The Cookbook Writing Masterclass
Everything you need to pitch, write, publish, and sell your cookbook
Most cookbook courses hand you one piece of the puzzle, usually the proposal, because the proposal is where the deal is won, and then they leave you to guess at the rest.
This is the whole story from A-to-Z instead.
It runs from the first spark of an idea through developing and testing recipes, writing a proposal, finding an agent, securing a publisher, understanding your contract, working with a photographer, and launching the finished book into the world.
If it is part of making a cookbook, it is here.
And it is here for writers anywhere in the world. I am Jody Eddy, a James Beard nominated and IACP award winning author of nine cookbooks. I have sat on every side of the table, as an author, editor, recipe developer, and teacher. What I teach is the knowledge that usually stays inside the industry with real world examples of contracts, proposals, and collaborative agreements. This course is for the whole English language market. No matter where you live in the world, this course if for you.
You do not need a finished idea to begin. Some people arrive with a concept they have been thinking about for years, others with nothing but a shelf of well loved cookbooks and a feeling that they might have one in them. Both are good places to start, and there is a way to learn here that meets you where you are.
Four Ways to Learn
Pick the one that fits your goal, your budget, and the pace your life allows. Each builds on the same foundation, so you can start anywhere and add more when you are ready.
Learn in person over three days in a British heritage space
The masterclass taught live in a small, welcoming group in three of Britain's great heritage buildings in Edinburgh and London.
We cover the whole road a cookbook travels from the first glimmer of an idea to the day you hold the finished book in your hands. A different industry guest joins our conversation each day and you will see real proposals, query letters, and contracts to examine and take home. The course also includes a one hour follow-up video consultation, the complete cookbook masterclass blueprint, and kicks off with a cocktail reception the day before at a renowned nearby location.
£650 early bird, then £795. Groups are deliberately small in order to keep the atmosphere focused and intimate. When a course fills a waitlist opens
Edinburgh 25 to 27 November 2026 at the Royal Society of Edinburgh on George Street
London 21 to 23 January 2027 at the Art Workers' Guild in Bloomsbury
The complete blueprint at your own pace
The entire masterclass as a digital course you download and keep forever. More than 120 pages across eleven modules, sixteen worksheets, a full proposal template, and the real documents of this business: the complete proposals that sold two of my books to major publishers, plus anonymized agent, publisher, photographer, and co-writer agreements, and the query letters that started it all. Work through it on your own schedule. $79, instant download, lifetime access.
A small live online course: six Tuesdays from 3 November to 8 December 2026, two hours a session, with weekly homework that builds your proposal section by section.
This is the structured, deadline driven version, and it produces a concrete result: a finished, or very nearly finished, cookbook proposal, the document you need to approach agents and publishers. It also includes real world examples of contracts, query letters, and collaborative agreements along with special industry expert guests, the cookbook masterclass blueprint, and a one-hour one-on-one session following the course.
Capped small for real attention. $595
The online course, six weeks to a finished proposal
When you want a second pair of eyes on your own proposal or book, I offer private coaching, written proposal reviews, and full proposal development, one to one. Bring a rough concept or a near final draft; we start wherever you are. These are the most personal ways to work together and masterclass buyers receive a discount toward all of them.
Work with me one-to-one
If you like to learn on your own time and want the whole picture for the price of a nice dinner, start with the blueprint. If you want a deadline, an engaged group of like-minded people, and a proposal at the end of it, choose the online course. If you would rather step out of your routine and learn in a room full of history and fellow writers, come to one of the in-person masterclasses. And if you already know what you want to write and want focused help on your proposal or book, work with me one to one. Whatever you choose, you can always add another later on.
Not sure which is right for you?
Jody Eddy is a James Beard nominated and IACP award winning author of nine cookbooks, including Elysian Kitchens, Eat Like a Monk, The Hygge Life, Come In, We’re Closed, Chaat, and North. She trained at the Institute of Culinary Education, cooked at Jean-Georges and The Fat Duck, and was executive editor of the culinary magazine Art Culinaire. Her books are published by W.W. Norton, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Clarkson Potter, Ten Speed Press, and Gill. She has taught cookbook writing to students around the world for years. She is the founder of Story Feast Collective and lives in Scotland.
About Jody
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The Cookbook Writing Masterclass teaches the complete process, from developing your idea to selling, writing, and launching your book. You can learn four ways: a self-paced digital blueprint ($79), a six week live online cohort ($595), three-day in-person masterclasses in Edinburgh, London, and Oxford (£650 early bird, then £795), and private one to one coaching and proposal reviews. All are taught by James Beard nominated author Jody Eddy.
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For self-paced learning, the digital blueprint gives you the entire masterclass to keep forever, including real sold proposals and contracts, for $79. If you want structure, deadlines, and a finished proposal at the end, the six week live online cohort meets every week and includes the blueprint with enrollment.
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The self-paced digital blueprint is $79. The six week live online cohort is $595. The three-day in-person masterclasses are £650 early bird, then £795. One to one coaching and proposal reviews are priced individually, and masterclass buyers receive a discount toward them.
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No. Every option is built for complete beginners as well as writers with a concept or a draft proposal in progress. You will find or sharpen your idea as you go, and in the live courses sharing your work aloud is always optional.
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Yes. Everything is taught for the global English language market, drawing on Jody's experience publishing in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. The in-person masterclasses are held in the UK, and the blueprint and cohort are available anywhere in the world.
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Jody Eddy is a James Beard nominated and IACP award winning author of nine cookbooks, including Elysian Kitchens, Eat Like a Monk, The Hygge Life, and North, published by W.W. Norton, Simon & Schuster, Penguin Random House, Clarkson Potter, and Gill. She trained at the Institute of Culinary Education, cooked at Jean-Georges and The Fat Duck, was the Executive Editor of Art Culinaire, and is the founder of Story Feast Collective.