Interview Q & A

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We are talking with Cindy Coverdale co-author of the book Food That Rocks!

Where did the idea of the book originate?
Margie had a dream about the book… In the dream she was given the title of the book Food That Rocks, that she wrote it with me, and that a percentage of sales would benefit charity.

Did you two know each other at the time?
Not really, we were acquaintances. I would say we probably knew of each other. We live in a rather small town so there were times we would bump into each other at yoga class…the beach…the playground with our children etc. I knew Margie was the author of “Goddess in the Kitchen,” she probably knew I was married to David Coverdale.

How did you hook up?
We ended up at the same seminar and Margie approached me and told me about her dream. It sounded intriguing to me as I had never done anything like it before, and the charity part was really an added incentive as it seemed like a wonderful way to ‘give back’ on a potentially big level.

How did you come to decide on the charity Freedom From Hunger?
It was tricky actually. Basically, we did a lot of research. We wanted to make sure the charity was approved by the charity watch-dog organizations so we knew the money wasn’t simply going into overhead costs, but would actually make it to those who need it. We also didn’t want anything that was possibly controversial, and we wanted it to be global. It had to appeal to a broad range of musicians. Finally, Freedom From Hunger just felt good to both of us. They are a US based organization that helps women and their families in developing countries break free from poverty by promoting sustainable lifestyles through financial assistance in education, health management, and micro-enterprise business development.

Did you ever have aspirations of being a writer?
No, not really. Although, I have been told before in my Astrological chart that writing in partnership is very supported—so who knows maybe this will be the beginning of something new for me.

How did you go about getting the recipes?
We sent out packets to anyone and everyone we could think of and find an address for!! I e-mailed all the musicians I knew personally, like Tony Franklin, Adrian Vandenberg, Earl Slick, Denny Carmassi etc. Basically, everyone that had worked with David that I had gotten to know fairly well got an email or phone call from me.

Did people respond fairly well?
They did! It was very inspiring. Some of the musicians shared the letter with their friends and it spread that way. For instance Tony Franklin asked Brian May who gave us one of his Mum’s recipes. It was very grassroots. There was an amazing woman named Kyle, who brought on board many of the Brits in the book. I never even met her! I was at our local swimming pool one day and was introduced to a friend of hers who put us in touch with each other. Her husband, boyfriend (whatever) is Spike Edney, the keyboard player for Queen and he has his own band-the SAS Band. She was an amazing help! It was a lot fun seeing who responded yes and who passed.

Did you get any rejection letters?
Oh yes, most certainly. We got a bit of a late start getting our letter out and many people were either on the road touring, or they were getting ready to tour—that was unfortunate timing on our part. 

Let’s talk about that. Did you have a master plan of who you wanted to be in the book?
No, we completely subscribed to the philosophy of “whoever should be in the book will be.” We are absolutely thrilled with every one of our contributors and it wouldn’t be the same without any of them! It is a wonderfully eclectic mix of musicians. We have some people everyone knows like Shania Twain, Patti LaBelle, Sarah McLachlan, and Ted Nugent as well as an opera singer (Jacquline Pierce), and someone who writes children’s music (Will Hale). We have some real rockers like Billy Corgan and Joe Perry of Aerosmith, with guitar greats Steve Vai and Joe Satriani. There are also some great classic artists such as Rickey Medlocke of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Joe Lynn Turner of Rainbow, and Leslie West of Mountain. Remember Leo Sayer? “You Make Me Feel Like Dancin.” He shares one of his wife’s Tuscan recipes.

Is there anybody you wish was in the book that isn’t?
Well, of course, I wanted Keith Richards because David and I think he is the coolest. I also would have liked to have had some of my personal favorite musicians like Seal, Train, Lenny Kravitz, Terence Trent Darby, Joe Elliot of Def Leppard… who said he would get a recipe but didn’t! Grrrr! Ha ha! I would have liked Earl Slick to have been in it because he is a good friend, but he was going on the road with David Bowie. It would have been great to have Jimmy Page… Sheryl Crow…There are a lot of musicians I wish were in the book. Don’t get me wrong though, I am THRILLED with everyone we did get!

How did you divide up the work-load?
We really tried to split everything in half. Of course, at times it simply worked better if one person was in charge of certain projects. For example… to keep the recipes consistent Margie took on the job of putting them into a good recipe format. Many of these recipes didn’t come to us in a way that would be easy for someone to prepare. Margie did a fabulous job on these! It was a lot of work. In turn I worked on permissions which Margie found less fulfilling creatively. It was very important to learn from this, so I really wanted to be involved at every level.

Did you both do the actual writing?
Yes, we split the writing 50-50. Sometimes we each took separate parts (intros for example) to write and sometimes we sent them back and forth to each other adding and changing and improving on what the other had written. 

