Molly and Andrea speak with the iconic culinary historian Dr. Jessica B. Harris about her career and newest work, Braided Heritage. After discussing the 'more' than recipes that make a cookbook a cookbook, Dr. Harris also shares why this book is important at this point and what interested her about this topic and format. She speaks about the backbeat that motivated the entire project, how she went about commissioning stories and recipes from other people and why each genre she writes in requires her to wear a different hat. She talks about the long process of the book's creation, how her experience in academia informed it, the advice she has for future generations and her thoughts on being labeled an 'activist'.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

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Jessica Harris

• Instagram

High on the Hog Netflix Show

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Braided Heritage by Jessica Harris
• High on the Hog by Jessica Harris
• A Kwanzaa Keepsake and Cookbook by Jessica Harris
• Iron Pots & Wooden Spoons by Jessica Harris
• more Jessica Harris titles here

Kate and Molly speak with author and photographer Aran Goyoaga about her new, groundbreaking book The Art of Gluten Free Bread. Aran talks about her experience as a pastry chef, where her gluten free journey began and starting her blog Cannelle et Vanille. She discusses the inspiration behind this new book, the research & development process and how her inexperience with bread was actually an advantage. With the wide variance of gluten free flours on the market, Aran talks about the importance of beginning the book with a guide with the hopes that readers will eventually riff on her recipes and why she insisted on metric measurements. She gets into the photography process, how she arranged the photo schedule around rigorous testing and why it could get lonely at times. Finally she shares some hopes she has for the book, where she wants to see it on the shelf and what she plans for the future.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Join The Local Palate Cookbook Club

Aran Goyoaga

• Website
• Instagram
• Cannelle et Vanille

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• The Art of Gluten Free Bread by Aran Goyoaga
• Cannelle et Vanille by Aran Goyoaga
• Cannelle et Vanille Bakes Simple by Aran Goyoaga

Kristin, Molly, Andrea and Kate look back at the cookbook media landscape of 2025 and discuss the Anthropic settlement, their thoughts about AI in the food media sphere and share their inclinations about its usage. Each of the hosts share some wins they had this year with Kristin speaking about working on the Turtle Island book and Andrea joining in to share her thoughts on finding balance in collaboration projects. With a dash of astrology and numerology each host reveals what keeps them following this creative path and what they've let go of over the years along with the role persistence and perseverance plays in this journey. Finally they end the episode by sharing some of the books, people and ideas they are excited to follow into 2026.

Hosts: Kate Leahy + Molly Stevens + Kristin Donnelly + Andrea Nguyen

Editor: Abby Cerquitella

Mentions

Join The Local Palate Cookbook Club

Anthropic Settlement

AI Duped My Cookbook and Made a Mess, by Adam Erace

Kristin Donnelly on Co-Writing One of the Year's Biggest Books from Cookbookery Collective

Visit the Everything Cookbooks Bookshop to purchase a copy of the books mentioned in the show

• Turtle Island, by Sean Sherman. Kate Nelson & Kristin Donnelly
• Heart Shaped Tin, by Bee Wilson
• Feast on Your Life, by Tamar Adler
• On Eating, by Alicia Kennedy
• The Last Sweet Bite by Michael Shaikh