When Lidey Heuck got an amazing job after finishing college working with Ina Garten of the popular Barefoot Contessa, she was fairly new to cooking. She’s made a lot of progress over the past ten years. After deeply involving herself in kitchens and the field of creating recipes, the recipe contributor for the New York Times has just published her first cookbook, titled “Cooking in Real Life: Delicious & Doable Recipes for Every Day” (Simon Element, $35).
If you're preparing for a special dinner, like Easter or Mother's day, there's a lot of motivation in its pages, from a slow-cooked salmon dish with lemon, asparagus and leeks to a lemon and rosemary olive oil cake.
We recently caught up with Heuck to learn more about what goes into the craft of writing great recipes — and how to make some of those delicious things.
Q: You began by managing social media for Ina Garten. What do you find intriguing about the importance of cooking and food in social media?
A: It has changed a lot since I started. It wasn't that long ago, but when I graduated from college, it was 2013 and the social media world was focused on Facebook. Instagram had just begun. It still felt like a very new thing and not something that was being used for professional pursuits as much as for sharing with friends. I feel like it has expanded over the last 10 years. It has made food media available to everyone in a way where anyone can share what they love and what they're passionate about, build a following, and create a business. It has been really beneficial for people to be able to pursue a career in recipes.
Q: Did you always enjoy cooking?
A: I did not. I wasn't one of those children who dreamed of being Emeril or on the Food Network. But I enjoyed looking through cookbooks, and I baked a bit as a child. When I was in college, I started cooking with friends, enjoying the togetherness and the enjoyment of planning a meal, cooking, setting the table, and having friends over. I still wasn't aware of the food world as a career path. It just seemed like something that I liked to do. But as I was looking for my next step after I graduated, I realized I had this strange, third-degree connection to Ina Garten. I thought it would be amazing to work for her. I sent her a letter and introduced myself, and she happened to be looking for someone to help her with social media at the time. It was very, very fortunate timing.
Q: Tell me more about what you learned from Ina in your years of working with her.
A: I had never considered a recipe, besides just following a cookbook, before working for her. The process of starting with an idea, refining it, and writing it in a way that is easy to understand, clear and most importantly, that it all works and is able to be made by cooks of all levels — there's so much that goes into that. I've learned a lot of what I know from her. I first started cooking at home, practicing and improving my skills and then gradually began to write my own recipes. It was enjoyable to repeat the things that I learned at work and put my own spin on it.
Q: You’ve had several other jobs related to cooking, creating recipes for the New York Times, working as a prep cook, teaching virtual cooking classes, and serving as a private chef for a family. How have those experiences influenced your approach to developing recipes?
A: Cooking varies depending on the setting. Each of those experiences was very interesting because I got to see how people engage with food. These were all relatively brief positions, except for the New York Times. When I worked at The Lost Kitchen (in Maine), I was preparing food for restaurant guests. The virtual cooking classes were intriguing because I was interacting with people who were making my recipe in front of me, even though we weren't in the same location. It underscored the importance of having a very clear and exciting recipe.
I cooked for a family for a couple of months, and I saw how busy the parents were. They needed help preparing dinner so they could quickly put it together when they got home from work.
All of these different experiences reminded me that when we cook at home, we want simple and delicious food that isn't stressful. There's already enough going on in our lives, so cooking and enjoying food should not feel like a huge task when making dinner for our families each night.
Q: What inspired your cookbook? How did you know you had enough recipes to write a cookbook?
A: It's quite a process. I believe a good cookbook should have recipes that cater to various cooking needs, so the book's theme is quite broad. I started experimenting with recipes that appealed to me, including easy chicken and fish dishes, as well as recipes for vegetarians or those who prefer vegetable-based meals. I enjoy making lists, so I started brainstorming different dishes that should be included in this book, taking those ideas to the kitchen and creating and perfecting those recipes.
Q: If you had to simplify it, what do you think is essential in creating a good recipe?
A: A good recipe doesn't necessarily have a short ingredient list, but it should have an ingredient list without any unnecessary items. It should be focused on the key elements that make the dish special and delicious and should contain easy-to-find ingredients. I live in the Hudson Valley in New York, which is a rural area. As I wrote this book, I was frequently reminded of how limited my access to high-quality groceries was, so I made it a priority to ensure that the ingredients were easily accessible.
I like to strike a balance between providing enough information for the cook to have everything they need without making the recipe excessively long. Every word matters. Lastly, recipe testing is crucial, as is offering tips along the way, whether it's an explanation of the recipe's inspiration at the top or some helpful hints at the bottom. These are all valuable aspects of making someone feel prepared to create the dish.
Q: How do you determine when a recipe is finished?
A: One lesson I learned from Ina is that a big part of it is having confidence in your own taste and judgment: If it tastes right, it’s well-seasoned, and the different parts come together in a sensible way. In some ways, creating a recipe is similar to working on a puzzle. You want everything to fit together and create a seamless, smooth experience. Sometimes there’s a piece you really want to include, because it’s a delectable ingredient or something that would make it feel truly special, but it’s too complicated. It’s about finding the right balance between adding enough ingredients and special touches to make it unique, while still making it easily achievable.
Q: What do you enjoy about making recipes?
A: I enjoy the challenge of starting with an idea, working on it, and eventually feeling successful that I’ve gotten it right. Some of these things take a lot of time, so feeling like I’ve accomplished it is fulfilling. More than that, it’s seeing people make the recipes and savor them with their own families and share photos. That makes me feel like what I’m doing is actually making a difference, and people are creating delicious meals with these recipes. That makes it all worthwhile and it’s definitely the most satisfying part of this.
