Cooking, Food & Wine writing prompt

Cooking with Grandmother

Write about learning to cook a traditional dish from an older family member. How do the ingredients, the process, and the stories shared during cooking connect you to your heritage?

Suggested length: An essay or article: 800 to 2,500 words

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Three ways to take this prompt somewhere nobody else will.

  1. Open with a specific story, then widen out to the big idea.
  2. Write for a curious friend, not an expert.
  3. End with something the reader can do or think about today.

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 about cooking in our book genres guide

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