What was the hardest part for you in writing this book?
Well, Margie and I were tested on how to effectively work in a partnership at times. We found what worked best for us was when we allowed each other the freedom to do things differently. To let Cindy be Cindy and Margie be Margie. It was a great learning process to let go of how you think something should be done and simply trust the other person’s process. Not always easy because we are both strong women. 
The other challenge for me was in writing the intros. It was not easy to keep them to 100-150 words as some of these artists have done so much! We felt they had to be short enough to be able to read while standing in your kitchen preparing a recipe. I also felt a HUGE responsibility to the artists to portray them in a way they would be happy with.

What do you like most about the book?
I LOVE the way the recipes retain the voice of the musician. The directions in some of the recipes are hysterical. “…grab the kitchen bludgeon thing”… (Meat tenderizer.) I really like how the personality of the musician that shines through. The backstage pass part is also fun because it gives the reader an insight to the personal, as opposed to professional, side of the musician. You know, what kind of music do they play while cooking? What is there favorite food? What do they like to have for backstage food? This is a book that should make you smile while you make the recipe.

Did you receive any recipes that made you think, “Oh no, this is terrible”?
No! We did get a very funny one, though, that is a wee bit disgusting. The publishers at one point wanted to know if we would eliminate the part they thought was ‘gross’…. We felt it essential to keep it as it was. After all, these recipes are from musicians—they’re supposed to be a bit rebellious. That’s one of the reasons we love them!

Did you cook all the recipes?
We had a recipe tasting party at my house over the summer. We passed out recipes to our friends who each prepared a different dish… Some of the absolute favorites from that party were:
“Whole Fresh Salmon a la Chinese Style, Basic Bread, Pasta alla Bossi, Russian Salad, Spanakopita, and Welsh Cakes… We completely blew the Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake recipe! It still tasted great, but was entirely the wrong consistency. We second guessed the cooking time… It cooks for a very long time at a low temperature—now we know! Some of these we had questions about, and some we simply wanted to taste!


What is your favorite recipe?
There are so many good recipes in this book! Peter Rivera’s Seared Tuna with Pasta recipe makes my mouth water. The Sticky Toffee Pudding Cake was the one recipe I begged for! Eugene McCoy introduced me to this at his restaurant 13 years ago and I haven’t stopped thinking about it since. Also, Adrian Vandenberg once made his “Sizzling Penne & Double Truffle” Blues Gratin recipe for us for our Christmas dinner and it was stunning!


Are there any good “date recipes” in this book?
Yes, There are two recipes in which the musician specifically describes how to make this for a special evening. One is from Paul Young—Chicken Escalope with Cajun Mustard Sauce and the other is a combination Pappardelle Genovese followed by Tiramisu given to us by Andy Hamilton. These recipes are very entertaining to read!


Do you think being married to David Coverdale helped you in writing this book?
Of course it did! Absolutely. For one thing, I think it allowed the musicians to feel safe sharing with me. Obviously, I live in their world so I understand the importance of confidentiality as well as the importance of sticking together in a sense. I would never say anything negative about them—I know how awful it is to read things that are untrue or simply mean. I have tremendous respect for musicians. I find it incredible how they translate personal feelings or experiences into a form of expression that we all can connect with and enjoy. It is extremely brave to put yourself out there like that. Being married to a musician I know how much goes into it. 

Has music always been a big influence in your life?
Yes, I am the youngest of 6 siblings with quite a big age spread between us (the oldest in my family is 15 years older than me). So while I was little I was exposed to their music—which was Led Zepplin, Deep Purple, Eric Clapton, etc. I have always loved Rock and Roll. Little did I know I would end up married to one of those guys. Ha Ha!

How did you and David meet?
We met while we were both getting our hair done in a little hair salon in Reno, Nevada called Look-n-Good. Can you believe it was actually on a street called Rock Blvd? We were both blonde then. My head was half covered in tin foil when he walked in. Just how you want to look when you meet someone famous! (smile) Anyway, something clicked between us and 13 years later we are still happily together.

Do you go on the road with David when he tours?
Yes, only to the fun places!! Just kidding! Usually, I go out for about 2 weeks at a time because we have a 7-year-old son and that is about as long as he is good for. He misses his friends and toys by then…

Where is the most exotic place you’ve been while touring with David?
I recently got to go to Greece, which was an incredible experience. It had always been a dream of mine. I LOVED IT! I very easily could have stayed there…

What is next for Cindy Coverdale?
I have no idea… For the time being I plan on promoting Food That Rocks as much as I can. I would love to see it do well, so we can give Freedom From Hunger a nice big check. Other than that, I will continue to enjoy hanging out with my two favorite people, David and Jasper, while living in the magical mountains overlooking Lake Tahoe while I remain open to whatever adventures present themselves to me… Basically, enjoying my very blessed life!