SIX things you didn’t know about TAHINI BABY
taking you behind the scenes of creating a cookbook 📚
not to be this mom, but my newest babe, TAHINI BABY, is officially hitting shelves in only FOUR DAYS! how did we get here?! i’ve been anticipating this day for over three years, and it’s hard to describe how surreal it feels. and how different it feels from my first book release in 2020.
as publication day creeps up, there’s never been a better time to show your support with a preorder 🤎 to be completely honest, I had no clue how important preorders were before this book, and it really truly means the world that so many of you have done it already.
it’s easy to downplay the work my team and I put into this book, but developing these 100+ recipes, editing, testing, writing, designing, building out the launch campaign with the in-house marketing and PR team was creatively rewarding and so much work at the same time. we put everything into TAHINI BABY over the last few years and I am so, so excited for these recipes to be in your hands.
as a reminder, anyone who preorders, up until the very day before publication, will get NINE BONUS RECIPES as a special thank you.
if special secret recipes somehow aren’t your thing, you’ll also get access to an exclusive live stream with me on May 13, where we’ll be cooking from the book together, hanging out, and doing fun giveaways with staub, levis, kosterina, little sesame and eden eaats — details to come!
SO WITH ALL THAT SAID – it’s just a better deal when you preorder, so don’t sleep on it. thank you, love you!
also – if you’ve been waiting for a sign to snag your tix to hang with me on BOOK TOUR, this is it 💫
tickets are limited and selling out fast & just a note: april 22nd is my ONLY new york date, and may 12th is my ONLY toronto date for all my local friends x
since I never got to do a book tour for my first cookbook, I’m going all out for this one. it’s going to be a PARTYYYYYY. I got to speak at the Cherry Bombe Jubilee recently, and it was just a taste of what’s to come: meeting you all, dancing non-stop, and making the best memories.
ok, let’s get the party started with some behind-the-scenes goodness.
SIX things you didn’t know about TAHINI BABY
if the scenery looks familiar…that’s because TAHINI BABY was mostly shot in our toronto home, with some special appearances from my mom’s backyard!
writing a book and sharing recipes that hold so much meaning – from my childhood and for my family – is PERSONAL, and it just felt right to shoot in toronto (where I grew up!) an added layer to shooting the book in toronto, was that my first book EATING OUT LOUD was shot in our williamsburg apartment. I wanted to switch things up, especially since we need to pack a huge team into the space and there was definitely more space in toronto.
my eden eats rebrand was my guiding light. after selling TAHINI BABY to avery books, I decided it was time to do a full rebrand on eden eats. I worked with my amazingly talented friend Erin Kleinberg who is the founder of METIER to help me do this. we established the brand colors, font, and overall look and that guided the design for TAHINI BABY. I am so happy we did the rebrand when we did, so now it all looks great together. it was super helpful when it came to finding Chris Bernabeo (photographer), and the greater team who would be able to help me bring this book to life.
it takes a village. a cookbook is so much more than writing recipes and sending them off to print. TAHINI BABY would not have been possible without a hugely talented team of creatives.
first, my absolute angel of a photographer, Chris Bernabeo, who brought such a fresh perspective on food photography. his angles, his use of natural light. he is pure talent and love and has not only become my fave photographer but also my sounding board and a dear friend. I couldn’t have done this without him.
my incredible food stylist, Christopher St.Onge. I knew he was amazing but when he walked into my house, he took over with his experience, vision, and wealth of knowledge. I love watching him work his magic. his touch just brings food to life and his assistants, Allegra and Jackie, hustled and made our 10 recipes a day possible. I was in awe! it was no easy feat and they all managed to make this goal happen.
my prop stylist, Jess Anderson, and her amazing husband Ross, who exceeded all my expectations and on day one, brought in so many props – my house was covered! like no one could fit. her taste is unbelievable. she brought so much edge to the book.
my brilliant co-writer, Rachel Holtzman, made her way to toronto to be part of the party. Rachel is one of the most important people for me in the book process. her name is on the book with mine! she helped me write EATING OUT LOUD, and I knew when it was time to write another book she was the only person I could do it with. we just get each other and honestly, we have the same pallet. she was with me during the entire process from the writing of the book to testing the recipes and going over edits. she’s insanely talented.
no glam, no problem. I really wanted to look and feel like myself in this book, so I didn’t have anyone do glam, and I styled myself. it was actually a really fun process. Chris would help out with clothing selection (he has amazing taste) — so I guess he also did styling? what didn’t he do?!
every single recipe has a picture. if there was one thing I learned from the release of my last cookbook, it’s that people don’t get excited for, or cook the recipes that don’t have a photo attached! we eat with our eyes first and I felt like this was a non-negotiable for my second cookbook. 100+ recipes shot in only 10 days – not an easy feat.
it was always TAHINI BABY or bust. of all the decisions I had to make (and there seemed to be endlessssss decisions!), the name was by far the easiest.
and Renny apparently came up with the name?!? (she reminded me the other week). we were brainstorming names for EATING OUT LOUD in 2019 on a family vacation and TAHINI BABY was on that list. I think we submitted it with EATING OUT LOUD but it didn’t make the cut.
that name obviously stuck with me, and when I drafted up the concept for my second book I just labeled it TAHINI BABY. it has stayed that way ever since. I am so happy I used it for this book.TAHINI BABY represents a lifestyle for me – it summarizes the food style I love, with all the fresh bread, dips, fresh salads, and seasonal veg, eating a feast in your home and layering flavors to elevate those everyday dishes that end up on constant rotation.
any other questions about the cookbook process / how TAHINI BABY came to be? leave them for me in the comments!
I hope this gave you some extra insight into the cookbook-making process, and specifically how much time, love, and thought went into this book.
SEE YOU ALL SO SOON!!!
xo,
e
quick recap: preorder NOW, download your bonus recipes, and join me on my book tour ☀️
bonus recipe instructions right this way…
step 1: click this link for the original five bonus recipes, and this link for the four subscriber-exclusive recipes (aka dips. for. days!)
step 2: for both forms, enter your info + upload your preorder receipt (note: it doesn’t matter where you ordered – or when – you’ll be eligible to receive these bonus recipes!)
step 3: download the PDF (on the confirmation page after you fill out the form) and live, laugh, cook your way into the TAHINI BABY universe ✨
Love this. The book is stunning!! Congrats!🎉
Especially excited to try the Jerusalem bagels and bett hummus! Quick question on the hummus- do you peel the beets after roasting before making the salad or hummus or blend/cut up with peel intact? Thank you!