Q+A: Betsy Andrews on Writing 'Coastal: 130 Recipes from a California Road Trip' with Scott Clark
Cookbook celebrates the bounty of the Pacific Coast!
Today, we’re excited to present a Q+A with the award-winning author Betsy Andrews, who wrote Coastal: 130 Recipes from a California Road Trip with Scott Clark for Chronicle Books! It’s honestly one of the most beautiful cookbooks I’ve ever seen.
Tamara Palmer/Food Book Club: What was your process like to create Coastal, and how long did it take?
Betsy Andrews: Long story: I met Scott in 2020 because a PR person who used to send me out to CA to meet a bunch of her clients asked me to meet him at Dad's. I was blown away by the deliciousness of the food, and I really vibed with him. We were talking about all the little spots we love along the Central Coast, and I said wouldn't it be cool to do a road trip story, and he could surf, we'd eat our way along the coast, and it would be super aspirational for readers. I knew the perfect photographer, Cheyenne Ellis. I had done a story in the Peruvian Andes with her, and I knew what a bad ass she was. Fourth-gen Californian, third-gen stunt woman. I thought she was still living in Topanga, but it turned out she was living by then in Half Moon Bay, where Dad's Luncheonette is, because her then-fiance (now husband), Ryan Seelbach, is a Mavericks surfer. So it was kismet. We did the story for Eating Well, and you know, it's a magazine; they take 800 words, 5 recipes, and 10 photos, and we had so much material and loved working together so much, we were like, let's do a book!
We spent a whole year writing the proposal, and we had a graphic artist pal of mine design it, because I wanted editors to feel the book was inevitable, to really see what it could be. We had a bidding war, and Chronicle won out. Then we had a little less than a year, once we signed the contract, to get it all done.
It's all Scott's recipes wrapped around adventures on the Central Coast, all of which we did. Every photo was on location, all natural light. I was on the East Coast for a lot of the recipe dev and writing, so Scott cooked over FaceTime for me, and I'd write the recipes.
Which recipe was the hardest to perfect?
Speaking as the recipe tester, the kimchi failed twice on me before I fully understood the process, but now it's a no-brainer. It's like riding a bicycle. There were a couple recipes that didn't make it in, and one was mushroom biscuits and gravy. Scott's biscuit recipe wasn't working, and he was grinding the mushrooms in a meat grinder, which I found to be a holy mess to work with. (Food processor would have been just fine, really.) In the end, we had to bail on about five recipes to fit the word count, and that one went.
Cheyenne Ellis' photography in the book is stunning! How did this collaboration come about?
See the answer to the first question! I just knew Chey was the photographer for this project. California is so deeply a part of who she is, it's her muse and her backdrop for so much of her work, and she's living the Central Coast lifestyle fully, so it was just authentic. Her eye is so good, so natural. And she's athletic and outdoorsy and flexible enough to do all the things, like shooting on a moving sailboat and in a jeep careening over the Coastal mountains so Scott could shoot a wild boar, etc. Plus, we had so much fun together.
Do you have any favorite cookbooks or food memoirs to recommend to our readers?
Among Scott's favorites are Anthony Bourdain’s Appetites, Josh McFadden’s Six Seasons, Vivian Howard’s Deep Run Roots: Stories & Recipes from My Corner of the South, and Eric Kim’s Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home.
For memoir, I really love Anya von Bremzen's Mastering the Art of Soviet Cooking, Tamara Shopsin's Mumbai New York Scranton, and Sara Roahen's Gumbo Tales: Finding My Place at the New Orleans Table. For cookbooks, whatever my pals are putting out most recently, including Ben Mims' Crumbs, Georgia Freedman's Snacking Dinners, and Clarice Lam's Breaking Bao. Plus, a classic edited by Toni Morrison, Creole Feast, by Nathaniel Burton, Rudy Lombard, and Leah Chase, which surfaces and celebrates the African-American talents behind the development of New Orleans' cuisine.
What are your favorite places to eat in the Half Moon Bay Area? I've been obsessed with Barbara's Fishtrap since I was in high school.
Dad's Luncheonette, of course! But, yes, I also love Barbara's Fishtrap. And Sam's Chowder House for all things Dungeness crab.
Cheyenne's fave for breakfast is Johnny's and for barbecue, Breakwater BBQ.
If you ask Scott where's the best place to eat besides Dad's, he'll just say, "My house!"
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Previously in our Q+A series:
Laura Lee Flanagan on Hardcore Vegetarian: Welcome to the Vegedome! (+ Recipe!)
Tamara Hicks and Jessica MacLeod on Feasts on the Farm
Kathy Fang on House of Nanking's New Cookbook and Famous Fans
Andréa Lawson Gray on Writing a James Beard Award-Winning Cookbook with Rogelio Garcia (+Recipe!)
Soleil Ho on Writing The Memory of Taste with Tu David Phu and New Worker-Owned Media Company COYOTE (+ Recipe!)
Hetal Vasavada on Desi Bakes
Lenny Rosenberg and Adaeze Nwanonyiri on It's a Sweet World: Recipes from Around the Globe at Bea’s Bakery.
Georgia Freedman on Snacking Dinners and Smart Recipe Development
Ying Chang Compestine on Her Graphic Cookbook, Buddha Jumps Over the Wall, and Other Curiously Named Classic Chinese Dishes (+ Recipe!)
Martin Yan Shares His Astonishing 36th and 37th Cookbooks with Us
Tony Ramirez on Backyard BBQ With Fire and Spice
Vanessa Lavorato on How to Eat Weed & Have a Good Time
