Kitchen Tape

Hosts Rose and Crystal talk with comedian Gus Constantellis ( @ConstantlyGus ) about his debut book — part memoir, part cookbook — built around his late mother's recipes and her legacy in the Greek-American community. Topics include deciphering her handwritten Greek recipe cards, landing a book deal, blending comedy with grief in the writing, bringing the book on tour through stand-up readings, and his Greek food opinions (no lettuce in Greek salad!). Gus's Book: My Greek Mom's Recipes: She Died. I Wrote This Cookbook Mentioned: David Sedaris Crying in H Mart by Michelle Zauner I’m Glad My Mom Died by Jennette McCurdy Will This Make You Happy? by Tanya Bush — . Listen to the Season 2 Episode with Tanya. Gus's tour dates and info: https://www.constantlygus.com/ Follow him on Instagram: @constantlygus Follow us on instagram: ⁠@kitchentapepod⁠ Follow Rose ⁠@trosewilde⁠ and Crystal ⁠@crystalslonecker⁠ Subscribe on ⁠https://eatmore.substack.com/⁠ ⁠Order Tiny Cakes: A Cookbook with 75 Recipes for Everyday Muffins, Party Cupcakes, andMore by Rose Wilde⁠ Edited by ⁠@mr_z_______⁠

Heeeey! Rose Wilde welcomes listeners back to Kitchen Tape and previews a season of conversations about food, memory, craft, and the people behind culinary stories. She shares updates on her books Tiny Cakes and Bread and Roses, then reflects on what she learned from food and farming communities in Maine and California, stories from Denmark, Taiwan, and Lebanon, with themes ranging from family recipes and grief to food traditions under threat, land stewardship, and hopeful ideas for the future. Subscribe and share with your favorite food friend. Mentions: Tiny Cakes — Rose Wilde’s forthcoming book, illustrated by Asami Watsanabe and published by Chronicle . Bread and Roses — Rose’s earlier book about whole grains and cooking with what grows together. Norton International Year of the Woman Farmer @cagrownofficial @caprunes @cherrybombe @aussiebeeflamb @maingrainalliance Authors you can look forward to hearing this season and their books: Gus Constantellis — My Greek Mom’s Recipes: She Died. I Wrote This Cookbook. Ham El-Waylly — Hello, Home Cooking Martin Sorge — Great Bakes from the Midwest Robin Ha — Instant Noodles & Beyond Erin Jeanne McDowell — Bake Anything Nora Singley — One-Pot Pasta Susan Spungen — Cookie Queen Zola Gregory - Sheet Cakes! AND The Pasta Box Lucie Franc de Ferrière — Cake From Lucie Phyllis Grant — Everything Is Under ControlSarah Trad — A House in the Lebanese Mountains Mark Bittman — How to Cook Everything Vegan and the How to Cook Everything series Ali Francis — The Curious Lives of Vegetables Marie Havnø Frank — More Than Sweet Amy Halloran - The New Bread Basket Revisited Nichole Accettola — Scandinavian from Scratch Virginia Shaffer — Oyster Society Clarissa Wei — Sitting the Month and Made in Taiwan Anna Voloshyna — Ukraïne and Budmo!Laurel Kratochvila — Dobre Dobre: Baking from Poland and Beyond. Rachel Gurjar — East to East Lokelani Alabanza — Ice Cream Queen Tara Jensen — Pizza Practice Flour Power Sally Ekus — Cookbook-publishing special Rose Wilde — Tiny Cakes Noah Galuten — Grill Time! Farideh Sadeghin — The Hot Dog Cookbook AND Cheesy! And More! Follow us on instagram: @kitchentapepod Follow Rose @trosewilde and Crystal @crystalslonecker Subscribe on https://eatmore.substack.com/ Order Tiny Cakes: A Cookbook with 75 Recipes for Everyday Muffins, Party Cupcakes, and More by Rose Wilde Edited by @mr_z_______

