least that’s what every foodie looks forward to after a good meal, and you could well provide that ticket to heaven.
Chillibreeze's disclaimer: This is a contributed article and was published on Chillibreeze in March, 2010. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not reflect the views of Chillibreeze as a company. Chillibreeze has a strict anti-plagiarism policy. Please contact us to report any copyright issues related to this article. The relevance of the facts and figures cited (if any) could change after a period of time.
Out of 5 “chilies”, our editorial team gave this article...
—About our writer:
Swati Sapna is a foodie, writer, dreamer, traveler, compulsive reader and television watcher - not necessarily in that order. With a degree in English Literature and post graduation in Mass Communication, she has been writing for and working in the entertainment industry for the past 7 years. She is the grand prize winner of the national 'India Poised' short story writing competition, and currently writes a food blog called "The Weekend Epicurean".
>> Read more articles written by Chillibreeze writers:
Chillibreeze offers Indian writers the opportunity to work on customer projects. We are also India’s biggest writer network and a one-stop shop for Indian writers and editors. The writers’ section on Chillibreeze offers freelance writers and editors a variety of tools to advance their careers. Resources for writers include:
