Food is art. Yes. But it’s also science. A list of ingredients does not a perfect recipe make. They must be carefully weighed, measured, and manipulated to create THE perfect all-around recipe, from how it’s written to how it tastes. Testing and re-testing and testing again is the only way to ensure it will work again and again, no matter who tries it or what their level of expertise.

Developing a recipe starts with a concept – mine or a client’s – or even a particular ingredient or product, a cooking technique, or a season. There are endless possibilities. Once a starting point presents itself, then the creative process meets the recipe testing skills and the hours of tinkering in the kitchen begin. Scales, measuring cups, rulers – all necessary to capture the information along the way. The end result? Hopefully a recipe that inspires someone to cook.

  • Liz offers a very rare combination of capabilities that makes all manner of culinary productions– cookbooks, classes, television shows– more professional than they would have been without her input. Liz contributed as a recipe tester and developer, and researcher to three of my cookbooks. Her decade plus of experience creating and editing recipes with the kitchen cook in mind made for three better books. She is thorough, thoughtful, and constructively critical. Plus, Liz is clear, honest, funny and easy to work with.

    Tara Mataraza Desmond
    Writer, cookbook author, recipe developer

  • Liz knows food. But she is also constantly improving her skills and expanding her knowledge base. I can always depend on her for a job well done.

    Mory Thomas
    Food Network Kitchens, Director of Culinary Development

Recipe Development Clients


Recipe Testing Clients


league_of_kitchensOne of my very favorite affiliations is with the League of Kitchens, “an immersive culinary adventure in NYC where immigrants teach intimate cooking workshops in their homes.” I work with the instructors weeks before they begin teaching to watch and record them cooking two menus (one vegetarian). These are incredible home cooks who rarely use a recipe. I’ve developed a few tricks to translate their “pinch of this, pinch of that” method of cooking. Then I try to recreate the dishes at home before writing up the recipes for the students to receive at the classes. It’s a deeply fulfilling experience learning from these women and hearing their stories. Not to mention the exposure to foods and cultures I’ve never experienced before.

Some of the cookbook authors I’ve tested recipes for:

Almost Meatless
Choosing Sides
Full Belly
Latin American Street Food
Pierogi