Something new in the works: Cookstr

The New York Times has just come out with initial news on the high-end recipe site Cookstr.

Although the Internet is already flooded with recipes, Will Schwalbe, who stepped down as editor in chief of Hyperion Books in January, is starting Cookstr to showcase the recipes of star chefs like Jamie Oliver, Nigella Lawson and Mario Batali, as well as those of less-well-known but highly regarded cookbook writers. The idea, ultimately, is to sell copies of these authors’ books.

On the site, www.cookstr.com, which goes live this month, each recipe will appear on a page with a prominently placed picture of the source cookbook’s cover, as well as a link to one of four online retailers selling the book.

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...Mr. Schwalbe — along with more than a dozen publishers and 100 cookbook authors who have signed up to contribute recipes to the site — believes that a carefully chosen selection of recipes will whet the appetites of prospective cookbook buyers.

It'll be interesting to see what this looks like as it gets going. But there are a lot of good recipes out there in cookbooks that people don't see (and their authors don't make any money out of): maybe this will change that a little...