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Dorie Greenspan, one of the most beloved and trusted voices in baking. We talk about the decades-spanning body of work that has made Dorie such a constant presence in home kitchens, from her collaborations with icons like Pierre Hermé and Julia Child to the warmth, clarity, and curiosity that define her own books. The conversation invites us into her sweet world and moves through intuition, endurance, recipe writing, family, the choice for a fully illustrated book and the quiet discipline of making people feel cared for through food. And at the very end, Dorie receives a reveal that’s been building quietly across the entire season! LEAVE A COMMENT TO WIN A COPY OF HER NEW BOOK! United States shipping addresses only. Mentioned in this episode: • Dorie’s Anytime Cakes : A James Beard Award Winner's Collection of 100+ Simple Illustrated Recipes • Baking with Dorie : Sweet, Salty & Simple • Everyday Dorie : The Way I Cook • Dorie’s Cookies • Baking Chez Moi : Recipes from My Paris Home to Your Home Anywhere • Around My French Table : More than 300 Recipes from My Home to Yours • Baking: From My Home to Yours • Baking with Julia : Savor the Joys of Baking with America's Best Bakers • The Settlement Cookbook by Simon Kander • The New York Times Cookbook by Craig Claiborne • Sift by Nicola Lamb • A Book of Mediterranean Food by Elizabeth David • Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Helen Goh , internationally acclaimed pastry chef, longtime Ottolenghi collaborator, columnist for the Sydney Morning Herald and The Guardian , and author of Baking and the Meaning of Life and Sweet . Featuring 100 recipes that weave together Helen’s Malaysian and Australian heritage with Western and Middle Eastern influences, Baking and the Meaning of Life asks a larger question beneath the recipes: how do we build meaning in our lives? Through eight essays woven throughout the book, Helen explores baking as a practice of mindfulness, agency, competence, ritual, and connection — not simply as a way to make food, but as one of the many small acts that help us create purpose and community in a chaotic world. The conversation moves through her enviable cookbook collection, existentialism, the meanings of color, psychology, flavor, memory, and the quiet rigor behind recipes that feel both deeply comforting and profoundly intentional. Mentioned in this episode: • Baking and the Meaning of Life : How to Find Joy in 100 Recipes • Sweet by Helen Goh and Yotam Ottolenghi • Cooking: Simply and Well, for One or Many by Jeremy Lee • Kate Spade Green • The Australian Women's Weekly Children's Birthday Cake Book • The Flavor Thesaurus by Niki Segnit • Stars Desserts by Emily Luchetti • Flour Hour Baking Podcast hosted by Jeremiah Duarte Bills and Amanda Faber • Bird by Bird by Anne Lamott • Ma Vie en Rose by Rose Levy Beranbaum • The Artful Baker by Cenk Sonmezsoy • Jikoni by Ravinder Bhogal

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Ella Quittner , author of Obsessed with the Best , to talk about what happens when curiosity meets obsessive recipe testing. Built around dozens of head-to-head comparisons, Ella’s book asks not just what tastes best, but how we arrive there — through repetition, methodology, instinct, and the strange culture of mass food discourse. We discuss the lineage of deeply practical cookbooks, the rise of personality-driven food media, and how humor, rigor, and experimentation can coexist on the same page. We dig into the epic photography in her cookbook, including, a portrait in bed with dessert. And why the perfect whipped cream matters! Mentioned in this episode: • Obsessed with the Best : 100+ Methodically Perfected Recipes Based on 20+ Head-to-Head Tests • Joy of Cooking • The New Basics Cookbook by Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso • The Food Lab by J. Kenji López-Alt • Sweet Enough by Alison Roman • Food Is a Feeling by Carla Lalli Music • Will This Make You Happy by Tanya Bush • Hello, Home Cooking by Ham El-Waylly

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Lisa Donovan , James Beard Award–winning author of Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger , now widely regarded as one of the definitive food memoirs of our time. We talk about hunger as both subject and structure — emotional, creative, intellectual, and literal — and dig into the discipline of memoir, writing food as personal narrative, and claiming authority in a voice shaped by appetite, loss, labor, and desire. The conversation moves through literary lineage, publishing realities, and why food writing endures when it tells the truth plainly, without performance. Mentioned in this episode: • Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger by Lisa Donovan • David Black Literary Agency • Dear Women: Own Your Stories by Lisa Donovan for Food & Wine • M. F. K. Fisher • Blood, Bones & Butter by Gabrielle Hamilton • When French Women Cook by Madeleine Kamman • Everything Is Under Control by Phyllis Grant • Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison • Heartburn by Nora Ephron • Desserts by Pierre Hermé and Dorie Greenspan • Bernard Clayton Jr. (books) • Artisan Baking by Maggie Glezer • Samin Nosrat

