In this episode of "Makers of Minnesota," host Stephanie interviews guest Rachel Ingber, founder of heirloomcollab.com. Rachel specializes in helping individuals preserve their family recipes and heirlooms by creating personalized cookbooks. She discusses her journey of creating a cookbook for her husband's grandmother and how the positive reception from family and friends inspired her to turn this into a business. Rachel explains the process of collecting recipes from clients, collaborating on book design and content, and the option of including photographs. The episode delves into the emotional aspect of preserving family traditions and the practicalities of pricing and logistics in creating these heirloom cookbooks. Additionally, Rachel shares insights into her own passion for food, photography, and family, making the episode a heartwarming exploration of the importance of culinary traditions.

EPISODE TRANSCRIPT FOLLOWS:

Stephanie [00:00:16]:

Hello, everybody, and welcome to Dishing with Stephanie's dish, the podcast where we talk to people about food, that work in food, that love food. And I'm here today with Rachel Ingber, and she is the founder of a company called heirloomcollab.com. And I'm super excited to talk to her because what she helps you do is she helps you put your family Peas, your heirlooms, your treasured grandma Jane's pie recipe into a format that You can use it either for just having this like a word document situation or she'll help you actually put it into a book. Rachel, this is so needed and so excited to talk to you because I feel like this is such a lovely thing that you can offer people. How did you get started?

Rachel [00:01:06]:

Yeah. I'm excited to talk to you as well. I actually started, By creating a cookbook for our family, I created, in 2019, a cookbook honoring, my husband's grandmother's recipes. She had, was about to turn 100. I gave it to her for her 1 100th birthday, and she was super renowned in the family for her cooking and baking. And, originally, I just wanted the recipes for myself, and so I started collecting them over the years and, had this idea of, like, taking pictures of each item and making it look like a real cookbook. And so after I had finished that book for her, The whole family wanted a copy, and I think we ended up having over a 100 family and friends, request to get a copy of the book. And she ended up passing away later, that following year, but it became this Really amazing tribute to her and so nice and lovely that we were able to cook her food whenever we missed her and have her cookbook sitting out with her picture on it.

Rachel [00:02:12]:

So Yes. The idea of starting to do it for other people and their families as well kind of spurred as this COVID, side hustle project, just to kind of to pass it forward.

Stephanie [00:02:28]:

What was one of the recipes in your grandma's cookbook that stands out to you that you love?

Rachel [00:02:34]:

Yeah. My favorite recipe, oh, it's Probably a tie. Her apple crisp, I make for, probably almost all of our family holiday gatherings, And my father-in-law even request it for his birthday these days. And then her chocolate chip cookies. Like, it's just Such a classic amazing cookie, and those are probably the go to. When we're missing her, we make her cookies, and they're just the greatest.

Stephanie [00:03:03]:

So people did how do they give you these recipes? Like, do they put them in a word document and then send them your way? Or, Like, what this is such a I write cookbooks, so it's such a challenging process. I'm I'm curious how you take, Like these heirlooms, and you condense them and get them into a form where these people can use them in a book.

Rachel [00:03:24]:

Yeah. So when I meet with a client. We have a consultation, and, it's actually quite simple. They can create a Google Drive for them to share their recipes with me, And it could be anything from something already typed up in Word if they keep track of that, or sometimes it's them just photographing their handwritten index cards. Especially a lot of my older clients aren't, like, savvy to retype them. So they'll drop those over me, and then I will type them all up for them and, collaborate with them on, you know, what sections they want, how many of the recipes they wanna include, Which ones they would like to be photographed? I do all the photography as well. And together, we collaborate to make that cookbook.

Stephanie [00:04:08]:

So last year, how many books do you think you made?

Rachel [00:04:12]:

I think last year, I made probably around 10 throughout the year. And I previously, we've been work doing this part time. As I said, it started with a side hustle, and then In late fall, just decided to sorta do this a little bit more full time. So hoping to ramp up even more business this year.

Stephanie [00:04:32]:

How have you figured out how many books you think you can do in a year? Because just the I I'm working on a book right now, and just the idea of writing 10 cookbooks, I'm like, oh, that's so much work.

Rachel [00:04:44]:

You know, I haven't had to put a number on it. So far, I haven't needed to turn anybody away. I've been really fortunate to be able to squeeze things in and make time, but, I think I'm fortunate in that A lot of the hard part is done because the clients are the ones that are supplying the recipe and supplying the the stories and the introduction that goes along. I know in New York, Cookbook is so beautifully written that must have, been such a labor of love to write out those stories and be really thoughtful. And, so I'm lucky that that that part of the work is on the client for me.

