These East Village residents are still cooking up a unique book of recipes

Photos and reporting by Stacie Joy 

Like a good meal, The East Village Community Cookbook is taking longer to prepare. 

As we reported last August, three East Villagers who bonded during the pandemic — Will Kroeze, pastor at Trinity Lower East Side, Dan Hyatt, a middle school teacher, and Will Horowitz, a chef and author who co-founded Ducks Eatery and Harry & Ida's Meat and Supply Co. — decided to create an old-school neighborhood cookbook. 

And they were able to secure more than 100 recipes from an array of local restaurants (C&B Café, Katz's, Nom Wah Tea Parlor, Russ & Daughters, SMØR, Superiority Burger, and Veselka, among many others) and residents (Alan Cumming and Richard Hell, to name two). 

We haven't heard much about the project since the end of 2023, and some residents who pre-ordered a copy wonder what's happening. 

"We've also gotten people asking about the cookbook, which is taking quite a bit longer than we had expected," Pastor Will told me the other day. "What originally was going to be a DIY project is turning into a real design masterpiece and is going through several rounds of edits .... it’s really going to be something so special for our community." 

Regarding design, East Village-based artist and illustrator Marcellus Hall (whose New Yorker covers are among our favorites) is lending his talents to the cookbook. 

Pastor Will and Horowitz shared some pages with me during a recent production meeting...

"I've been telling people that it's a volunteer-driven labor of love, and like any community project, it's taking time to get right," Pastor Will said. "But it will be so great that it will be worth the wait." 

The organizers said they hope to get the work to the publisher shortly and print it toward the end of the summer. 

Donations for the East Village Community Cookbook started at $30. Proceeds benefit Trinity Lower East Side Services and Food for the Homeless (SAFH) on Ninth Street and Avenue B. 

While I was talking with the organizers, workers were busy preparing meals at Trinity Lower East Side...