Writing About Family Recipes and the Stories Behind Them

"Welcome to The Legacy Project Podcast, where we explore how your life stories—big and small—can become part of a lasting legacy. I’m your host, Don Fessenden, and today we’re stirring up something warm, familiar, and deeply personal: writing about family recipes and the stories behind them.

Food is memory. It’s identity. It’s love passed down in handwritten notes and well-worn cookbooks, often with smudges of flour or a splash of sauce marking the page. Recipes are more than instructions—they’re vessels of tradition, celebration, and connection.

In today’s episode, we’ll talk about how to document your family’s recipes in a way that preserves not only what’s made—but why it’s made, who made it, and the stories those dishes carry with them. Let’s head into the kitchen—through memory—and get started."

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Transcript

Don: 0:12

"Welcome to The Legacy Project Podcast, where we explore how your life stories: big and small: can become part of a lasting legacy. I’m your host, Don Fessenden, and today we’re stirring up something warm, familiar, and deeply personal: writing about family recipes and the stories behind them. Food is memory. It’s identity. It’s love passed down in handwritten notes and well-worn cookbooks, often with smudges of flour or a splash of sauce marking the page. Recipes are more than instructions: they’re vessels of tradition, celebration, and connection. In today’s episode, we’ll talk about how to document your family’s recipes in a way that preserves not only what’s made: but why it’s made, who made it, and the stories those dishes carry with them. Let’s head into the kitchen: through memory: and get started.""I want you to think for a moment about a dish that meant something in your family. Maybe it was your grandmother’s pecan pie, your dad’s chili, your aunt’s tamales, or the soup your mom made when you were sick. You can probably picture it. Smell it. Taste it. But more than that: you remember who made it. And when. Recipes aren’t just about flavor. They’re about presence. They’re reminders of people who gathered around the table, of birthdays, holidays, or simple weeknights when love was served on a plate. That’s why including family recipes in your story matters. It’s not just food: it’s family history, written in butter, spice, and steam.""When you sit down to write about a recipe, begin with the dish: but don’t stop there. Start by writing out the ingredients and instructions. Yes, that matters. But then go deeper. Ask yourself: Who made this dish in your family? When was it served? Was it tied to a holiday, a tradition, or a story? What made it special or even funny or frustrating? One storyteller I worked with wrote about her mother’s famous lasagna. But the real story wasn’t the layers of pasta: it was how the entire family had to stay out of the kitchen while her mother cooked, opera playing in the background, with the family dog standing guard by the oven. That’s what brought the recipe to life. The sounds. The characters. The emotion. A good recipe feeds your stomach. A great recipe story feeds the soul.""When writing about food, bring in the senses. Describe the smell of onions sizzling in a pan, the golden color of crust as it came out of the oven, the feel of dough under your fingertips. Let readers into the kitchen with you. Let them hear your uncle’s loud laugh or your cousin sneaking tastes when no one was looking. Let them feel the chaos of a holiday meal or the quiet magic of late-night leftovers. And don’t be afraid to talk about the imperfections. The time the turkey burned. The cake that fell flat. The year your aunt forgot the sugar. Those moments are just as much a part of the legacy as the flawless meals. Food is never just about food. It’s about people. And people are beautifully imperfect.""If you’re lucky enough to still have access to parents, grandparents, or family friends, ask them for their recipes: and ask them for the stories behind those recipes. Call your grandmother and ask her how she learned to make that pie crust. Ask your dad what spices he uses in his barbecue and why. Ask your mother what meal she missed most from her childhood. Re-cord the conversation. Write it down. Take pictures. Gather scraps of paper with handwriting that’s starting to fade. These small pieces become sacred when they’re gone. And if the recipe is‘a little of this, a pinch of that,’ don’t worry. That’s part of the charm. That’s how legacy cooking works. Sometimes it’s not about measurements: it’s about intuition and memory.""Once you’ve gathered a few recipes and the stories behind them, consider creating something permanent: a family recipe journal, a digital archive, or even a printed book. Include: The name of the dish The family member who made it A story or memory tied to the recipe Photos of the food or the people who made it One family I worked with created a cookbook that spanned four generations. Every page had a recipe and a reflection: sometimes even a scanned image of the original recipe card or a family photo at the dinner table. It wasn’t just a cookbook. It was a time capsule. The best part? They gifted copies to the entire family at Christmas. And now, their great-grandchildren are cooking dishes their great-grandmother once made by hand, decades ago.""As we close today’s episode, I want to leave you with this invitation: choose one family recipe this week, and write about it. Not just what goes in it: but who made it, when, why, and what it meant. Include the sights, the sounds, the laughter: or even the tension: that surrounded it. Your family’s story isn’t just in what’s said around the table. It’s in the food on it. If you need more guidance on writing your family’s stories: through food or otherwise: check out my book, The Legacy Project: A Guide to Sharing Your Story. And connect with me online: I’d love to hear what you’re cooking up. Thank you for joining me on The Legacy Project Podcast. Your family’s flavors, memories, and meals are worth preserving. Start writing, start sharing, and leave your mark. I’ll see you next time."