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You are here: Home / Cooksister in the media / “Foodies of the World” and “Creating a Meal You’ll Love” – CookSister in print!

“Foodies of the World” and “Creating a Meal You’ll Love” – CookSister in print!

by Jeanne Horak on November 8, 2010 15 Comments in Cooksister in the media

CooksisterInPrint © J Horak-Druiff 2010

When I was about 15 and still in high school, my world was rocked by the discovery of an American writer called SE Hinton.  I had discovered her only after seeing the movie of one of her books (Francis Ford Coppola’s much loved film version of The Outsiders) and deciding to read the book.  I was instantly hooked.  Here was somebody writing specifically for teenagers, but not about twee, cutesy things but real and gritty issues – and in language that was more like the spoken than the written word.  I was smitten and read all four her books in the space of a month or two.  You can literally pinpoint when I read the books by looking at the essays I was writing in English class at the time.  Suddenly everything I wrote was in the first person rather than the third, and the amount of dialogue increased exponentially – and not long after that my teacher took me aside one day and said I had a real talent and she could see me being able to make a living from writing one day.  It felt as if I had been electrified by bolt of lightning.

Of course, despite what I took to be a clear sign from the Universe as to the nature of my future career, my father decided that writing was not a “proper job” and so I was packed off to university to learn Useful Things.

Ah well.

So despite realising pretty early on what I wanted to do, like so many other friends I was fed the usual crap about how you need to have a “proper” career and that you could write for fun in your spare time.  Umm… what spare time, pray tell, seeing as you are working so hard at this proper career of yours? So for years, my writing was done in the form of long letters, detailed diaries and reams of poetry, not to be shared with the world.  But eventually the old urge would be still no longer and I started with this blog in 2004.  I am still working at the “proper” job, and it is harder than ever to make money from writing, but it does still fill me with unadulterated joy to see my name appearing in a hard-copy publication (as it did last year in National Geographic’s Food Journeys of a Lifetime and the BloggerAid Cook Book)  – I feel the urge to track down my old teacher and sending her a copy 🙂

And I am thrilled to say that I have had that urge three times over the past six weeks or so!

The first was when I was the subject of a full-colour feature article in the South African Times magazine, a magazine catering for South African expats living abroad.  The feature comprised three pages of an interview with me, two of my recipes and a smorgasbord of my photographs.  It’s available to read online on the SA Times website – click on the September 2010 edition and flip to pages 8-10 (or see the scan above).

“If you could describe your best ever meal, real or imagined, what would it be?” was the brief sent me – and I was intrigued at once.  I loved the idea behind Creating a Meal You’ll Love from the moment the publishers contacted me.  The idea of food writers and chefs contributing their essays to a book to be sold in aid of Share Our Strength, a not-for-profit organisation in the USA that fights child hunger, has a nice symmetry about it.  The book is not a recipe book, although some pieces do include recipes.  Instead, it is a book of essays documenting important meals in the lives of each of the contributors – and what stellar company I am in! My fellow-contributors include food writers (Julee Rosso, Mimi Sheraton and Mary Ann Esposito), chefs (Skye Gingell of Petersham Nurseries Café, and Marcus Samuelsson of Aquavit), and fellow-bloggers (Shauna James, Amy Sherman and Jaden Hair), each with their own unique perspective on that a meal to love might comprise.  Some essays are wistful; some are funny; some are informative, but a real love for food and its place in our lives shines through all of them.  The beautiful essay by Raghavan Iyer entitled “Brahmin Soul Food: A Father’s One-Way Journey to the Life Hereafter” will stay with you forever, and is worth the price of the book on its own if you ask me.  And imagine how thrilled I was to find that my essay about my mom opens the book! With Christmas coming up, this book would make a lovely addition to the bookshelf of anybody who loves food – or simply loves good writing. The book is available through Amazon, but my South African readers can or buy it through The Book Depository (£14.99) who deliver free worldwide including South Africa!

Creatingameal

If it’s recipes that you are after, then look no further that Foodies of the World, a beautiful new recipe book pulling together the best recipes from food blogs around the world, each illustrated with sumptuous full-colour photographs and accompanied by a biography of the blogger who submitted it.  The first thing that struck me about the book was the high production values – it’s always a gamble when you submit recipes to be published in a book and have no idea of or control over what the end result is going to look like.  Will the cover be tacky?  Will the layout suck?  But any such worries proved unfounded here.  The book is a class act, from the lovely clean cover design, to the heavy matt paper, to the high quality photographs.  Featured bloggers include yours truly, my sister-from-another-mother Meeta of What’s for Lunch, Honey? , Hilda of Saffron & Blueberry; Ilva from Lucullian Delights; Oz from Kitchen Butterfly; Pascale from Extra Relish; Kevin from Closet Cooking; and Julia from A Slice of Cherry Pie.  You can click here to buy the book and I guarantee that you will not be disappointed.  Not only will you be buying over 100 recipes, but you will also discover a wealth of blogging talent (and recipes!) on the internet via links to the contributors.

