These days, more and more books have accompanying Websites and smart authors even try to attract readers online before the book is even published. Sometimes they even try to enlist those potential readers into contributing to the book (for free). Brooklyn food writers Amanda Hesser and Merrill Stubbs are crowdsourcing their next cookbook on a site that just launched in private beta called Food52 (it will open up on September 15, but you can sign up now for an invite at the site). Hesser is a food critic for the New York Times and an author of several cookbooks (including Cooking For Mr. Latte, The Cook And The Gardener, and the upcoming New York Times Cookbook). Stubbs is a freelance food writer and recipe tester.
The Food52 project will result in its own cookbook to be published by the Harper Studio (which is also publishing the Gary Vaynerchuk ten-book library). Each recipe in the book will come from the Food52 community. “We want it to be a cooking site where the users feel that they have a voice,” Hesser tells me in her first interview about the project.
The site and the book will appeal to anyone who ever wanted to write their own cookbook but never had the time. But it won’t be a free-for-all. Hesser and Stubbs will make editorial decisions with give-and-take from the site’s members. To guide the community, every week two themes will be presented which will act as a call for recipes. This week’s themes (they are really assignments) are “Your Best Grilled Pork Recipe” and “Your Best Watermelon Recipe.” Anyone can submit their favorite recipes, along with photos or videos. Then Hesser and Stubbs select the most promising ones, test them, and choose the best two for each theme. They present these back to the Food52 members, who get to vote which one will make it into the cookbook.
“There is a huge tradition of community cookbooks, but none of them are user vetted,” says Hesser. Users can take part in creating the cookbook by submitting their own recipes and helping to edit the submissions through comments, ratings, and votes. (Recipes can be flagged if someone tries to pass one off as their own that is actually from another cookbook). Anybody who submits a recipe selected as one of the two finalist recipes each week will get a free copy of the book along with cookware tailored to their recipe.
The iterative process should bring hardcore foodies and fans of the authors coming back every week. By the end of the 52 weeks, Hesser and Stubbs will not only have the recipes for their cookbook, but also a built-in and built-up audience already sold on the book. It won’t be just a cookbook, it will be an artifact of their participation.
The site itself is designed less to be a comprehensive cooking site than a highly curated one. In addition to the contests, there are editors’ picks. You can browse by recipes (organized both by category and most recent) or by cooks (contest winners, most active, and “cooks we admire”). Of course, there is also a blog on the site written by Hesser and Stubbs, although that is not front and center and the first entry is about the shoes they wear while cooking. Not terribly appetizing.
Beyond the first book, Hesser and Stubbs hope to make Food52 into a food destination site. “Hopefully we will do more books,” says Hesser, “this is a starting point for gathering our community.” Food52 is owned and operated by Hesser and Stubbs through a company they co-founded called Burnt Toast, LLC funded with proceeds from the book advance. With any luck, the site will be worth more than the book.
If it gets a good amount of users, it could work very well. Nice idea
I’d use it. I love cooking an am always looking for new ideas.
and no revenue sharing? Sounds like theivery
The word “vanity” is not in your dictionary, huh?
We want a locatarian option – local foods and local chefs- sort of Craig’slist for food
Great work – nice idea. We will spread the word among our foodie and chef network at ChefCommons.com!
Everything will taste like dirt. Wake me when authority and experience are respected again.
Amanda who? Why is her name in the title of the post when she’s an unknown?
Also, no rev share = no go.
You don’t get out much, do you? http://en.wikip...i/Amanda_Hesser
First, Amanda Hesser is an unknown? Brian, has the value of the cave you live in decreased as rapidly as the rest of the real estate market?
Second, I don’t understand all the hubbub about the revenue sharing aspect. Seems like a decent way to ensure that the site has funding and doesn’t face the fate of other websites that find themselves wanting for money after not too long. Not sure if they have advertisers, but perhaps you are suggesting that they (1) work for free and (2) should shell out their own dough (no pun intended) to run a site. (For example, as well-known as Hesser is in the food community, I don’t think the grocery store will be giving her groceries for free to test the recipes.)
Also, what the hell is the big deal these days? The dude that runs postsecret.com has people mail postcards with their deepest darkest secrets to his house, and he makes a killing off the books. What do the people sending in the postcards get? A fat lot of nothing, that’s what. Is anybody complaining? Actually, I don’t know if they are or not. But I do know that people keep sending in their postcards so he can make books.
That being said, I don’t see myself entering any recipes into the contest. I’m sure enough people recognize the recipe for “Rice Krispy Treats” that they publish on the side of the cereal box that I probably can’t get away with it.
