For those wearing a chef coat there are an endless array of viable marketing and business opportunities that pair well with actual food creation. One such option is writing about your food. From blogs to cookbooks, there are many ways any culinary professional can share their passion outside of plating food. Before diving into these deceivingly easy extracurriculars, consider what you’re really getting into.
Cookbooks
While most chefs don’t regularly use or hoard cookbooks, they do stock up on those that stand out. The real market for buying cookbooks lies with home cooks. Because of the audience, there are a few questions you should ask yourself before pursuing a cookbook.
- Do I have a unique perspective, angle, idea to present? There are millions of cookbooks in the world, if yours is just going to be the same as many others, why should anyone buy it?
- Do you feel a deep desire to create a cookbook or are you doing it for other reasons? If your motivation is not innate and strong, you may not make it to the end of this often lengthy process.
- Are you looking to share your best/favorite recipes with the world? If not, a cookbook probably isn’t the best choice.
If you’ve decided a cookbook is the next step for you, be sure to include:
- Forms of measurement specific to your audience
- Larger print
- Ingredients people can find, or list where to find them
- Easy-to-follow directions
- Specific sensory details at each step
- Personal notes on preferred products, why this recipe is special, etc.
- Great photos that actually depict the food as you’ve instructed
Blogs
Creating a cookbook is a great undertaking and a great risk. If you are looking for a different way to write about your food, blogging might be a better choice. Blogs should be:
- Conversational
- Provide a variety of topic areas
- Consistent
- Helpful and entertaining
While it can seem that blogging is simple and quick, when done well it actually requires a great deal of commitment. This is the place for readers to really see, hear, and feel who you are and what you are all about. It is a personal invitation into your culinary life.
Writing about food is evergreen, it never goes out of style. People will always need to eat and many will always need to find new ways or things to eat. If you’re looking for a long-term way to share your culinary passions, writing about food is for you.