Coming Soon. My Cookbook!

If you follow me on social media, you already know what I’m about to tell you.

Now that I look at it, if you read the title of this post, you already know what I’m about to tell you. 

Considering that today is my birthday and days like this are meant to be celebrated, I thought I would do so by officially spilling the news. 

I’ve had an idea for a book on the back burner for about two years now. I filed it away after reassessing some professional goals and hadn’t thought of it in a while.

Then, as these things often go, one lead led to another, one conversation led to another, I found myself signing with an agent, revising a proposal and 3 months later…signing a cookbook deal.

The thing is, this isn’t a blog cookbook. To be honest, that has never been my goal. That’s a big reason why this book is an even bigger deal to me. 

Most of the cookbook authors I’m drawn to aren’t wildly popular on social media. In fact, most have blogs, but they are rarely ever updated. They might own off-the-beaten path restaurants and bakeries in other countries or they are just really good writers and recipe developers.

It’s more of a cookbook writing profession versus a food blogging profession. It’s a profession I’ve always been drawn to and that force is getting stronger as I spend my days in the kitchen developing and testing recipes while listening to Brazilian jazz with pugs snoring in the background. 

At first glance, it seems a lot like what I do for this blog and my clients, but there is something about the process that is different. It’s hard to explain. Keeping a consistent theme that will go into print on such a large scale, and not just a recipe here and there, makes it more of an adventure. 

I’m also styling and photographing the book myself. I wouldn’t have it any other way. This adventure is as much about establishing myself in those two areas as it is about developing recipes. 

My style of cooking and ingredient use will most definitely come through in the book, but it’s based on a passion I have that you may not know about me unless we are connected on other platforms. 

Craft beer. 

My interests in beer started thanks to our travels. Trips to Vienna, Munich, Dublin and Kilkenny taught me about beer traditions and the rich history. I was hooked. To be honest, it is a passion that is rooted in the same beliefs as this blog. Speaking in terms of Fake Food Free, beer is one of the purest, simplest, naturally processed beverages that exists.

My interests have only intensified as craft beers have blown up in the U.S. with new breweries and innovative creations. This book has given me the opportunity to explore these beers so much more and also have a little fun with how they are used. 

Food On Tap with Countryman Press will be here Fall 2017.

You can follow me on Snapchat (lori_rice) and Instagram if you’d like a glimpse of the process along the way.