Dianne Jacob

2 months ago | ruhlman.substack.com | Michael Ruhlman |Dianne Jacob |Laura Lippman |Kate Hill

After interviewed me about writing and cookbooks for her newsletter (see below), I got to wondering (again, and always) what makes a cookbook valuable? And more important, what is the place of cookbooks in an age of free recipes for just about anything right there on your phone? First and foremost, books offer story and the unique voice of the writer. They also offer, in most cases, tested recipes that work.

Jan 15, 2025 | diannejacob.substack.com | Dianne Jacob

One morning, I opened my email and found a paid subscription from Emily Weinstein. I gasped! What a huge compliment. Emily is in charge of everything you see in the New York Times food section: recipes, reviews, features; and the NYT Cooking online database. She leads the team that assigns and edits freelance stories. She’s ultimately in charge of restaurant reviews and freelance stories, and writes the popular newsletter Five Weeknight Dishes.

Jan 8, 2025 | diannejacob.substack.com | Dianne Jacob

Hello and thank you for opening this email! I hope you’re having a gentle re-introduction to the workweek and your inbox. This is just a quick reminder that the last day to take $10 off the price of an annual subscription is Friday, January 10. So if you would like to invest in yourself, now is the time to save on an annual subscription. A paid subscription costs $40 per year. Right now it is $30.

Nov 15, 2024 | diannejacob.substack.com | Dianne Jacob

When legendary cookbook editor Maria Guarnaschelli retired, her publisher, Norton, needed a replacement. Maria mentored Melanie Tortoroli, who rose from editorial assistant to assistant editor. In 2012, Melanie left to become an editor at Viking/Penguin and then moved to Amazon in 2017 as a senior editor. Norton called her back that same year. In 2023, she became a vice president, and, in 2024, Norton promoted her to Executive Editor.

Nov 1, 2024 | diannejacob.substack.com | Dianne Jacob

Attending and teaching at the International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) conference in Brooklyn was a blast. About 200 people came, and another 100 arrived, dressed in finery, for the awards ceremony later that day. The League of Kitchens taught optional cooking classes, and I taught the two optional writing workshops (Literary agent Jenni Ferrari-Adler co-taught the one about cookbook proposals, with a talk about cookbook trends by Stained Page News Publisher Paula Forbes.