“food critic for the New York Times”
broaden your horizons, man!
Wait, aren’t most cookbooks effectively crowdsourced? I mean, they are usually a collection of recipes from other people. I don’t see what makes this one different.
And I’m with others, no rev sharing is a bunch of BS!
I agree , bunch of BS, and who will buy the book when they are free online? – fools!!!
People who buy cookbooks, I suspect.
Cooks share recipes with the understanding that they will be credited by name.
Anyone who uses a cookbook would know this.
I met Amanda and Merrill last week – very exciting to see them get their TC coverage so soon. I think this is a great idea, and look forward to seeing their successes.
Philip
Twitter is down and this is still the top story, unbelievable.
Here is the only story you’ll ever need to read regarding Twitter being down:
http://www.istwitterdown.com
The only think unbelievable is that you think whether Twitter is down or not (again!) is worthy of being the top story (again!).
I have been using a site called tastyplanner.com for over a year now and they have been talking about doing a user submitted cookbook as well. I really have enjoyed the site as a mom as well because of the menu planning options. I think they run it in their spare time but it seems to be coming along and a lot of users.
Great work – nice idea
It will be great to have Amanda Hesser publishing regularly again, as she left from her regular NYT Sunday Magazine column.
These crowdsourced content projects are still in the early phase of business model (see the rev share questions above), similar to the issues faced by MassAnimation. For some of us who are home cooks, not chefs, to be published may be reward enough. I am interested in discussing crowdsourcing with its practictioners.
Cute idea, but I like http://www.foodista.com. Most of the content is also user submitted and the site is really easy to use.
Wow! can it get any easier than this !Get the crowd to make you money! wonder how many fools are going to actually give up their recipes for free. And why would anyone buy the book when they are available online for free.
This is a great idea
I can’t say I like this idea. I mean, they are getting all the fame and revenue and aren’t doing much of the work. Great home cooks are giving up THEIR future award winning recipes (or award winning websites!) for someone else all because of some hype and a few seconds of glory. I don’t like the trend this is setting for serious cooks out there.
Two things food52 will have to deal with: 1) copyright protection (what’s to stop me from uploading a Bobby Flay recipe, for example); 2) possible trademark issues with food2, owned by Scripps Networks.
Otherwise, this is a really interesting idea. I think that most people submitting their recipes won’t mind lack of revenue share. They’ll get their 52 minutes of fame, bragging rights with foodie friends, and a free book. Not bad for 5 minutes worth of effort to type in a recipe. Plus if their recipes are good, they get recognized for their talent and get their own cookbook, a popular website, and a TV show on Food Network.
Amanda Hesser’s entry into food blogging is based on seeing Amy Powell get lucky with Julie & Julia. Julie Powell has no talent but found a gimmick in blogging (coat tail riding on) Julia Child’s recipes. (Check out Julie Powell’s Julie & Julia book; her prose is in the Sarah Palin school of prose.)
In the movie Julie & Julia, there is a scene where Amanda Hesser of NYTimes “discovers” Julie Powell and interviews her for an NYT article. Amanda’s NYT article launched no-talent Julie Powell into her current big time.
Ironic that talent-less Julie Powell is now famous and NYT’s Amanda Hesser not as famous. Probably Amanda hopes Food52 will elevate her the way she elevated the less deserving Powell.
Unlikely.
You do understand that the point of the blog/book/movie was how Ms. Child’s recipes impacted Ms. Powell’s life?
It was about the *journey* not the stops along the way.
So everybody shares their secrets and two people & the publisher makes the money, i love the model
Very cool idea. It’ll be interesting to see how the book turns out.
Why is it that so many Internet applications are geared towards creating things in the very media it was supposed to destroy?
Well, it is the new social model of something that has been done many times before. It will be interesting to see how they do and they (obviously) are getting good press. But getting sales will be tougher. I published a compilation from 24 sites of the best writing and recipes from food blogs way back in the dawn of time (2005) and it did ok but not great (see http://www.pressforchange.com).
We crowdsource music, we crowdshource journalism, why not cookbooks? The idea is interesting…cooking and entertaining ARE, by nature, social activities- crowdsourcing works well here. Also, Amanda Hesser is a brilliant food writer, and so if she’s editing and curating, then all the better. Excited to sign up!
I’m excited to follow Food52–think it’s a fun idea, and I love Amanda Hesser’s work.
As for revenue sharing, well, naysayers, go ahead and withhold those fantastic original recipes; perhaps on your own you’ll find someone who’ll pay you thousands for them. Or possibly this is a naive fantasy. Hmmm.
The only potential advantage about working on the west coast, is that as an animator you have more options in terms of employment. ,