Cynthia Nims

After 15 years working in a variety of arenas that relate to recipes, cookbooks, culinary culture and food writing, I am launching a new consulting arm of my business with which I can provide a range of services for a broad range of applications.

If you need help developing recipes or creating food or beverage related text for a promotion or editorial project, I can be of service. If you need a hand in bringing your cookbook idea to life, I'm here to help. If you need specialty editing for a book already in production, I may just have the experience you need.

Cookbook Consulting

In addition to the ten cookbooks of my own that I've written, I have consulted on over two dozen other cookbooks over the past 15 years.

technical editing for culinary accuracy [Seafood Cooking for Dummies, Cooking for Dummies Vol. 2]
Americanization of original English/Australian cookbooks [Noodle, Bread Tomato Garlic, Martin Yan's Invitation to Chinese Cooking, Herb and Spice Handbook]
project editing [Celebrate the Rain (Seattle Junior League), Baked Alaska: Recipes for Sweet Comfort from the North Country, Alaska Seafood Heritage Cookbook, Pasta & Co. Encore]
Northwest food traditions contributor [Williams-Sonoma Savoring America; Culinaria: The United States]
private projects [individuals wishing to produce a cookbook for family or personal distribution have turned to me to help make their books a reality]

"Producing a successful cookbook involves far more than most people realize. Our research indicated that many recipes in published cookbooks simply don't work for home cooks. Luckily, we found Cynthia, whose all-round knowledge of food and cooking, combined with journalistic skills and tremendous attention to detail, assured that all of our recipes passed the test."

— Brendan O'Farrell
co-author Brothers in the Kitchen: A Celebration of Friendship and Fine Food

Cookbook Proposals

If you have a great idea for a cookbook that you want to pursue, but just don't know where to begin, I can help. I've written many cookbook proposals over the years and have just the experience to help mold and shape your idea into a concise proposal to help attract the attention of an agent or publisher.

I can offer services in these areas:

brainstorming focus of a project
work drafting a formal cookbook proposal
assistance fine-tuning, editing and testing recipes to be included
help connecting with agents and/or publishers

Recipe Development

Creating new recipes is one of the greatest joys I have in my work, applying the core culinary skills I've learned over the years to any number of creative applications to suit a wide range of needs.

Examples of recent recipe development I've done include:

Recipe development for food producers/distributors such as Domex and Kwik'pak Fisheries on the Yukon River, for use in marketing and promotional outlets
Development of consumer recipes in such national publications as Cooking Light magazine and Sam's Club's Source magazine.

Marketing Projects

I'm available to brainstorm and create copy and/or recipes for any number of food or beverage related needs. As one example, I developed specific flavor profiles for different apple varieties and later created detailed recommendations of compatible flavors and ingredients for each apple variety.

"We have worked with Cynthia on two separate projects that really set us apart from our competition. She understood our vision and ran with it to create unique programs that were exactly what we were looking for. I would recommend her to anyone (except my competition) that has a project that is out of the ordinary. She really understands how to market food and write about it in a way that makes sense to consumers."

— Loren Queen, Marketing and Communications Manager
Domex Superfresh Growers, Yakima, WA

Speaker

Highlights of speaking engagements I have made recently include:

Speaker for the 2004 Washington Dietetic Association Annual Conference, "The Story of Washington State Foods"
Keynote speaker International Foodservice Editorial Council Seattle conference, November 2003, addressing "What's Hot? What's Classic? What's Up-and-Coming in Seattle?"
Featured guest speaker for fundraisers such as Planned Parenthood in Bellingham, Washington, and the Olympic Medical Center auction in Port Angeles, Washington
Speaker/moderator at three conferences of the International Association of Culinary Professionals, on subjects of salmon aquaculture, fish flavor profiles and crab.

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