I know cooking in a kitchen kind of sucks–even if you like cooking at home, you probably won’t like the constant stress and rush and danger of cooking in a professional kitchen.
How about cookbook writing, though? Does this also suck? What are the drawbacks, what are the expectations, how does it work, is it hard to break into without a restaurant-related resume of some sort?
If you like cooking (and creating new recipes) and you like writing, what are your chances of enjoying and/or being successful at cookbook writing?
Cookbook writing sucks too, mainly due to the huge number of people who want to do it. Theres a thread on egullet which has input from several well known cookbook writers like Michael Ruhlman (French Laundry, Soul of a Chef etc.), Anthony Bourdain (Kitchen Confidential, Les Halles cookbook), Paula Wolfert (The Slow Mediterranean Kitchen).
If you have a unique angle or niche and your a good writer, it’s possible to achieve a moderate amount of fame although probably not financial independance from cookbook writing. A common entry point is also to start off with smaller pieces of food writing and then work your way up.