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There is so much to writing a good food recipe than just transcribing ingredients and directions on a page. There are rules that should be followed so that your readers will be able to follow your instruction on how to recreate a recipe in their own kitchen.
The challenge for many wellness entrepreneurs is that they never started out wanting to be recipe writers. As a result, they may not have attended culinary school and there are very few resources available that offer lay cooks the information they need to learn how to do recipe writing well.
I, for one, don’t believe it is necessary to attend culinary school in order to learn how to write a good recipe. Culinary schools often focus on teaching basic cooking techniques that can be brought into restaurants. However, many wellness entrepreneurs are not interested in starting a restaurant (I said, many, not all…). What many health coaches, dieticians, and other entrepreneurs who may include some component of food are doing is teaching people how to cook and make decisions about what they eat within their own kitchens.
So what you will read here and find in the podcast episode are just a few notes from me concerning recipe writing blunders with a few tips on how you can improve your recipe writing without having to go to culinary school.
Recipe Writing Tips
- Create a food philosophy.
- Allow your recipe titles to let the food speak for itself – i.e., stop calling your recipes, “Healthy Guacamole…” It doesn’t sound delicious, particularly to people who are new to healthy eating. “Guacamole with Smoked Peppers and Sweet Corn” – now that’s delicious! The fact that it’s healthy should be an afterthought.
- List your ingredients in order of use.
- Be specific about how much of each ingredient you use.
- Use standardized measurement (a standard teaspoon and a cereal spoon are two different things…).
- Be sure to explain less obvious steps in recipe preparation (preheating, presoaking, pre-cooked ingredients, etc.).
- Walk through the steps in preparing your recipe as you would to a kindergartener. Use short sentences.
- Tell your reader how to store the food once it’s prepared. Does it need to be eaten immediately, or can it be frozen?
- Add variations on the recipe. Can you swap out one ingredient for another to make it palatable to people with allergies, vegans, or for people who may not have access to that ingredient that season, etc.
Resources
If you want to learn more about the proper way to write recipes, how to write a food blog, write food related articles for magazines, etc., then you need to buy Will Write for Food by Dianne Jacob — today! You can also view her blog jam packed with food writing advice and interviews.
Here are some of the other food and wellness bloggers mentioned in the show that may inspire you:
- Shelley Chapman – Body Food Freedom
- Jenne Claiborne – Sweet Potato Soul
- Madea Allen – Organic Soul Chef
- Skai Juice – Paradise Wellness
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