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Tanya Bush, author of Will This Make You Happy , to talk about baking as a way of moving through a year — emotionally, creatively, and practically. We discuss what it means to write from inside your own life, how recipes can hold both structure and feeling, and how Tanya expands the cookbook form through narrative, gently pushing against its traditional boundaries. We talk about what it means to break the mold without losing usefulness, and why baking often becomes a way to ask questions rather than answer them. The conversation moves between storytelling, routine, and the quiet search for meaning in everyday acts of making. Mentioned in this episode: Will This Make You Happy: Stories and Recipes from a Year of Baking by Tanya Bush “Party Girl” (1995) Trailer Brooks Headley's Fancy Desserts: The Recipes of Del Posto’s James Beard Award–Winning Pastry Chef by Brooks Headley Cooking As Though You Might Cook Again by Daniel Licht Ruby Tandoh Chloe Rose Crabtree, Bake Street London Oliver Lee Costello, Toad Bakery Home Cooking: A Writer in the Kitchen: A Memoir and Cookbook by Laurie Colwin

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Maria Zizka to talk about the art of collaboration in cookbook publishing. We dig into Maria’s own canon alongside the many influential books she’s helped bring into the world as a co-author, ghostwriter, and translator — working closely with some of the industry’s most respected voices. From shaping tone and structure to translating vision across cultures, projects, and personalities, Maria shares what it means to be a steady creative partner, how trust is built behind the scenes, and why some of the most enduring cookbooks are the result of deep, generous collaboration rather than singular authorship.

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Carrie Bachman , a renowned publicist and longtime champion of cookbook authors, to talk about advocacy, trust, and the quiet power behind a book’s success. From shaping long-term author careers to navigating launches, festivals, and press cycles, Carrie shares how taste, timing, and deep belief in a project help books find their readers — and why publicity, at its best, is about stewardship as much as strategy. Mentioned in this episode: • Big Bites : Wholesome, Comforting Recipes That Are Big on Flavor, Nourishment, and Fun by Kat Ashmore • Gluten-Free Orange-Ricotta Company Cake (Kat Ashmore) • Dorie Greenspan (including Dorie’s Anytime Cakes ) • Ina Garten • Marcella Hazan • Tom Douglas’ Seattle Kitchen • The Betty Crocker Cookbook • William Morrow (now part of HarperCollins) • Barbara Kafka • Julia Child • Jacques Pépin • Emeril Lagasse • Heartland Masala by Jyoti Mukharji • Umma by Sarah Ahn and Nam Soon Ahn • American Library Association Conference • Fancy Food Show • Sisterly Love Collective • The New Making of a Cook by Madeleine Kamman • Nathan Myhrvold • Darlingside

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Claire Gilhuly to talk about the editor’s role in shaping a cookbook from idea to finished pages. We dig into how Claire works with authors to refine voice, structure recipes, and build books that feel cohesive, usable, and distinct. The conversation moves through what makes a proposal stand out, how editorial vision develops across a list, and the balance between guiding a project and protecting what makes it singular. Claire also guides us through the full editorial team behind a book — bringing into view the many hands, roles, and decisions that shape a cookbook from the margins, often out of sight. Mentioned in this episode: • Après All Day by Kelley Epstein • The Butter Book by Anna Stockwell • Cake Picnic by Elisa Sunga • Party Tricks and Tin to Table by Anna Hezel • The Flavor of Fire by Kelsey Barnard Clark • Every Season Is Soup Season and Platters and Boards by Shelly Westerhausen Worcel • By Heart by Hailee Catalano • Black Sea by Caroline Eden • Ama by Josef Centeno • Dobre Dobre by Laurel Kratochvila • The Silver Palate Cookbook by Sheila Lukins and Julee Rosso • Tartine Bread by Chad Robertson • Mochitsuki by Kristen Morita • Small Victories by Julia Turshen • Le Sud by Rebekah Peppler • Islas by Von Diaz • The Cake Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum • Tenderheart by Hetty McKinnon • Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherri Duskey Rinker • Will This Make You Happy by Tanya Bush

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Aran Goyoaga , the James Beard Award–winning creator of Cannelle et Vanille and author of multiple groundbreaking gluten-free baking books, including The Art of Gluten-Free Bread . We talk about building technical authority in a space once dismissed as niche, how Aran’s work has reshaped expectations around gluten-free bread and pastry, and what it means to evolve from blogger to bestselling author while holding onto craft. We also cover Aran's evolution, workflow and recommended practices for someone who wants to photogragh their own books. The conversation moves through innovation, testing, photography, and the discipline required to make alternative baking feel both rigorous and deeply nourishing. Mentioned in this episode: • The Art of Gluten-Free Bread • Cannelle et Vanille • Small Plates and Sweet Treats • Cannelle et Vanille • Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple • 101 Cookbooks by Heidi Swanson • Orangette by Molly Wizenberg • Smitten Kitchen • Dorothy Brand • Baking with Julia by Dorie Greenspan • The Pioneer Woman Cooks by Ree Drummond • Justine Doiron • Hetty McKinnon • America’s Test Kitchen