Stephanie [00:05:20]:

So when you It it seems like I just looked at your kinda pricing on your website, and I'm sure this varies depending on the complexity of the project. But, You know, like, you can get it looks like a pretty good sized book with some good family recipes, like, for under $5,000 all in with Pictures and everything. I mean, when you think about that to have it in your family and an heirloom like that, it's that's a that feels really reasonable to me.

Rachel [00:05:49]:

Yeah. I mean, it is a lot of work. Like I said, I go through and I edit every recipe. I try to translate it so that it's, so that future generations will be able to easily make it. Things won't need to be memorized. And then for all the items that are photographed, For folks that are local, they have the option. They can either make or cook the dish, and I'll come over and photograph them in a few different sessions, or I can do it all. And I that is what I do for, clients of mine that aren't local.

Rachel [00:06:19]:

So, The actual cooking of the dishes and the styling and taking shots of it, that can end up taking a lot of work. So, that's kind of what makes the price, the way it is. It is it's certainly not a cheap, inexpensive gift, but it's something that I have a lot of clients that Go in with, like, their siblings and give it together as as a, gift for their parents' birthday or anniversary.

Stephanie [00:06:45]:

Yeah.

Rachel [00:06:46]:

And it typically works out well that way. But, yeah, as you mentioned, it's, something that their whole family will be able to pass down and be able to share those with future generations, and order more cookbooks whenever they want. You can have unlimited number of copies of it.

Stephanie [00:07:03]:

Do you find that People more often than not make the recipe and have you photograph it, or do they want you to make it?

Rachel [00:07:11]:

Honestly, it's about 5050, of folks that want that control and wanna be able to make it the way that they make it, And that works out just fine. It's sometimes it's nice that I can even if I'm coming to their house or kitchen to photograph, it's in their dishes. So it's Set up the way that they always would serve it. Whereas when I'm the one doing it, I get to take a little bit more creative license, and make it You know, style it beautifully, and, it it turns out beautiful either way. But, it's about 5050 in what a client wants. And then we're separate to

Stephanie [00:07:46]:

Do you have to warehouse, like, dishes and different things for styling purposes?

Rachel [00:07:52]:

I do. Yes. I have, like a little mini prop studio in my house, and then I also have, like, backboards, and stuff that I travel with. So when I go to a client's home, it's not necessarily even taken in their kitchen. I find the place with the best light in their house, And I set up, you know, a fake wooden table or, different countertops, and take photos that way.

Stephanie [00:08:18]:

Yeah. It's people don't think about, like, all of the weird styling that has to happen for these books. When you are doing, like, a lot of our grandma's recipes have ingredients that people don't really have anymore, like one of the ones that comes to mind is olio. I don't know if you've ever come across any recipes with Olio, which is basically just like a Crisco or a lard. But do you just make substitutions on those then or try to modernize Sam?

Rachel [00:08:46]:

So I always ask. That's part of the collaboration, process, but I will ask the client, do you want me to say margarine or butter or Crisco, or do you want me to use the initial, original terminology? Same with, like I see a lot of, like, number 10 cans or whatever that of canned vegetables. So we always discuss that up front, and if they want it to be true to how it was originally written or modernize so that anyone can follow it in the future.

Stephanie [00:09:15]:

Has this set a fire in you to write your own book?

Rachel [00:09:20]:

I haven't really thought about doing that, yet. I I love cooking. I love cookbooks. I've been experimenting a lot with gluten free lately. My son, about a year and a half ago, was diagnosed with celiac disease. So That's been something I've been doing personally a lot is converting all of my favorite recipes to be gluten free for him. And so that's kind of been fun, but I haven't had the I haven't thought of yet making a cookbook of them.

Stephanie [00:09:50]:

It is. So, I mean, you're lucky in that, You know, somebody being gluten free so long ago, they didn't even know, number 1. Number 2, there weren't substitutions of flour and and different things like there are now. So that's so nice. And so many of the recipes, we know all the tricks to, like, translate things beautifully.

Rachel [00:10:11]:

Yes. I feel incredibly fortunate that, we're living in the age where it's so common, and, grocery stores have a lot of ingredients. So, and I'm lucky that I like to cook. So Yeah. It actually makes the the the eating at home is Quite easy. It's eating out at restaurants, so it is more challenging for us. But, but, yeah, he's he's lucky to have me are venting in the kitchen a lot.

Stephanie [00:10:36]:

Do you have some favorite restaurants that you go to that offer gluten free things?

