Will Write for Food by Dianne Jacob

I’ve met many students who want to write about food and I  try my utmost to be encouraging. It’s always been difficult to earn a decent living as a writer but I can’t remember a time when it has been more challenging.

Even so, there are doors that are open a crack and with a little ingenuity and masses of determination it is possible to push them wide open.

It is important to know, what exactly, a food writer does. Scott Jones, Food Editor of Southern Living and a CIA (Culinary Institute of America) grad describes it well: “Writers research, write, edit, proofread, and check facts (including testing recipes) in jobs such as: newspaper columnist, cookbook author, and restaurant critic. As a food editor for a publisher, you’ll review cookbook proposals and take an accepted book from contract to print. Editors also work for magazines, newspapers, and television shows, setting the content and style of their food section or programming. In this field, you’ll need strong writing skills, knowledge of culinary principles, and familiarity with current consumer and industry trends.”

That all sounds good. So, let’s look at the bad news first. The prospects of landing a job as a syndicated newspaper writer are slim and getting slimmer. The possibility of finding work as a regular newspaper columnist are thin and getting thinner as circulation and advertising numbers shrink, and few funds can be found for opinion pieces. Many resort to simple seasonal recipes with text, recipes and photographs provided free by commodity boards. Cross off newspapers as a potential employer unless you decide to become a hard food news journalist where hyper-local is the current trend.  This job has to be undertaken by a local writer.

How about food magazines?  As we all know, Gourmet is gone. The bad news here is though a fortunate few manage to secure freelance writing assignments. They are a precious few and they are, (sorry to say), often big names or “known” to the food editor. So forget about FOOD & WINE, Bon Appetit or Saveur and the other giants in the field.

This brings us to all the good news. The familiar food magazines do not provide the only home for your writings. Go to any of the major booksellers, and scan the incredible number of magazines that offer opportunities you may not have previously explored. Look at local publications too. Often the chamber of commerce or real estate groups publish their own (sometimes very handsome) magazines as do medical groups and other special interest organizations. And don’t forget about food blogs for food magazines.

Wegmans is just one of the many excellent supermarket publications, and then there are the huge number of trade magazines: FOOD ARTS, Chef magazine and Chef Educator Today, Nation’s Restaurant News, Restaurant Business, Restaurant Hospitality, Tea Times, Mushroom Growers, as well as catering and specialty food industry publications. Check online to find the names of the astonishing number there are.

There are other ways to dip your toe in the food writing world. There are food writing courses and coaches and writing programs to choose from, though I highly recommend New York University Steinhardt Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health.

But whichever direction you decide to travel, you must write regularly. The difference between a writer and a professional writer is the professional never gives up.

There are three reasons a writer becomes successful; no one knows what they are.

Courtesy of www.amerheritage.com

Imagine being able to earn a living by testing recipes in your own kitchen on your own time. You can embark on a recipe testing career if you have a passion for food, an obsession for accuracy and a curiosity about the way things work.

A recipe is a scientific formula. There are science-based reasons why a cake may sink in the middle, why a popover fails to pop or why the meat is tough. It is important to know why some recipes work and others fail. Maybe the quantities of the ingredients are incorrect, the directions are not followed properly or the timing is wrong.

Many recipe testers have a degree in food science or nutrition or journalism. They may have attended a professional culinary school yet such formal qualifications are not absolutely essential. It is very important, though, to be reliable and trustworthy and to have the ability to write clearly for a specific target audience as expertly explained in The Recipe Writer’s Handbook by Jane L. Baker and Barbara Gibbs Ostmann. For example, the material produced for an inexperienced cook will be explained differently from a recipe produced for a food professional.

How do you find recipe-testing work? Many food magazines, such as Cook’s Illustrated, Cooking Light, Better Homes and Gardens, Bon Appétit, Food & Wine, Gourmet, Good Housekeeping and Sunset Magazine employ recipe testers. But cookbook publishers occasionally hire testers to double check their authors’ work.

Many large food processors such as Land 0’ Lakes, Kraft and Nestlé are potential full-time or part-time employers. They offer a fixed salary. You can also explore companies such as Starbucks and Panera Bread which develop new recipes for their stores.

Every commodity board–the apple growers, onion growers or strawberry growers or the pork, beef and chicken producers for instance–employs recipe developers and testers.

Television stations and newspapers that post guest chef recipes must make sure the recipes are accurately written.

Before accepting an assignment as a recipe tester you must think carefully about the fee you are offered. Customarily recipe testers are offered a flat fee. So, the cost of the ingredients comes out of your pocket. Remember too you will have to pay taxes on the amount of money you receive. so make a realistic estimate of your out-of-pocket costs, and the time involved before accepting a flat fee for a project.

Ask yourself if you can shop for the ingredients, carry them home, test each recipe perhaps as many as three, four or more times until you are absolutely, positively sure it works well every time — and think about all the dishes you will have to wash. Factor in the amount of time it will take to write the recipe, submit it to the client, and often be asked to make changes in what you had thought would be the final version.

It also is helpful to the client if you are familiar with all the new products in the supermarket. Many high-quality convenience foods simplify the recipe for the home cook and speed the process of getting dinner on the table. Look how successful Rachael Ray has been with the use of packaged foods.

As long as there are recipes published in books and magazines, online or the back of a box, there will be a need for ‘Recipe Tester’ jobs. You may find your first by simply checking online and searching for “Recipe Tester” jobs on your favorite recipe blogs or by exploring your community to see who could benefit from having their recipes tested prior to publication. This is also a time to use your network channels to spread the word that this is what you want to do. You never know what might appear, so it’s good to have your resume and samples of your work ready for respond immediately.