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Jennifer Chong , cookbook and commercial photographer and host of the Photo Dump podcast, to talk about the role images play in how a cookbook is understood, used, and remembered. From shaping first impressions to guiding how a recipe is cooked, we dig into why photography is not secondary to the text, but integral to a book’s success. We also explore how Jennifer’s approach shifts between cookbooks and commercial work, what makes a strong image on the page, and how collaboration, trust, and clarity on set translate into photographs that hold up over time. Mentioned in this episode: • Jennifer Chong — website • The Help Yourself Cookbook for Kids by Ruby Roth • Cook This Book by Molly Baz • Gjelina Cooks by Travis Lett • Ren Fuller • Photo Dump

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Maxine McCrann to talk about her work on By Heart — including the now-iconic cover — and what it’s like to build visual language for a cookbook versus other forms of commercial work. We dig into the slower, more intimate rhythm of cookbook making, how trust and authorship shape creative decisions, and what changes when an image is meant to live with a reader over time rather than circulate quickly. Mentioned in this episode: • The Newlywed Table • One-Bowl Meals • Boards, Platters, Plates • Cook Color • The Hostess Handbook • Sunday Suppers at Lucques by Suzanne Goin • Tartine by Liz Prueitt and Chad Robertson • Yotam Ottolenghi (all books) • Baking and the Meaning of Life by Helen Goh • Sift by Nicola Lamb • A Thousand Feasts by Nigel Slater • Acme Bread Company • I Love You by Pamela Anderson and Maria Zizka • Panadería Rosetta • Chez Panisse cookbooks • Cooking by Hand by Paul Bertolli • Deborah Madison (all books)

In Part 2 of our cookbook deep dive, we zoom out from the writing and into the ecosystem that actually gets a book into the world. Photography. Editing. Design. Illustration. Marketing. Pub Day and Book tours. Translation. Ghostwriting. We talk about when you move from the lonely writing to working with the essential teams! How to work with each team, keep your voice focused and stay organized. We call out titles Will This Make You Happy by Tanya Bush, Small Victories by Julia Turshen, Good Things by Samin Nosrat, By Heart by Hailee Catalano, and memoir-driven hybrids like Prune, Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger, and Everything Is Under Control. We explore the editorial voices of Maria Zizka, the visual storytelling of artists like Asami Watanabei, prop styling worlds like Three Bird Props, and the broader industry network — from agencies to publications like Edible LA. If Part 1 was about writing the book, Part 2 is about everything that makes it real — and what it actually takes for a cookbook to last. This is the full machine behind the magic. Mentioned in this episode: Will This Make You Happy: Stories and Recipes from a Year of Baking by Tanya Bush Small Victories by Julia Turshen Rebecca Stumpf Jennifer Chong Proplink (no longer open) Three Bird Props Nidia Cueva, Holl & Artists Eat This Book by Stacy Michelson Asami Watanabei (@artsami.w) Good Things: Recipes and Rituals to Share with People You Love by Samin Nosrat Anna and David Posey, Elske Maria Ziska By Heart: Recipes to Hold Near and Dear by Hailee Catalano Edible LA Prune by Gabrielle Hamilton Our Lady of Perpetual Hunger by Lisa Donovan Everything Is Under Control: A Memoir With Recipes by Phyllis Grant

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose sits down with Yossy Arefi while Crystal takes a break— New York Times bestselling author, NYT contributor, and creator of the Substack Have a Little Something — to talk about what it means to fully author a baking book from the inside out. We dig into Yossy’s unique practice of writing, styling, and photographing her own work, how that continuity shapes voice and restraint, and why everyday baking resonates most when it’s grounded, seasonal, and deeply usable. How writing for a cookbook differs from her usual work with NYT, etc. The conversation moves between creative control, reader trust, and the quiet rigor behind recipes that feel effortless but are anything but. Mentioned in this episode: • Sweeter off the Vine : Fruit Desserts for Every Season • Snacking Cakes : Simple Treats for Anytime Cravings • Snacking Bakes : Simple Recipes for Cookies, Bars, Brownies, Cakes, and More • Nigel Slater • Yotam Ottolenghi • Ron Ben-Israel • The Last Course by Claudia Fleming • Pure Dessert by Alice Medrich • Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce • Apartment 2B Baking Co. • Apt 2 Bread by Carla Finley • L’Appartement 4F • Cherry Bombe — Cooks & Books event (2022)

