Meet Kit Graham: The Gourmet Grilled Cheese Cookbook + GIVEAWAY (CLOSED)

Hello friends! Today I am sharing a peak inside the life of the talented Kit Graham and how she followed her dream of publishing her very own book, The Gourmet Grilled Cheese Cookbook! Kit is the blogger behind The Kittchen, and her resume includes a writer for Cheeky Chicago, co-founder of the exclusive Second City Food and Wine Club, featured on Style Me Pretty, co-founder of Wind City Bloggers and the list goes on!

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Curious to know how she maintains her extensive schedule and the process of publishing her own book, I asked Kit several intriguing questions. This girl is pretty amazing and if you haven’t heard of Kit before, I suggest you get to know her.

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Cedar & Rush: How long did it take to publish The Gourmet Grilled Cheese Cookbook, from start to finish. 

Kit Graham: The entire timeline from beginning to end was about 6 months. 

I spent a month doing research before I launched the Kickstarter campaign. (For those unfamiliar to Kickstarter, it is an online website used to help people fund projects).  I looked at similar projects that were funded and used them as inspiration for my campaign. I spent a couple of weeks building my Kickstarter page. The Kickstarter campaign ran for 2 months. Kickstarter campaigns get more exposure on the site when they are about to end. My campaign raised $1,400 in the last 2 days, and it met my goal. 

When I met my goal I had 2 recipes completed. I started cooking immediately, making and photographing 3-5 sandwiches a week. By the end of August all of the recipes were written and the photographs were done. 

Then the really hard work of copy editing, layout and formatting began. This took two months of constant work. I worked 16 hours every weekend. I worked at least a couple hours every night. Plus I was still posting on The Kittchen everyday and working full time at Groupon. At one point I was only sleeping 5 hours a night because I felt I wasn’t getting enough done. It was a very stressful time. 

I learned how to self publish on my own in 3 months. I did lots of research. I honestly didn’t know what I was getting into. I didn’t know about gutter margins, or color space, or print on demand. Google and YouTube were extremely helpful. The book launched in November 1st, which was the same day as my 30th birthday. This accomplishment was the perfect way to end my 20s and begin my 30s.  

{Kit signing and mailing her cookbook!}

CR: I love how you used Kickstarter to fund your book. Tell us about this experience. 

KG: I love Kickstarter! My cookbook was mostly funded by generous and kind strangers. I had 69 backers. I only knew 13 of them! How cool is that? Three people I don’t know paid $150 to collaborate on a grilled cheese recipe named after them. Collaborating with the backers was the best part. They were genuinely excited about the project. One man worked with me to create a special grilled cheese to his sister, which we named after her. It is going to be a birthday gift for her. It’s the sweetest thing. One guy wasn’t particularly interested in creating a grilled cheese, he just wanted to support the project- that was a huge motivator, that a complete stranger liked my idea and had enough faith in me to give $150. The takeaway is that there are people who browse Kickstarter looking for projects to fund. Kickstarter isn’t a way to ask family and friends for help, it can be, but more than anything it is a way to find backers you don’t know. 

{Kit’s crazy calendar}

CR: Publishing a cookbook in addition to a full time job, blogging, starting The Second City Food Wine + Social Club, hosting Blogger Happy Hours and writing for Cheeky Chicago must be exhausting. Were there any struggles and/or moments you wanted to quit? If so, how did you push through? 

KG: Well, I am not going to say it is easy. There were several times my husband told me I work too much and don’t sleep enough. Finding a work/life balance can be difficult – especially when you love what you do. I set aside a couple of nights when I unplug. In addition to The Kittchen, I write for Cheeky Chicago, Career Girl Network, and SCFWSC. I write about 10-12 blog posts a week. I try to get ahead on the weekends. The key is to always have posts ready to go, so I don’t have to write every single day.  

{filming for a documentary – to be aired on Comcast’s Chicago channel}

CR: So many people want to pursue another job route or have a dream but don’t actually go through with it. What sparked you from just talking about it to really doing it? 

KG: I worked a job I absolutely hated for three years. It was such a waste of valuable years of my life. When I got my current job (at Groupon) it was a big life change. I went from spending over 2 hours a day commuting to walking across the street. I realized that I was getting 10 hours of my life back, and I didn’t want to waste that time. This is what really inspired the cookbook. The great thing about Groupon is that they really encourage employees’ side projects. The head of the legal team reads my blog! I don’t feel like I have to hide my hobbies from them. I have flexible hours at work. I never feel like I am missing out on something because I have to work. I am treated like an adult, I know I need to work hard and accomplish my tasks, but I know that I don’t necessarily need to be at the office from  9-5.

{Kit working on the final edits of the book}

CR: I heard you did the majority of the publishing, writing and formatting yourself. Why did you choose to take this route versus hiring people? 

