Take readers on a journey of culture and flavor by creating a cookbook that combines recipes with storytelling

“Food is the greatest medium of storytelling because it teaches you about people, and it transcends language and cultural differences”, says creative writer and food educator Sumayya Usmani. Her work weaves recipe writing and heritage together to create food narratives with soul that evoke feelings and memories. She has published award-winning books, and written and appeared in numerous publications including The New York Times and The Guardian. Sumayya regularly appears on the radio, podcasts, and at multiple book festivals, where she shares her knowledge and expertise.

In this course, she teaches you how to create content for a cookbook that tells a story as you explore narrative storytelling and recipe writing. Learn about the elements needed to write a clear, easy-to-follow cooking process, how to give your food context inspired by personal experiences, and how you can take your book from page to publication. Share recipes full of heart and flavor.

What is this course's project?

Create two recipes: the first; a simple, easy-to-follow recipe including ingredients, measurements, sequence and method. The second; a two-part, more complex, recipe.

Write two stories: the first; a narrative surrounding your simple recipe, which can be either based on your heritage or your personal life.
The second; a 600-word story which can serve as the beginning of a chapter, or the narrative surrounding your cookbook.

Who is this online course for?

This course is for anyone who is interested in sharing recipes and the stories that surround them, in the form of a cookbook. It’s also ideal for those looking to learn how to create a cookbook proposal to pitch to publishing agents.

Requirements and materials

To take this course all you need is a basic knowledge of cooking and writing, and an eagerness to develop storytelling skills.