homemade froyo
plus the economics and psychology of being a recipe creator in 2026
Hi Friends!!!
It’s been a very busy summer over here at the barn, so let’s catch up! ICYMI, I’m working on two major projects atm: filming a cooking show for Netflix (pictured below) which premieres later this year, and writing my second cookbook. It’s all incredibly exciting, but balancing both at the same time has definitely been a harrowing experience. I’m still figuring out how to juggle it all, but I can’t wait to share what we’ve been working on!
What is a cookbook ?
Not to get all existential on you, but humor me. Lately I’ve been pondering: what purpose do cookbooks serve in the modern world? What value does a physical collection of recipes provide to it’s readers?
Decades ago, cookbooks were how most recipes were shared. Now we have food blogs, newsletters, social media, apps, television, YouTube, and perhaps most sinister of all: AI.
For me, the value of a cookbook isn’t the individual recipes as much as the curation. Maybe that’s just the inner boomer in me who likes printing emails and prefers physical books to a Kindle. I love having pre-vetted information sitting on my shelf that I can return to again and again instead of digging through Google results, dodging ads, or sifting through comments on NYT Cooking. In fact, the digital recipe world has become so cluttered that there are now paid apps whose only purpose is to organize recipes from various online sources into a singular library.
As a consumer, I’d love to know: what do you find to be the most valuable element of a cookbook?
I ask because I’ve found myself feeling stuck when it comes to sharing recipes, and content in general, online lately. Every day I am forced to decide where a recipe will live within the Wishbone universe. In a book? A tiktok? A blog post? All of the above?
My natural instinct has been to “save” my best recipes for my books, or now, for my cooking show. The problem is, I never actually know which recipes are the best until I see how people respond to them. Some of my most popular recipes are ones I barely thought twice about, that then took on a life of their own after I posted (looking at you, Swamp Soup). Which leaves me in a strange spot.
So be honest.. Will you be mad at me if future cookbooks include recipes that I’ve already shared online? Would that make you feel cheated, like you weren’t getting your money’s worth?
From my perspective, the internet is where I get to experiment. It’s where I discover what resonates, what people actually make, and what earns a permanent place in my (and possibly your) repertoire. Whereas, cookbooks are where I want to curate and memorialize the best of those recipes (plus additional recipes that support them ofc).
My most recent cookbook featured a few oldies but goodies and I don’t recall any one putting up a fuss, so maybe I’m just overthinking everything : ) Excited to hear your thoughts.
In the meantime, please enjoy an exclusive sneak peek of one of my most highly requested recipes as of late. This recipe will be featured in an upcoming episode of my show, and I’m almost positive will end up in a future cookbook.