Dear Everyone, 👋 It is with a genuinely heavy heart 💔 that I am writing to let you know I will be closing our Cookbook Writing community here on Skool 🏫. It has been a real privilege sharing this journey with all of you 🤝, and saying goodbye to this space is not easy for me 🥺. However, this isn't the end of our conversation—just a move to a new kitchen! 🧑‍🍳✨ I am excited to share that I have launched a new publication on Substack: The Cookbook Writer’s Guide 📚📖! Whether you - ✍️ An aspiring author crafting a narrative memoir, - 👨‍🍳 A professional chef looking to translate restaurant mastery into a published book, or - 👵 A beginner eager to preserve cherished family recipes for future generations, ...this guide offers practical frameworks 📐 and creative inspiration 💡. In addition, my weekly posts 📬 will update you on the latest trends 📈, who's writing what and why 📝, and I'll even share stories about my personal culinary journeys ✈️🥘. It is completely free to join 🆓, and I would love to welcome you over there so we can continue sharing craft essays 📄, toolkits 🧰, and practical insights together 🌟. 👉 Click here to join The Cookbook Writer's Guide on Substack https://thecookbookwritersguide.substack.com/about 🔗 Thank you all for being such a wonderful part of this chapter 📖💖. I hope to see you over on Substack as we continue writing! ✍️✨ Warmly, Gwynne 👩‍🌾 @Anne Iglesias @Mary Lummerding @Julianne Anderson @Amanda Mirrlees @Karin Crawford @Susan S @Jenny Rader-Bakos @Ida Keogh @James McDonald @Rich Gomez @Elizabeth Campbell @Dar Brown

From FB friend Ben Trovato. I look forward to your comments! ‘One of the benefits of living on your own is that nobody is trying to force-feed you home-cooked meals every night. Sure, we don’t live as long as married men do, but that’s a good thing, right? Look around you. Of course it is. There is a good chance I have been spending too much time on Facebook, because I would like to tell you about my supper. It is a three-course meal. I have lit the candle (a crude wick embedded in a block of Mr Zog’s Sex Wax) and set the table, which conveniently straightens out into a pair of legs once matters of a culinary nature have been concluded. The starter is a 250g packet of nachos chips. On the front it says beno fido. This could mean it is for dogs. I care less. Any product that has the word “whateva” on its packaging deserves to come home with me. It dovetails nicely with the general state of dispassion in which I currently exist. It is a starter that makes no demands. Eat me, don’t eat me. If a nacho could shrug and turn its mouth down, it would. I find it far more appealing than a starter that sits up on your plate all perky and pretentious, clamouring to be devoured. There is nothing worse than food that is anxious to please. To accompany my starter, I have engaged the services of a sweet chilli dip. Since I have sold my books for beer money, I entertain myself by reading the ingredients. My chips contain sulphur dioxide, silicone dioxide, oleoresins and unstipulated flavour enhancers, which could be anything from powdered donkey hooves to dried yak vomit. Yum yum. My dip contains anthrax, ayahuasca and cat bile. That’s what it looks like, anyway. The print is too small for the human eye. The packaging on my nachos advised, in no uncertain terms, that I was to use immediately once opened. The instruction jarred with the mellow vibe the chips had going. I felt pressured. Emptying the dip into the packet, I stuffed handfuls into my mouth. It wasn’t a pretty sight, but when a man lives alone he quickly adopts the habits and mannerisms of a spotted hyena.

I've granted @Ida Keogh free access to the module, 'THE COOKBOOK YOU'RE MEANT TO WRITE'. After all, that's what I promised in my birthday gift to all members. If you’ve ever thought about writing a cookbook, you’ve probably wondered whether you’re “qualified enough”. Maybe you’ve told yourself you need more training, more experience, or a more polished, professional angle before you can begin. But here’s the truth: publishers aren’t just buying credentials. They’re looking for ideas that connect. The kinds of ideas that make someone pause, feel seen, and think, yes, this is the kind of cooking I want in my life. And more often than not, those ideas come from something much more personal than a list of qualifications. I hope you learn a lot, Ida, and look forward to your thoughts and responses! 🥰

I can see so many of you quietly hangin’ in the shadows, drinking your coffee behind the scenes. I love that you’re here! But writing was never meant to be a silent, solitary sport. This community is your cozy, zero-judgment creative sanctuary — and we want to hear your voice, even if it’s just a whisper today. Let’s shake off the Monday dust and warm up the room with a quick, ultra-low-stakes game. No long essays or perfect prose required! 🔥 The 10-Second Challenge: In the comments below, give us the answer to just one of these questions: - What is the single most comforting smell in your kitchen right now? ☕🍞 - If you could only eat one meal for the rest of your life, what’s on the plate? 🍕🥗 - Are you team savoury or team sweet? 🧀🍩 Over to you! 👇 Don't scroll past — drop your quick answer below and say a quick hello to a fellow creator. Let’s bring the warmth back to this table together!

Monday has officially landed, the slate is clean, and it’s time to check in with each other. Whatever you are planning for the next seven days, we want to hear about it. It doesn’t have to do with food, writing, or cooking—life happens in all directions, and this table is open for all of it. How are you focusing your energy this week? Cast your vote below! Click your focus for the week, and drop a comment letting us know what is on your plate. Let's connect and start the week together! 📊 POLL: What is on your horizon this week?