Welcome to the Cookbook Love Podcast! Today I’m excited to interview Ben Mervis. Ben is a food historian, a researcher, the founder of Fare magazine, and the author of the new book The Festive Baker: Baking for Celebrations and Special Occasions Around the World (Phaidon). During our conversation, we talk about:
- How he gathered more than 170 recipes from 56 countries by inviting bakers who grew up with these traditions to tell their own stories
- What a writer actually does in a contributed-recipe cookbook, from headnotes to holiday research
- What self-publishing his magazine gives him that a traditional publisher can’t, and the reverse
- Unusual ingredients from chestnut flour to pine bark flour.
If you’ve held back on your cookbook idea because you feel you need to be the expert on everything, Ben’s story will change how you see your own book. He calls himself an okay baker, yet he created a gorgeous global baking book by trusting what he does best: research, storytelling, and a circle of people who know people. You’ll come away ready to build your cookbook around your own strengths, and to see your years in the kitchen or clinic as the foundation your book needs.
Mentioned in This Episode:
The Festive Baker by Ben Mervis (Phaidon)
Fare magazine and @faremag on Instagram
The Book of St. John by Fergus Henderson and Trevor Gulliver
Listen to Episode 427 below:
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