The last 15 years have truly seen a transformation in the cookbook landscape. The few cookbooks my parents had were super thick with hundreds of pages filled with recipes. All words. No photos. Over the past few years, it seems like everyone with some sort of online presence has written a cookbook or two. This means the quality of recipes are getting watered down, or flat out copied. The focus has been on bright, glossy, photos of food, and as long as you have that, the recipes don’t really matter. Cookbooks are slowly turning into coffee table books, and there’s nothing wrong with that. But, the point of a cookbook is to teach you how to cook.
The good thing about this, is that it allows space for other forms of cookbooks to take up space. This is where e-books come in. Not only is it a natural transition and evolution, but also allows space for e-books that not only have beautiful photos, but also have wonderful recipes. The recipes are in the palm of your hand, on your phone, tablet or laptop, and will be there forever. Some chefs and authors are taking to the e-book with open arms, transitioning a cookbook into more of an essential cooking resource. A resource that you have with you and actually use these recipes and tips to improve your cooking, not just whip up a few recipes.
Another positive to e-books is that there is very little overhead. Any chef can put one together after spending a few hours on Youtube learning how to master the Adobe suite and page formatting. All you need from there is some sort of smart phone with a decent camera, a laptop to edit and a creative mind to come up with interesting recipes and tips that people will find resourceful. There is no publisher needed, no big advertising budget, no national book tour. You do it all yourself. Which means you keep all of the profits.
The year 2020 has shown if you sit by and do nothing, you won’t get anywhere. You need to pivot and constantly be looking for what’s next. The public expects it. The food industry is constantly changing. Change with it. Compile that long list of recipe ideas in your head, put them on paper, and just go for it! You have nothing to lose.