How The Cut Cookbook came to life pt. 1
The journey of my brand, The Cut Cookbook, has taken me almost two years to this day. It has been a long journey of trial and error, but I have always believed in my project. It can seem so daunting when you have a vision and passion for a project, but you do not know where to begin. There is no quick fix to building a business. It takes time and dedication to bring it to life.
At the start, I found it easiest only to look one step ahead. If you look at the big picture for too long, you will never achieve the small goals that will eventually help you cross the finish line. So I picked a place to start, and for me, that was writing the recipes. I have cooked often enough to write a recipe before even stepping into the kitchen. I like to see my work come to life on paper before I try it in the kitchen. That is precisely what I did. I spent weeks writing recipe after recipe, and once I was satisfied with my work, then I stepped into the kitchen. Of course, not everything that worked in my head worked in the kitchen, but that is what recipe testing is. I made the necessary adjustment as the book continued to grow. When I finally nailed down the final version of each recipe, I would photograph it outside.
Photography. You do not need a fancy camera to start your food photography journey. I photographed my entire cookbook using portrait mode on my i phone. This process may seem unconventional, but you need to be resourceful to make your vision come to life. I would love to show you all my camera roll after photographing every recipe. For months on end, I shot thousands of photos of food to get the perfect shot. This process had the biggest learning curve for me. Not everything looks good in the same location, lighting, or decor. The good thing is food never disappears, so if you hate your photos, you can always make the recipe again and keep trying.
After photography came formatting the book, let me tell you, this was not the fun part. Editing and typing over 100 recipes with the correct ingredients and directions took forever. In my first round of designing the book, I did it in increments as I photographed the food, but like every entrepreneur, sometimes your idea doesn’t work out, and you have to start again. So I decided almost a year after the first rendition to completely redo the entire layout of my book. I am forever grateful to my wonderful friend, who showed me how to use InDesign. That program was a lifesaver. I am glad I redesigned the book to the fantastic layout I have today. It looks way better!
Creating The Cut Cookbook required a lot more help beyond this point to bring the book to life. I am grateful to all the incredible people who helped me get to where I am today. I will write more soon.
Buon appetito,
Madison Marsh
