June 2025
Update on Cookbook #2
Hello Tastorians!
I wanted to give you all an update on my second cookbook which is in the works. I started on the project about 18 months ago, but 9 months in I scrapped the entire concept in favor of something else. I felt like I was creating a volume 2; the recipes were new (except that they're actually very old) but the style of the book was the same as the first. There's nothing wrong with a volume 2, but I wanted something different, so I changed course in favor of a cookbook which has an overall theme: disasters.
I've always been interested in what people eat during the worst of times, whether that be during a disaster (natural or man-made) or during periods of conflict like the Spanish Inquisition or World War 2, so that's what I decided to write about. Some of history's worst catastrophes, calamities, and conflicts with period recipes to accompany them. I ran the idea by my favorite food historian, Ken Albala, and after he gave me the thumbs up, he also gave me a title: A Recipe for Disaster.
So, now I'm about 9 months into writing and recipe testing and I'd say I'm about 50% of the way there. It's not exactly a linear process so it's hard to say exactly, but I feel like it's about half way. You may also notice that, for the past few months, I haven't had any Friday episodes of Tasting History and that's because I made a promise that I wouldn't put out any additional episodes until I finish the book. It's too easy to busy myself with something that will be released in a week or so rather than work on something that won't see the light of day for over a year. So, since I'm itching to make some more episodes of Drinking History, I do hope to finish the book by the end of the summer.
Now, one thing to know about book publishing is that it takes a very long time. The writing process is laborious, yes, but the editing, layout, printing, etc is just as time consuming. I'm not involved in most of that, thank goodness, but it does mean that, even with the book finished this summer, it won't hit shelves until early 2027! So it's an exercise in patience, but until then, I'll keep the videos coming so there shouldn't be any dearth of recipes or history.
Now, here are a few things that I think you'll enjoy.
Bistro Huddy - As someone who worked as a server in restaurants for many years, I am in love with Bistro Huddy. Drew Talbert has created an entire world in his videos where he plays every employee and customer at Bistro Huddy. If you need a laugh, this is a good place to start.
The Virginia House-wife: 200th Anniversary Edition - A new edition of one of America's oldest and most influential cookbooks was recently released. Karen Hess has added a great deal of fascinating history and commentary on this book making it an excellent addition to any historical cookbook library.
AI Titanic Content is Out of Control - Echoing some of my own sentiments on the state of AI content, Mike Brady from Ocean Liner Designs tears into what AI is doing to Titanic history.
