June 2005

HERITAGE COOKBOOK

I'm sure you've got recipes handed down by relatives, given to you by friends or discovered on holidays. Susan had an Aha moment and came up with a great way of publishing in small quantities. She tells us how it began ...

Some of us don't come from families with long gastronomic traditions. To tell the truth, the culinary highlights of my childhood were the weekly visits to my Grandmother's house for lunch because she made Jell-O. I was nine years old.

I was so proud of my Grandmother. She made magnificent 3-color Jell-O desserts: tall, glistening, sparkling rainbows poured into tall skinny glasses - never in bowls, where you wouldn't get the full effect of the contrasting stripes. At the time, I didn't realize that this did not put me squarely in the same category as those worldly children who ate tiramisu or pecan pie or mousse au chocolat or exotic tropic fruit.

I grew up and I didn't know how to cook! So I started by buying one of those magazine specials - you know the type - 4 classic cookbooks for $20.00. I was desperate! When I got married and we lived in Portugal and then France. The markets were so wonderful and the food was so fresh that shopping became a daily adventure and learning to love cooking just happened little by little.

Over the years, I've been a full time mom, a teacher and a fundraiser. As 2002 drew to a close, intuition said it was time to start a new project. I knew I wanted to create something useful, - something, which would bring people together.

You know how they say you can have good ideas in the middle of the night? I literally sat up and said "AHA!" HeritageCookbook.com was born at 3:30 AM on a cold night in February. Then it took just over a year and a half to build it.

How it Works

HeritageCookbook.com is a tool for creating a cookbook with pictures, stories and recipes. When the cookbook is completed – it is transferred electronically and printed in 5-10 business days. There is a minimum order of just 5 books, which are printed in black and white or colour in 2-3 weeks. They may contain up to 350 pages, have laminated full colour covers, are spiral bound and measure 6” x 9.”

It is extremely simple to use as the program automatically formats the book as you enter the information and there is a free trial period. The membership fee is just $29.95 for 2 months, $39.95 for 4 months or $59.95 for a year for one person or for a whole team. Printing costs vary according to the number of pages in the book – we actually count each page and only charge for your own specific number. Prices vary according to the quantity ordered. We can print from just 5 books to 1000’s of books. Special orders can be hard bound

The site also offers graphics in the form of vintage post cards, interesting designs and old photos and are free for members to include in their cookbooks.

A Gourmet Report on the best places to buy food on the Internet as well as a Helpful Resources page with recommended places to find unusual information on food are also to be found on the site.