In this post, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my journey in the process of how to write a cookbook – the countless hours of recipe testing, writing, and editing that went into creating the manuscript.
Hey friends! Welcome back to my Cookbook Journey series. In this series, I want to take you behind the scenes of my cookbook creation process and share the ins and outs of producing a cookbook. In this post, I’m taking you behind the scenes of my journey in the process of how to write a cookbook – the countless hours of recipe testing, writing, and editing that went into creating the manuscript.
From the initial spark of inspiration to the final polished product, join me as I share the ups, downs, and everything in between in bringing my very first cookbook to life. If you haven’t yet, check out Part 1: How I Planned My Cookbook to get up to speed.
1. Recipe Development: Trial and Error
Experimentation
With the planning stage out of the way, it’s time to dive into the hard, nitty-gritty work of cookbook creation. After shortlisting the recipes, it was time to start experimenting.
Recipe development was both exciting and challenging. Each recipe began as an idea, followed by multiple rounds of testing and tweaking—even the tried-and-tested ones that are already on the blog! While most recipes here are typically for 1 or 2 servings, the cookbook features family-sized servings for 4.
I say most because some recipes taste best when made per serving. Don’t worry though, these recipes are prepped quickly and stir-fried even quicker! From adjusting ingredient measurements to fine-tuning cooking times, every detail was meticulously scrutinized to perfection.
One memorable recipe was my Creamy Miso Chicken and Mushroom Udon. I thought this was going to be straightforward, but I kept ending up with a dish that was too dry, too overcooked, too salty, too milky bland. This supposedly simple dish went through countless rounds of adjustments to achieve the perfect balance and saucy consistency. Say no to dry, gloopy noodles!
Another recipe is Bo Luc Lac or Vietnamese Shaking Beef. It is such a simple recipe, but how do you make it perfect and foolproof? I wanted it be seasoned just enough so that the natural beefy flavours still come through, and I wanted it to be rich – but not too rich. When you see the final recipe you would be surprised at how simple and minimal the ingredients are… especially with the level of scrutiny I gave it!
SO MUCH FOOD!
How to write a cookbook: test, test, TEST!
My family and friends played a crucial role in my tasting AND experimenting panel, providing invaluable feedback. It was important to me that the book would be easy to follow and understand for beginner cooks, but also wide-ranging for those more familiar with the kitchen.
Being in Singapore meant that I had a fantastic multi-racial group of friends, so everyone grew up with different cultural palates. This allowed me to further shortlist recipes, and make necessary adjustments and replacements so that the book is approachable, no matter who you are and where you come from!
On top of that, Pagestreet Publishing also has its own set of testers, so each recipe went through at least two rounds of testing before making it into the final cookbook!
2. Writing and Refining: The Manuscript Phase
Manuscript Writing
Recipe testing is just the tip of the iceberg. Once the recipes were nailed down, it was onto the manuscript writing phase. This is where the entire cookbook came together! Each recipe was tested in the context of the book as a whole.
Ensuring a cohesive flow, double-checking ingredient lists and instructions, and manuscript testing is all about fine-tuning every aspect of the cookbook. As much as possible, we needed to ensure the final work is nothing short of stellar.
Writing the recipes and stories that accompany them became quite a personal experience. It turned into a daily routine for a month or so, typing away recipe after recipe.
During the recipe testing stage, I was mostly at home, typing away into the late of the night. Unlike the recipe testing portion, the writing stage allowed me to get work done outside. This REALLY helped the process! I could work in cafes over cups of lattes and cappuccinos—great for bouts of writer’s block—so it wasn’t too painful.
SO MUCH COFFEE!
Not too painful… up until the week leading up to the deadline! My perfectionism had me going through the manuscript over and over again. At some point, I pulled my table up to my bed and took naps instead of a full night’s sleep. Not very healthy, I know, but don’t feel bad for me. This was all self-imposed!
At the manuscript stage, all I needed to ensure was that the recipes and instructions were correct and accurate. This was simply a draft; the manuscript would be sent off to the Pagestreet team, consisting of experienced and skilled editors.
BUT! Coming from a writing and marketing background myself (and being a chronic perfectionist), I couldn’t help it! Oops.
3. Editing
Last but most certainly not least, we have the editing phase. This is where the magic happens—or rather, where the magic is refined and polished to perfection.
After the manuscript was handed off to the Pagestreet team (so many sets of eyes to ensure the cookbook is perfect!), I got a bit of a breather… The manuscript is reviewed by two editors before being returned to me for another round of review and editing.
You can bet there were a lot of errors, mistakes, missing ingredients, and missing steps from my original manuscript! “Hmmm nope, I cannot cook this chicken in 5 minutes; I most certainly meant 15 minutes, OOPS!”
From grammar and punctuation to consistency and clarity, every word was scrutinized with a fine-tooth comb. This cookbook will not only be beautiful but also easy to read and understand.
The final review is the most exciting one… Before this, all I was looking through was a big, giant chunk of text. Now, I get a PDF of the book in its entirety—pictures included! This was so incredibly surreal; I almost cried when I first opened the file.
Taking a Breather
Working on this cookbook was one of the toughest mental challenges I’ve ever faced. I battled insecurities, constantly worrying, “What if people don’t like this?”.
But I reminded myself that it is okay—I cannot be everything to everyone.
Whenever I logged into my book workspace, I saw this daily reminder:
I CANNOT BE EVERYTHING TO EVERYONE. AND THAT IS OK.
This helped ease some anxiety as I was working on the cookbook, but I’m sure I can easily apply this to all areas of my work 🙂
Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes peeks where I share my food photography process and other tasty sneak peeks as we countdown to the official release date. Trust me, you won’t want to miss it!
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