Before I wrote my first cookbook , the whole idea seemed so glamorous but as I started on the first book, I quickly realized-- holy hell! it's a lot of hard work!!
It's rewarding work, for sure -- but it's a big project with lots of little undertakings that sneak up on you. I thought after I wrote all the recipes I was done -- ha! far from it. There was editing, layout, creating an index by hand -- so much goes into every book. It's a monster process and I have respect for all the people who work in publishing -- and of course, the team at my publisher that made my first book so beautiful! I have high expectations for this next one!
My favorite part, naturally, is creating new recipes, and my least favorite part, is turning them into a manuscript! Actually, I take that back, clean up is probably my least favorite part!
I am a messy cook to begin with but when it's time to create -- I take that mess to a whole new level:
I took this picture mid-day yesterday, after I'd created one recipe and was in the middle of the second one. The alarming part is that both recipes have about 8 ingredients, or less -- so I'm puzzled why the entire contents of my fridge are strung out on the counter!
Anyway, because we're on a tight schedule this time (trying to get the book out as fast as possible) I'm taking pictures as I go rather than having photo shoots at the end. On the upside, its making me consider food visually when I'm creating recipes. Usually my process is all about taste, and nutrition, with little thought into how the end product will look (presentation be damned!) -- but since I'm photographing the end product right off the bat, I'm thinking about presentation... which, ironically, has led me to use a lot more spinach! LOL because I really like the vibrant green color!
And although taking pictures was really stressful for me last time --- I'm enjoying it this time because I've learned a lot, I have a huge workspace (a big difference from my NYC studio apartment) and wonderful Caribbean sunlight that makes every picture look good!
So here is a look into my work space -- and creation process! I hope you enjoyed it.