Rachel [00:10:41]:

Well, because he's only 8 and has very kids like palate. His favorite right now is actually Redstone. Sure. He likes he's a big French fry lover, so we look for restaurants that have, like, a dedicated gluten free fryer. That's one of his main, prerequisites. But in terms of, like, more mature taste, I really love Colita. That Menu is a 100% gluten free, so is HiHi. So there's lots of really awesome options out there.

Stephanie [00:11:14]:

Yeah. You mentioned 2 of my favorites. My friend Jolene is working at HiHi and revamping and creating some new menu items that just look fantastic. It's incredible.

Rachel [00:11:26]:

I'm going there this week. Yeah.

Stephanie [00:11:28]:

It's super delicious. So when we talk about cookbooks, are there some favorites that stand out to you that you find yourself going to, Like or that you just love or think are so beautiful?

Rachel [00:11:39]:

Absolutely. I I'm a sucker for, like, color and herbs and stuff, so, I think that those Often will make photos really pop, just some added fresh herbs on top of dishes. But, yeah, I have a lot of favorites that I have kind of adopted over the years of doing this. Kind of one of the perks of doing it is I get to borrow people's recipes. But, yeah, we eat, a lot of chicken, a lot of salmon. I do meatballs at least once a week from scratch for my family. So we've had Lots of favorites.

Stephanie [00:12:19]:

I'm looking behind you, and I see my cookbook on your shelf.

Rachel [00:12:23]:

Yeah. It's up there.

Stephanie [00:12:25]:

I see it. It's so cute. But it's also next to, like, salad freak. Like, if you think about a book that is just so beautiful visually, like that book. And and I don't cook out of it as much as I would like to because I liked the recipes in there. I'm just like it's just such a beautiful book. And I'm a sucker too for, like There's a lot of Mexican and Indian cookbooks out right now that they're just so vibrant on the the front covers. Do you shoot the covers for your books too?

Rachel [00:12:54]:

Yes. So, typically, it is one of the dishes that I photograph that goes on the cover. Or, if the person that we're is still alive. I'll take their portrait. So I have, yeah, a couple a few words. The person that we're showing Picture on the front of the cover.

Stephanie [00:13:14]:

Oh, I just love this. I think it is so great. And, You know, there are services that do this where you can upload files and but the idea of you giving, like, a real personal experience and walking them through it and then also making the dishes, like and making it like a professional book. I just think it's So cool. So people can start out and get information about you at heirloomcollab.com, And you've got some, like, beginning price points there. I'm sure depending on the level of complexity, you'll figure out whatever needs to happen. Do you, like I would imagine that's kinda hard to figure out all the pricing. Like, were you upside down at first when you started just in time? I would imagine you would be.

Rachel [00:14:01]:

Yeah. So I actually give every single client a custom quote based on the things that they actually wanna include in their book. And the way that I price it is really just on number of total recipes and how many are gonna be photographed. That is the bulk of what indicate dictates my time. So all of the things other things I include, like taking photographs of those handwritten original note cards or incorporating family photos and stories, I do that. I just incorporate that into the project and know that's gonna coming. But that way, I don't have to a la carte every little thing, and you it can be a little bit more of a full service model. So I had just have, like, a equation that I use to kind of price those out, but the website is really meant to give people an idea, a starting point of the types of, like, packages, if you will, that we can provide.

Stephanie [00:14:56]:

And I love that because it allows you as a family to make a decision because it's an investment. But, Like, okay. How are we gonna work this out, and do we wanna do it? And I just yeah. I'm a big fan of what you do. You showed me one of your books. That's just so sweet. And if people are looking for this service, it sounds like Rachel can take on some more work. So go ahead and, I'll put your links in the show notes, and people can follow-up with you.

Stephanie [00:15:22]:

And let her know that Stephanie's dish sent you just because it's always good. I I'm just crazy about your service. Honestly, I found you online. I saw on Instagram, and I was like, wait. There's a lady that does this for people. This is amazing because it's an undertaking.

Rachel [00:15:38]:

Yeah. Thank you. I love it so much. Honestly, my Passions have always been around, like, food, photography, and families. So the being able to tie all 3 of those together in this thing called work is incredible.

Stephanie [00:15:51]:

Yeah. Oh, you're so great. It's nice to meet you too. Thanks for coming on the program. I really appreciate it.

Rachel [00:15:56]:

Nice to meet you too.

Stephanie [00:15:57]:

Alright. We'll talk soon.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit stephaniehansen.substack.com/subscribe