KG: It was cheaper! But I also want to learn how to do it, so I can write another book. I did encounter people who told me that I had no idea what in was doing and that I should hire them to do the formatting for $2,000. I didn’t have that budget. The entire campaign made $2,400, and I needed to cover printing costs, ISBN numbers, shipping, copyright fees and other expenses. I set my mind to learning how to self publish, and I did. I am quite proud of myself. I did pay for two things that I couldn’t do as well on my own. The wonderful designer who did my website, Brooke Woodall, designed the cover layout. People judge cookbooks by the cover and I knew I needed a professional looking cover. I am so glad that Brooke did this and I swear she can read my mind and come up with designs I love. I used Vook to do the ebook layout. That was $300 well spent. They build in really fun features that I just couldn’t do myself. I printed with Lightning Source, who offers print on demand with Amazon, in case anyone is curious. They offer print on demand hardcover in color, which isn’t easy to find at a reasonable price. I also want to say that I am happy to speak with anyone interested in self publishing, I am a huge believer in karma and I am always happy to help someone out. 

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CR: Your book is obviously all about grilled cheese and ways to really fancy it up. How did you decide on the infamous grilled cheese? 

KG: I love grilled cheese! Who doesn’t? I love the idea of turning Classic American comfort food into an elegant meal. And I think I wanted to eat lots of cheese and carbs. It was one of those ideas that just hit me, and I ran with it. 

CR: Was another food group ever on the table? 

The idea of Kickstarting a cookbook had been marinating in my head for a long while. I don’t remember any other solid ideas. Sometimes an idea just sticks….even though you don’t know where it came from. 

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CR: What is your favorite recipe in your book or one you seem to make more than others? 

KG: My personal favorite is the Sherry Shallot Mushroom Goat Cheese Grilled Cheese with a Parmesan crust. I consider this the grilled cheese that is mine. Lots of the recipes in the book are inspired by friends or my husband, but that was based on my favorite foods. 

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CR: Your “Add Ons” in the back is such a clever touch. How did you come up with that idea? 

KG: I thought that having an “Add In” section would help organize the cookbook, while also highlighting that the recipes can be served on their own too. The herb roasted tomatoes, guacamole, and other “Add Ins” can be served many different ways, but they are also delicious in a grilled cheese. 

CR: What are you most proud about in this entire process? 

KG: That I did it! For the rest of my life I can proudly say that I wrote a cookbook and published it myself. I truly believe that if you put your mind to it, and work really hard you can do anything. I knew NOTHING about self publishing 6 months ago. I mean absolutely nothing. Today I have a book! I can say I am an author. I feel proud of myself because it was extremely hard work, I completed the project quickly, but only because I worked around the clock. 

CR: Did anyone ever doubt or question your idea of publishing The Gourmet Grilled Cheese Cookbook? 

KG: Only people that were trying to get me to hire them! My friends and family were so supportive. The Chicago blogging community was remarkable! I had people I met twice offering to help test recipes and do copy editing. I seriously couldn’t have done it without their generous help. When things were hard, I thought about the 56 people whom I have never met who funded the project. They believed in me and that motivated me.  

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CR: Heels or Flats? 

KG: Flats when I am not with my husband, heels when I am. My husband is nearly a foot taller than me, so when we are together I need every inch I can get! 

CR: Cocktail of choice? 

KG: Hard alcohol is not my friend. I love beer, wine, and champagne. I am from Maine, and I love Alagash White which is a beer from Maine. I like to have a beer when I get home from from work. I like wine with dinner. I love love love red wine. My husband and I went to Napa for my 30th, and we are on a big red wine kick… I might be drinking red wine right now…. My red wine of choice is Sinskey POV. 

CR: Current favorite restaurant in Chicago? 

KG: I love and hate this question! I recently went to Davanti Enoteca in Little Italy for the first time with my friend ChiGalLauren. It isn’t new, but it is new to me. They have the best Cacio e Pepe. I was lucky to attend a preview of Eataly before their grand opening to the public (hosted by Mario Batali!) and I can tell you that it is a huge game changer for the Chicago restaurant scene. The restaurants inside are phenomenal. I studied abroad in Florence and my grandfather was Italian so I have a giant sweet spot for Italian cuisine. 

CR: Can we expect another Kit cookbook in the future? 

KG: People are telling me that I should write a book about mac and cheese next. Maybe I will. It will be part two of the cheese and carbs series. After that I suppose I would write about pizza. Stay tuned. I need some time to promote The Gourmet Grilled Cheese Cookbook, and to focus on my many blogging projects, and to devote to The Second City Food Wine + Social Club. Ideally I will learn InDesign before I write another cookbook. So maybe look for my next project on Kickstarter in a year?

Kit, thank you so much for your honesty and detailed answers! You are such an inspiration to so many people, especially me. Congratulations on your first book and cannot wait to see what your future holds. I know you are just getting started!

You can obtain your own copy of Kit’s Gourmet Grill Cheese here! I have the E version on my iPad.

For a chance to win this tasty book, all you have to do is leave a comment below. For extra entries, follow Cedar and Rush on Facebook, follow The Kittchen on Facebook, then come back and leave a comment stating you did both (or say you already follow). Winner will be selected at random on Wednesday. May the odds be ever in your favor!