Innovation is not possible without new perspective. If new information is not brought to the proverbial party, nothing new can be created. One of the best sources of new information are subject matter experts. Expert insights can help us make all sorts of new connections throughout the whole innovation process. They are a powerful way to bring stimulus to our innovation efforts and are a good foundation for creating new ideas and, ultimately, WOW moments.
To help spur more conversation and connections with experts, this blog will highlight guests in a variety of different areas of expertise. The guests are provided with 11 questions to answer. A short bio of the expert will be given at the end of the Q&A.
Today’s Guest: Writer and Recipe Developer – Andrea Lynn
1. How long have you been a recipe developer for?
I guess you could say that I’ve been an unofficial recipe developer since I was a kid—mixing ingredients together to create recipes. More officially, since culinary school and work at a magazine where I learned how to do recipe testing and development, about 7 years ago.
2. Many people are surprised to find out that there is such a thing as a professional recipe developer. How did you get into the business?
I worked as a journalist in the lifestyle section of a newspaper straight out of college. I’ve always been someone more interested in lifestyle aspects versus hard news. I got to work on the weekly food page, which prompted me to contemplate attending culinary school and volunteer at a local store that had cooking classes. A lot of the instructors were cookbook authors and recipe developers, and I’d ask a lot of questions about how they had gotten into the business.
3. Can you tell us a little bit about your process for coming up with new ideas when developing recipes?
I type up an outline of what I want to do with a recipe before going into the kitchen to experiment usually. Then I document everything with pen and paper as I’m cooking. Some things work, some don’t—so you have to retest but it usually goes smoother the second (or third) time around. Or, sometimes I have an idea in my head and just begin by experimenting with ingredients to start.
4. Do you ever get recipe developer’s block? What do you do if you hit a wall?
Yes, completely. Sometimes the creativity just runs out. I go to the grocery store or farmer’s market. The best thing to do is to get out of the kitchen. All the food gets me back on track for thinking of combinations. Also, I have a few books that showcase different flavor combos, so that always gets the creative juices flowing. I also live near all these produce stands, and I’m shocked that I see fruits and vegetables that are new-to-me. I came across jujube fruit the other day which I can’t say I’ve ever encountered before. Little discoveries like that always get me excited too.
5. What has been the most interesting project that you have worked on as a recipe developer or writer? And the worst?
I can’t say there’s ever a best or worst—some projects are just more difficult than others and that makes them more challenging. Also, I’m someone who gets a little obsessed on whatever I’m working on. So my favorite changes depending on what I’m doing. My husband’s favorite, hands-down, was the Knickerbocker Glory cookbook. Our fridge was always packed with dessert, and he pretty much fell in love with Knickerbocker Glories, a dessert we both had never heard of before I started the project.
6. You live in NY but have southern roots? Have you used that crossing of the Mason Dixon line in your cooking?
I actually love the vast array of ingredients that I can find in New York City, which was something I couldn’t as easily find in the South. I love taking these ethnic ingredients (like Sichuan peppercorns, gochuchang paste, etc) and adding them into comfort food meals for a different spin. I was in a Filipino food shop recently when I stumbled across Filipino pimento cheese—who knew? It’s the ultimate Asian-like spin on Southern food using pineapple juice and condensed milk.
7. Who are your cooking inspirations?
What does it say about me that my inspirations dabble in Southern food? Hugh Acheson, the Lee Brothers, Scott Peacock—I am always inspired by their constant refinement of traditional Southern food (like Acheson’s boiled peanut hummus).
8. What is your favorite food?
Again, I gravitate towards Southern food (especially different ways to do fried chicken) since that’s what I grew up with but my favorites change depending on what I’m obsessed with. I also have a crazy fondness for any type of Asian food.
9. Which was more difficult to write The I l Love Trader Joes College Cookbook or The Artisans Soda Workshop? Why?
The Trader Joe’s cookbook, only because Trader Joe’s changes their inventory quite often. I would fall in love with a few ingredients and then find out they had been nixed from their inventory. So then I had to revamp (or get rid of) the recipes that used those products.
10. What advice do you have for someone who wants to be a recipe developer and cookbook author?
Find mentors, ask questions and make sure you get down the fundamental basics of cooking through restaurant work, culinary school, or other culinary-driven careers. I feel like that’s essential.
11. What is next for you? Any new projects coming up that you can give us the inside track on?
Ah, I’m putting to bed my latest cookbook that revolves around ethnic restaurants in Queens, NY, where I live. And after that, the process starts all over again as far as working on cookbook proposals, trying to get them sold and then working on a cookbook. The cycle never ends.
Since she could hold a pen and stand on stool to help cook,Andrea Lynn has been writing and cooking, although it took some years to combine these talents professionally. With more than a decade of experience as a writer/editor, a culinary degree, and time logged in a professional kitchen, she is currently a New York City–based food writer and recipe developer. Her recipes have been featured on Serious Eats, Chile Pepper magazine, Better Homes & Gardens’ bookazines, Kiwi magazine’s cookbook, Allergy-Friendly Food for Families, and others. Andrea has edited recipes for MarthaStewart.com, Art Culinaire, Chile Pepper magazine, and cookbooks like Made with Love. She has tested recipes for Food52.com and cookbook authors. Andrea is the author of two cookbooks, The I Love Trader Joe’s College Cookbook and The Artisan Soda Workshop. She is co-author of Knickerbocker Glory: A Chef’s Guide to Innovation in the Kitchen and Beyond which published September 1, 2013. More information about Andrea is available at andrealynnfoodwriter.com.
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