Last summer, my friend Traci (owner of Midori Jewelry—shameless plug; her stuff is beautiful, check it out!) messaged me: “Are you doing food photography? Like for a book?”

Me: “At the moment??!” (I’m kind of literal…I also legit thought she’d seen a shoot going on somewhere and thought it was me…)

No, totally not what she meant. A friend of hers, it turned out, was looking for a photographer to work with her on a cookbook themed around grilling in the Islands. I was game, and that was how Adrienne Robillard and I met.

Adrienne has been one of the best collaborators ever—super fun, loves books and food, easy-going, and I’m not gonna lie, the fact that her family adopted two kittens right as we started the project was a total bonus, even if we had to have quick reflexes to keep them off the food. I’m thrilled that Traci introduced us and even happier to have a “new” friend. We had an intense several months of collaboration where I practically lived in her house (all my photo props really did, and took over an ever-growing corner of her living room) —very fortunately we finished all our recipe shoots a good month and a half before COVID-19 took over everyone’s lives—and managed to come out of it only setting a couple things on fire (and some of those were intentional!) and still liking each other.

The ‘Ohana Grill Cookbook will be released in September 2020 by Ulysses Press and is available for pre-order now. Take a look at my book info page, where you’ll find a link to purchase from Bookshop.org, and I’ll receive an affiliate commission in addition to royalty earnings. Bookshop also helps to fund independent bookstores. (The book is available at that giant online retailer, you know the one, and you’re welcome to purchase it there, however, I do ask that you take a moment to consider making your purchase from your local bookstore instead—even if it is a chain—or through Bookshop. Publishing industry math is tight, and when you buy books from a dedicated bookstore, especially one in your local community, you are doing a tremendous amount to help a long list of people: the bookstore owners and staff, the publisher and all their employees, and the authors. If you buy locally, the money stays in your community, and you’ll be helping a worthy small business keep going.)

In the coming months, Adrienne and I will be sharing recipes from the book, so check back in for a taste! For now, here are some sneak peeks: