The Generations Old Recipe
Choose a recipe that has been passed down in your family for generations. Write about the history of this recipe, including any stories about who created it and how it has evolved over time. Discuss what this dish means to you and your family.
Suggested length: An essay or article: 800 to 2,500 words
Start the clock
Pick a sprint, press start and keep going until it stops. Momentum beats polish on a first draft.
Make it yours
Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.
- Cut every sentence that only repeats the one before it.
- Find one surprising fact and build around it.
- Use one example from your own life.
Writing cooking books
Recipes that work, and a reason to cook them.
Cookbooks and food writing cover everything from a single cuisine to the science of how cooking works. The best ones have a point of view: a voice, a philosophy, a story behind the food.
What readers expect
- Reliable, tested recipes
- A clear point of view
- Stories behind the food
- Beautiful, useful design
A tip before you start
Test every recipe more than once, ideally in someone else's kitchen. Readers forgive a lot, but not a cake that fails.
More Cooking, Food and Wine prompts
- Unusual Wine PairingsCreate a guide for pairing wines with unconventional dishes. Experiment with combinations that defy traditional norms, such as pairing a robust red…
- My First Kitchen MemoryDescribe your earliest memory of cooking with someone. How did the experience influence your current relationship with food and cooking? Reflect on…
- The Meal We RememberDescribe your most memorable meal shared with someone special. What made the food, the setting, or the company unforgettable? Reflect on the emotional…
- Fire Pits and FermentationWrite a narrative exploring the resurgence of an ancient cooking method in modern kitchens, such as fermenting or fire pit cooking. Include interviews…
Fifteen minutes in? Keep going.
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