FOTWCover

Either of these books would make a fantastic present, either for a foodie friend or relative – or for yourself! So go on, give the gift of CookSister this Christmas 🙂

And in other news…

The May 2011 Plate to Page hands-on food writing and photography workshop presented by me, Meeta, Jamie and Ilva is now sold out – but register now if you are interested in Plate to Page II in Italy in Autumn 2011!

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  1. Rosemary says

    November 9, 2010 at 9:03 am

    I was never told I can write, I never showed any talent, and still don’t – you on the other hand are a writing star! Well done on your publications. Following your dream and still living the “normal” life of drudgery. I am proud to know you and will have to get some autographs at our next meet – they going to be worth a fortune in a few years.

    Reply
  2. Jamie says

    November 9, 2010 at 9:04 am

    Wow! Just wow you star! Congrats and fabulous! xoxox I so can’t wait to read them! And that pic of you is gorgeous!

    Reply
  3. catty says

    November 9, 2010 at 9:04 am

    Congratulations! Your writing style is light and engaging, and I can see why you’re being published!! Good work and yes you should definitely track down your English teacher and let her know, she’ll be so proud. I’m still in contact with my English teacher – we go out for a meal whenever I’m back in Brisbane! But then again, I was always a big nerd.

    Reply
  4. nina says

    November 9, 2010 at 9:50 am

    …and you keep this one under your hat, mmm? Well done chica!! I KNOW your career change is not too far in the future and you know what your father will be as proud of you!!

    Reply
  5. Michelle @ Greedy Gourmet says

    November 9, 2010 at 9:52 am

    Congrats! You’re going places, girl. 😉

    Reply
  6. Kit says

    November 9, 2010 at 9:59 am

    Well done – you have done so well and it is all well deserved! You are a writer despite the day job! And Useful Stuff does come in useful too!

    Reply
  7. Kavey says

    November 9, 2010 at 11:09 am

    You found snoek in Milton Keynes? Wow!
    PS Well done you, very well deserved, may it lead to more and more and more!

    Reply
  8. Charlotte says

    November 9, 2010 at 12:16 pm

    Hooray for you! Next step, your own cookbook!

    Reply
  9. Christina says

    November 9, 2010 at 12:54 pm

    Congratulations! I’ll second the ‘your own cookbook’. 🙂

    Reply
  10. SMITH BITES says

    November 9, 2010 at 1:03 pm

    Congrats on both books – am adding these to my ‘wish list’ so The Professor can find these easily! I wanted to be a singer my whole life but I too, was told I needed skills for a ‘proper’ job so that I could support myself – which I did and am grateful I have those skills. I love that you are still pursuing your passion!

    Reply
  11. 5am Foodie says

    November 10, 2010 at 7:22 am

    Very cool! Big congratulations. Both of those books look fabulous. As a person who has ditched a “safe” conventional career in pursuit of a passion, I can highly recommend it (well, most of the time). I’m glad your writing is hopefully leading to something, and I can totally see why. I love your style, girl!

    Reply
  12. Krista says

    November 11, 2010 at 12:01 am

    That’s fantastic, Jeanne!! Indeed you ARE in good company! How lovely to see so many of my favorite bloggers featured in one place. 🙂

    Reply
  13. Su-Lin says

    November 11, 2010 at 11:16 am

    Congratulations on your publications! Yay!

    Reply
  14. Johanna GGG says

    November 11, 2010 at 12:44 pm

    those books look great – congrats on getting your name into print! I actually couldn’t resist writing because I just loved se hinton as a teenager and hadn’t heard the name for so long – great books and great characters!

    Reply
  15. sarah, simply cooked says

    November 17, 2010 at 5:55 am

    Congratulations, Jeanne. I hope opportunities continue to arise as you pursue your dreams.

    Reply
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Jeanne Horak is a freelance food and travel writer; recipe developer and photographer. South African by birth and Londoner by choice, Jeanne has been writing about food and travel on Cooksister since 2004. She is a popular speaker on food photography and writing has also contributed articles, recipes and photos to a number of online and print publications. Jeanne has also worked with a number of destination marketers to promote their city or region. Please get in touch to work with her Read More…

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