It’s been a goal of mine to place a significant feature story in a national food magazine. It’s challenging to break into the ranks of freelance contributors for these publications that have a well-established roster of writers and recipe developers.
It took some perseverance and follow-up, after an initial pitch to EatingWell magazine’s features editor Carolyn Malcoun. I pitched the story about Cincinnati’s craft vinegar maker MadHouse in October 2018. In July 2020, I got the green light, then submitted the story and related six recipes in December 2020 and the package ran in the April 2021 issue of the magazine. That’s 2 and a half years in development.
The coolest part of the project — aside from sharing the story of MadHouse and their efforts to recycle waste from the local food and beverage industries into amazing artisan vinegar — was collaborating on the recipe development and testing with my brother, Bill Millholland.
Bill is a chef trained at the French Culinary Institute, longtime culinary instructor, former bakery owner and current professional food photographer. We brainstormed recipes that would spotlight quality vinegar and show home cooks how to use it beyond making salad dressing. We researched, wrote and tested the recipes together. It was the most fun I’ve had working on a project maybe ever.
