u/BeneficialMeat2181

A little update on Mongolian Kitchen!

Been working on the cookbook again and made quite a few changes based on the feedback I received from this community.

• Increased the font size, since several people suggested that the original text was too small
• Moved the recipe page numbers from the centre to the corners
• Reworked the overall layout and spacing
• Made the sample PDF use the exact same layout and design system I'm using inside the actual book

I'm getting very close to launching the Kickstarter, so I'm treating these sample recipes as a final opportunity to get some feedback before the book is locked in.

I've made 3 recipes available as a PDF. If you download them, I'd really appreciate it if you could look at the layout as well as the recipes and let me know what you think.

Things I'd especially love feedback on:

Is the text comfortable to read?
Does the recipe layout feel clear and easy to follow?
Is anything confusing or difficult to find?
Does the overall design feel like it belongs in a finished cookbook?

I've really appreciated how much feedback I've received here so far. Some of the changes I've made to the book came directly from suggestions in this community, so it's been genuinely helpful.

If you'd like to take a look at the 3 sample recipes, I'll leave the link in the comments.

Hey guys! After reading through all the comments on my last post, I realized the old cover wasn't really well.

So I changed the title to Mongolian Kitchen to make it clear, and I drew a new cover illustration featuring buuz and some traditional motifs.

Huge thanks to everyone who gave honest feedback, it really helped point me in a better direction. Would love to know what you think of this new version!

Hey everyone!

A huge thank you to everyone who commented on my last post about layout options. Your feedback was incredibly helpful in shaping the final direction!

Based on your suggestions, here’s what I’ve finalized for the book:

• Option B Layout: Going with the clean, recipe-first structure! To still capture the full 4-dish meal experience, I’ll be including dedicated full set-meal overview spreads at the back of the book so you can see how everything comes together.
• Real-World Household Measurements: Replaced micro/precise gram amounts for small items with practical kitchen units (pinches, teaspoons, and tablespoons).
• Inline Substitutions: Placed easy ingredient swaps directly alongside specialty items right in the ingredients list.
• Visual Prep Guides: Included process photos for technical recipes like dumplings and doughs to make prep foolproof.
• Recommended Pairings: Every single recipe ends with a pairing bar pointing you directly to complementary pages.

Here is how the spread for Traditional Buuz looks! the Eco-Buuz version is still in the book as its own separate recipe.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this updated spread!

Hey everyone!

Thanks so much for all the support on my post yesterday about my mom’s upcoming Mongolian cookbook! As we're laying out the interior spreads in InDesign, we hit a big structural choice and would love to get your thoughts as cookbook readers and cooks.

We originally designed the entire book around Fixed Set Meal Spreads (Option A) where every spread introduces a full 4-dish tray meal (Main + Soup + Salads + Sides) with an overview, followed by the combined recipes.

However, my mom changed her mind halfway through.. We are testing a Categorized Structure (Option B), where the book is split strictly into standard chapters (Mains, Soups, Salads and sides). To preserve the nutritional balance of her original meal sets, every individual recipe page features a "Recommended Pairing / Complete the Set" callout box at the bottom referencing page numbers for matching dishes.

Option A (Full Set Overview):

• Showcases the entire curated meal tray upfront with high-level overviews before diving into the detailed methods on following pages.
• Great visual impact for how dishes fit together into a complete meal.

Option B (Single Recipe + Pairing Sidebar):

• Focuses on one hero recipe per spread with direct ingredient lists and step-by-step methods right next to the photo.
• Includes a bottom bar pointing you to complementary soups and salads to build the complete tray.

If you were using this cookbook at home, which layout style would you find more practical and enjoyable to cook from?

We'd love to hear your thoughts before we commit to the full manuscript layout!

Hey r/CookbookLovers!

About a year ago, I made a post here asking if there was any interest in a Mongolian cookbook. The response and encouragement from this community was amazing, so my mom and I officially took the leap!

Instead of just doing a standard regional cookbook, we decided to combine traditional Mongolian flavors and home cooking with my mom’s 20-year career as a Head School Chef in Ulaanbaatar.

She recently won 1st place in the national skills competition for creating a 610 kcal student meal on a strict $0.75 budget (and received the Medal of Labor Honor for child nutrition), so we built the entire book around her expertise.

Thank you all for the inspiration a year ago🙏❤️