Elizabeth Koch, co-founder of Black Balloon Publishing, combined an alternative rock band, celebrity chefs and food writers to cook up The Recipe Project, a CD-book compilation. Recipes from chefs, such as Mario Batali, Chris Cosentino, David Chang, and others, have been set to music and sung by the band One Ring Zero.
Band member Michael Hearst approached Koch and co-founder Leigh Newman two years ago with the idea. "Michael is Chris' brother-in-law, so he had access to a number of the well-known chefs," said Koch. Hearst wanted to expand on the idea of "the chef as rock star." For instance, Cosentino's Brains and Eggs recipe is a Beastie Boys-style rap song.
Koch and her team created the book with the recipes in print and informative essays from noteworthy food writers. Koch believes that her willingness "to fly against the norm" helps to "break new ground in this type of publishing and to really set ourselves apart." As proof, this holiday season, the company has sold thousands of units to a major book retailer.
"Normally, the larger chains only buy a few hundred of a unit from an indie publisher," she explained. "The Recipe Project is a hard pitch. But once people hear it, everyone, from chefs to children, loves it," she said.
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