Episode 262: #Breaking into Food Writing and Redefining Success with Reem Kassis

Our guest today is a wildly successful food writer who&#8217;s fresh off an appearance on Fresh Air&#8212;and who never &#8220;should&#8221; have written a cookbook at all. (Read on for a recipe.) Here&#8217;s her bio, in her own words:<br/><br/>I grew up a Palestinian in Israel. I went to an American missionary school and by the grace of whatever gods were looking down on me and sheer grit, I came to UPenn for undergrad, where I struggled initially, but kept going until I graduated in the top of my class and went on straight to do my MBA at Wharton. From there, McKinsey, The London School of Economics, The World Economic Forum and, by any measure, a fast track, prestigious career. But I felt disillusioned when I realized I was following the herd and living someone else&#8217;s version of success, not mine. So I turned my back on the whole thing and decided to write a cookbook. <br/><br/>But she did (The Palestinian Table) and now she&#8217;s written another (The Arabesque Table). We talk about the nitty gritty of cookbook publishing along with the things she didn&#8217;t know (and how that helped), why you should just ask and how to convince yourself&#8212;and others&#8212;that you know what you need to know to make this happen.<br/><br/>#AmReading<br/><br/>Reem: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9780399580390">Beyond the North Wind: Russia in Recipes and Lore</a> by Darra Goldstein<br/><br/><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9781616208189">The Mountains Sing</a> by Mai Phan Que Nguyen<br/><br/><a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9781250137777">Your Turn: How to Be an Adult</a> by Julie Lythcott-Haims<br/><br/>KJ: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9781400069989">My Kitchen Year : 136 Recipes That Saved My Life: a Cookbook</a> by Ruth Reichl<br/><br/><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Illustrated-Magazine-All-Time-Chinese-Foolproof/dp/B08461FMWL">Cook&#8217;s Illustrated Chinese Recipes</a> <br/><br/>Sarina: <a href="https://bookshop.org/a/1183/9781607747970">Food52 Genius Recipes: 100 Recipes That Will Cha