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Alyse Whitney , author of Big Dip Energy , to talk about humor as a creative tool, the joy of snack-forward cooking, and making work that doesn’t take itself too seriously — but still takes craft seriously. We talk about party food as emotional infrastructure, pop culture as inspiration, and how Alyse balances freelance life, television, and book-making with a sense of play that keeps the work alive. Mentioned in this episode: • Big Dip Energy : 88 Parties in a Bowl for Snacking, Dinner, Dessert, and Beyond • 30-Minute Meals by Rachael Ray • Easy-Bake Battle (Netflix) • Creative Artists Agency (CAA) • Cravings by Chrissy Teigen • Normal Gossip : “Ready to be Bunco-ified” with Lindy West and Meagan Hatcher-Mays • Solo : A Modern Cookbook for a Party of One by Anita Lo • The Beanie Baby Handbook : With 52 Fabulous Recipes • Erin McDowell

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Natasha Feldman , author of The Dinner Party Project , to talk about what it actually takes to host well without burning out. We discuss Natasha’s approach to dinner parties as a creative practice, how her workflow shifts when she’s authoring her own book versus styling for others, and what changes when responsibility moves from supporting someone else’s vision to holding the full arc yourself. The conversation gets practical about how the book was made — planning menus, testing and editing recipes, styling and shooting within real constraints, and building a process that could sustain the work from proposal to finished pages. Mentioned in this episode: • The Dinner Party Project : A No-Stress Guide to Food with Friends • Space Camp Organizing • The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters • Yotam Ottolenghi (all books) • Alana Kysar • Hetty McKinnon • Gluteus Minimus — Natasha Feldman’s Substack

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose steps out and Crystal sits down with Tara Punzone , co-author of Vegana Italiana , to talk about writing plant-based cookbooks for specific audiences and finding your niche— and getting the message across without losing warmth, culture, or credibility. We discuss how tradition can be translated rather than erased, what it means to serve a niche reader thoughtfully, and how clarity of purpose shapes everything from recipe development to tone, structure, and outreach. It’s a conversation about plant-based food as a language, and about meeting readers exactly where they are. Mentioned in this episode: • Vegana Italiana : Traditional Italian the Plant-Based Way by Tara Punzone and Gene Stone • Pura Vita • Gene Stone (books) • The Engine 2 Cookbook by Rip Esselstyn • Ed Anderson (photography)

This week on Kitchen Tape, Rose and Crystal sit down with Alana Kysar, author of Aloha Kitchen and Aloha Veggies , to talk about her food education from bakes to salad scores, home cooking as cultural record, the evolution of vegetable-forward food, and moving through recipe failures. We also dive into Alana’s dual role as both author and photographer on her books (and others!)— unpacking what that workflow looks like in practice, pros and cons, how creative decisions shift when one person holds both lenses, and what it takes to balance vision, logistics, and stamina across an entire project. Mentioned in this episode: • Aloha Kitchen : Recipes from Hawai‘i • Aloha Veggies : Veg-Forward Recipes Celebrating the Flavors of Hawai‘i • Salad Freak by Jess Damuck • Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Samin Nosrat • Community cookbooks • Coco : 10 World-Leading Masters Choose 100 Contemporary Chefs • Kimi’s Kitchen : An Ocean Woman’s Guide to Wild Home Cooking by Kimi Werner • Hetty McKinnon

In this episode, Crystal turns interviewer again — this time diving into Rose’s creative process for developing and testing recipes. From the first spark of an idea to the final polished bake, they explore how intuition, precision, and feedback shape every dish. Rose shares how she works with professional testers, crowdsources testing across regions, and why the voices of home cooks and amateurs are essential to making a cookbook truly universal. Plus: her favorite tools (yes, The Scrivener App makes an appearance) and the quiet alchemy of turning mistakes into something delicious. We’re heading into a short break for the holidays while Rose heads into the kitchen (and the studio) to shoot the second half of her next book. Kitchen Tape will be back on February 4 with more great guests, deep dives into process, and plenty of stories from behind the oven door. Mentioned in this episode: The Scrivener App Kitchen Tape is hosted by Rose Wilde ⁠@trosewilde⁠ and Crystal Slonecker ⁠@crystalslonecker⁠ , edited by Dressler Parsons ⁠@dresslerparsons⁠ of The Regenerative Baking Podcast , with original theme music by Dan Crabtree . Follow us on Instagram ⁠@kitchentapepodcast⁠ and hit like and subscribe to stay up to date on new episodes and behind-the-scenes crumbs.