Live from Cookbook Week

This is a live conversation recorded in April 2026 during the first Cookbook Week in San Francisco, a city-wide event co-founded by Brian Hogan Stewart (of the Salt + Spine podcast), Jodi Liano, and Leslie Jonath. Here, Leslie  leads the conversation with Jenny Wapner, publisher of Hardie Grant North America, and Kate Leahy, an author, to discuss all things cookbooks. Jenny and Kate share how they got their start, what their day to day tasks look like and the recent projects that have most resonated with them. They all speak about the frantic, trend-focused nature of publishing, how the current political climate can affect a book and those glorious instances of unexpected success that keep them excited about the industry. The panelists highlight a few of their recent favorite projects and end by taking a few questions from the audience.Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea NguyenEditor: Abby CerquitellaMentionsBrian Hogan StewartSalt & Spine PodcastSalt & Spine SubstackInstagram Cookbook WeekEpisode 65: Podcasting about Cookbooks with Brian Hogan StewartEpisode 145: Eva Kolenko on Photographing CookbooksSubscribe to our weekly Substack newsletter for more information about each episode and a peek at what's coming up. Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the showMy Egypt by Michael Mina with Kate LeahyHand Taste by Esther ChoiFeed your People by Leslie JonathElvira's Cookbook from Hell by Cassandra PetersenFull Belly Farm & Kitchen by Jenna Muller and Amon MullerCookbooking by Debbie BerneThe Moosewood Cookbook by Mollie Katzen