Cooking through Columbus: The Ultimate Guide to Eating through Columbus

Columbus has an incredible food scene with nationally recognized and award winning restaurants, bakeries, breweries, distilleries, and more. We want to show off what our great city has created and give everyone a chance to cook their way through some of Columbus’ best dishes and learn more about them at the same time.

This is just as much a food guide to Columbus as it is a cookbook. Beyond reaching the person who wants to cook these recipes we are directing this to anyone who has past, present, or future been connected to Columbus and it’s thriving service industry.

Partnering with local businesses will amplify the reach and virality of our cookbook. This is not only a great cookbook, but a way for local businesses to reach a broader audience and give people a better understanding of who they are and what makes them so great.

Each beautifully designed page features insights into the chefs, easy to follow recipes, and eye catching photography. In addition to visual and recipe content the authors tell the story of Columbus through the thriving food scene that has developed there in recent years, as well as the neighborhoods that make up the city. The book will feature over 60 establishments (restaurants, bars, food trucks, coffeeshops and bakeries) plus over 70 recipes.

Andrew White’s background in writing and experience with a camera gives him the ability to create impactful work that tells a story. Andrew has been working as a professional photographer and writer for 10+ years in various positions. Most recently, Andrew has been freelancing and has worked with brands all over the country. He specializes in food photography and enjoys working with restaurants to showcase their menu and to tell the story of who they are. Andrew self published his first photography book, Wait Here in 2021. Andrews full portfolio can be seen at: andrewleewhite.com

Nile Woodson is the CEO and co-founder of Hai Poké, a local fast casual restaurant born and bred in Columbus, OH, but inspired by the islands around the world and specifically Hawaiian Poké. He was born and raised in New York City with three older sisters and parents who all loved to cook. Nile began his cooking career at home with his family and quickly grew his love and talent for creating dynamic flavor combinations. At the age of 20, Nile came to Columbus for a four month internship at Trident Design. It sparked Nile’s creativity for business and he quickly fell in love with Columbus’s charm and community driven mentality. Nile chose to make Columbus his permanent home and got a job serving tables at Rigsby’s Kitchen while finishing his degree from the Fisher College of Business at The Ohio State University. As head waiter Nile found an immense love of the restaurant industry and creating memorable experiences for people through taste, joy, and connection. Pairing his passion with his marketing degree, it only made sense that upon graduating from OSU he would open a restaurant of his own!

Tim Trad is the owner/founder of @onlyinCbus and an all-around Columbus ambassador. When he was a baby, a couple of New Yorkers adopted him and moved to Columbus Ohio. He grew up in Columbus, but left fresh out of high school to pursue a career in music & fashion. He started @onlyincbus as a resume in 2015, he wanted to show clients that he could actually perform the work they were hiring him to do. Eventually, OiC branched off into its own company and he has used it to help spread news, entertain, create products, and most important to him, representing a city that had quite the branding problem when he was a kid. He feels fortunate enough to have traveled and experienced every state and over 100 different countries, but he will always call Columbus home.