Recipes sometimes scare people. They’re afraid to do the wrong thing. This is a shame. Cooking should bring pleasure and a feeling of success, not anxiety and a feeling of failure. A recipe should reflect the voice of the cook – hopefully a wise voice that encourages them to take that leap and create! Cook! Learn and have fun! Good editing can help facilitate this intent into action. If the recipe is approachable on the page, then surely it can find its way into the kitchen.
When I was the Senior Culinary Editor at Food Network for 2 1/2 years, I was challenged with editing recipes written on the fly during production of some shows, and complex chef recipes written for their staff for others. Every day was different, and I learned so much during that time.