What's Happening This Week
Monday, June 15, 2026
Hello everyone!
Here’s what’s happening in Mastermind For Food Writers this week!
Mastermind for Food Writers: Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific
We have our first guest speaker for our Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacfic monthly meeting.
I am delighted to announce that Felicity Spector, a British journalist, author of the book Bread and War and writer of a Substack publication Flour Power, will be joining us to talk about her book and about other things related to food in Ukraine.
DATE: June 17: 8am BST / 9 am CET
Meeting hosted by Liza Debevec
Follow this link to register for this meeting: https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/6dkmrvP4RFeYBZzv3q9loA
After you register for the meeting, you will receive an email that will allow you to add the meeting to your calendar in your time zone.
Please register a day in advance if possible, to make sure you get the meeting link on time and to avoid ‘waiting at the door’.
I hope to see many of you in the meeting and if you can’t attend due to the time zone or other commitments, I will do my best to record the meeting and share the recording in a follow up post.
The Visual Language of Food Photography
In last week’s mastermind meeting, Jessie-Sierra; The Last Bite, Shelly Waldman, and I talked about how light, shadow, color, texture, styling, composition, and human elements can shape the story a photo tells.
Unfortunately, there was a technical glitch that prevented the meeting from being recorded.
The good news is that the three of us are teaching this same class for the Write Up Community later this month. So, if you missed the meeting today, I hope you’ll join us for this FREE class on June 30.
FREE: Intro to the Visual Language of Food Photography
This session is designed for food writers and recipe developers who want a deeper understanding about how to control the look and feel of their photos. You’ll learn how elements like lighting direction, styling, perspective, and the human element can influence the feeling of a photo and help communicate your brand, your recipe, and your story.
Two Class Recordings Available Now
SEO: Build a Bridge From Your Work To Your Readers
This recording includes the first 90-minute teaching session of our two-session course, SEO: Build a Bridge From Your Work to Your Readers. In this class, Rebecca Blackwell helps food writers understand SEO not as a technical burden or a game to be won, but as a practical way to help the right readers find your recipes, stories, newsletters, and posts. You’ll learn what SEO means now, how AI is changing discoverability, why human-centered content matters more than ever, and how to make small, strategic choices that help your work travel farther and keep working for you over time.
*The recording comes with a 28 page workbook to guide you through creating your personalized SEO strategy.
Creative Recipe Writing: How to Write Recipes with Voice, Humor, and Story
This recording includes the first 90-minute teaching session of our two-session course. In this class, we teach the techniques of creative writing that can infuse recipes with personality, point of view, humor, and story. We talk about why creative recipe writing matters more than ever in a crowded publishing landscape, how storytelling can deepen a reader’s connection to your work, and what it looks like to bend the traditional recipe form without losing clarity or usefulness.
Through specific examples from cookbooks, newsletters, and food media, this session offers practical ideas for bringing more of your humanity to the page and writing recipes that readers remember.
Links and Resources
If you’d like to volunteer to teach a mini-masterclass at an upcoming Mastermind Meeting, please sign up here!
If you’re not listed in the Directory, leave a comment on the Directory with your name and publication and I’ll get you added!
Community Resources: A revolving list of resources from food writers for food writers
Collaboration Network: Find other substack food writers to collaborate with
The Mastermind for Food Writers chat is a great place to connect with other food writers on Substack.
About your meeting hosts
Rebecca Blackwell is a writer, recipe developer and food photographer who publishes two recipe websites and a Substack newsletter. Her and her husband are nomads without a home base but with many modes of transportation, namely an RV, a motorcycle, and a sailboat. Rebecca write recipes and stories for curious people who believe experiences are more important than things and who want more adventure.
Liza Debevec is a social anthropologist, African studies specialist, and career/life coach. She writes two Substack publications that bring together her love of stories, food, languages, and personal growth. Originally from Slovenia, Liza now lives in Lisbon, Portugal, after many years in Ethiopia, Burkina Faso, and other corners of the world. Her work is inspired by the ways people connect through meals, words, and meaningful conversations.
Looking forward to the Europe, Africa, Asia replay, @lizadebevec.