A Cookbook Shoot Recap! It Takes a Village.
And, Pasta with Clams
I’m back (!) and almost caught up after last week’s five day photo shoot for my next book. I have never been more grateful to have such a wonderful team. Pearl Jones did the food styling with the lovely Kayla Wong on assist and the amazing Rebecca Bartoshesky was on props. We worked together on my last book and it felt incredible to have the team back together. My husband and our friend Martin shot the book and I can’t tell you how beautiful it is already. It’s a very different look and feel from my last one.
It never ceases to amaze me how much work it is to make a cookbook and the process (for me at least) is different every time. We shot this round at my house here in Hudson, which required Rebecca to drive up boxes and boxes of props from the city. Our whole dining room was taken over with beautiful items she handpicks. Pearl and Kayla (also came up from the city) took charge of the kitchen, with bags and bags of groceries, for which I bought an additional fridge. I’m not going to lie, having two fridges in the kitchen is kind of nice! It will be moved downstairs eventually…
Chad and Martin overtook the living room. Carpets were rolled up, sofas moved, coffee tables rearranged, lightning set up both in and outside the house and, just as of yesterday, everything is finally back in its place. I’m still tired!
This whole process of planning starts months in advance. Schedules need to align and mood boards need creating. Rebecca and I need to talk about the look and feel of the book, Pearl needs recipes weeks in advance and, headnotes are preferable, as they help execute the look and feel of the dish. There are many cooks in the kitchen.
As a result of the photo shoot, Chad, Sugo and I spent last week at Helen and Dan’s, so the team could hole up at our house. Needless to say there was not a lot of cooking happening on my end personally. Days were long and we were all tired. Dan did much of the lifting and made an amazing duck ragù) from the Via Carota cookbook - highly recommend it! You can find a version of the recipe here. Other than that, there was a lot of eating leftovers from that day's shoot. Nothing went to waste. I take that back. I did have clams that needed cooking on the last day, so I actually made vongole upon request, I was bleary eyed, but it was delicious. You can find my recipe here from Back Pocket Pasta.
We’re gearing up for an 11-hour drive to Nova Scotia next week, where we’ll spend the rest of the summer. I’ll be finishing the book and we’ll shoot some more of it there. Early September we have one more round here in Hudson, and it will still be a year before it comes out. It’s a wild process I tell ya (!) and I can’t wait to share the final product with you all.
No new recipe for this installment. I’m headed to Delhi on Thursday to visit my friend Alexis for yet another photoshoot. This one is for our next varietal of wine, which will come out at the end of July. That recipe is forthcoming and it’s a good one.
Thank you as always for being here. I appreciate your patience as I catch my breathe.
With love,
Colu x
This is so exciting! Do you have a book title yet, or is it top secret?
Love the spoon prop collection!