Episode Summary What happens when a sous vide nerd falls hard for a war college full of dragons? You get a cookbook. This week we sit down with Chelsea Cole, the mind behind A Guide to the Kitchen Quadrant, the (unofficial) Fourth Wing cookbook that is embossed, spot glossed, and frankly prettier than most things in our houses. We get into how you build a recipe out of four passing food mentions, why aesthetic is the entire point, and how she turns a book launch into a full night at Basgiath (axe throwing, a maker's market, and a marketplace throne included). Come hungry. Leave manifesting Rebecca Yarros's phone number. In This Episode How a cookbook actually gets made, from 30 recipe testers to chapter intros to dragon scale cover texturesWriting recipes when the source material only mentions food four timesPicking a whole flavor world (hello, Southern European Navarre) to make a fan cookbook feel cohesiveFan lore as an ingredient: Jesinia's margin notes, Segale's chardonnay, Broccoli the kittenTurning launches into immersive events that actually sell outThe working author-parent reality: 5am writing, meal planning a month at a time, and treating it like a business, not a hobbyWhy fan-first beats source-accurate every time (the rabbit stew is beef, sorry)About Chelsea Cole Chelsea Cole is a cookbook author, food blogger, and photographer who has been running her sous vide site A Duck's Oven for over a decade. She wrote Everyday Sous Vide and Sous Vide Meal Prep, and she teaches other writers how to make cookbooks through her course, The Cookbook Lab. A devoted Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros fan, she has turned her fandoms into a growing shelf of unofficial fan cookbooks, the newest being A Guide to the Kitchen Quadrant, a 60-recipe tribute to the Empyrean series (Fourth Wing, Iron Flame, and Onyx Storm) from Simon & Schuster. She lives outside Portland, Oregon, where she develops recipes before sunrise and raises two very small humans. Links Get A Guide to the Kitchen Quadrant: https://a.co/d/0byRi0KaChelsea on Instagram: @chel.seacoleA Duck's Oven: aducksoven.comThe makers from Chelsea's launch market (ceramics, embroidery, hand-forged daggers, and more): @brujos_brewing @elviejonpdx @domestic_science @saltandstemware @stephiepredmore @faithhead99 @lindsaystranniganFollow Along Loved this one? Send it to the friend whose TBR is 90% romantasy. Then do us a favor and follow Margs & Manuscripts on Apple Podcasts and leave a review. It genuinely moves the needle on who finds the show. Website: margsandmanuscripts.comInstagram: @margsandmanuscriptsBooks featured on this podcast are sometimes provided free by publishers or authors. Keywords Fourth Wing cookbook, Chelsea Cole, A Guide to the Kitchen Quadrant, Rebecca Yarros, The Empyrean, Iron Flame, Onyx Storm, Basgiath, romantasy, fan cookbook, unofficial cookbook, cookbook author, cookbook writing, sous vide, book launch, self-publishing, indie author, bookish podcast, books and writing podcast, A Court of Thorns and Roses
