Advertiser food editor Wanda Adams, author of "The Island Plate," will teach a two-hour workshop in "How to Write a Cookbook" on Nov. 18 at this year's Honolulu Writers Conference. The interactive class is for anyone — those who plan to publish conventionally, nonprofit groups doing community fundraising cookbooks or individuals planning to create a family recipe collection. Emerge with a plan for doing a book start to finish, plus practical ("don't do it the way I did it") tips and materials to help you get started.

Tuition for the all-day conference at Jefferson Hall, the East-West Center at the University of Hawai'i, is $60. Other workshops cover fiction, nonfiction, memoir, romance, short stories, publishing and marketing and more. Write to alohapress@att.net or call 395-1161.

GIFT OF GOURMET

GET UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL WITH A GUEST CHEF

Gourmet Cooking Hawaii, which holds cooking classes with Island chefs, now is offering create-your-own culinary experiences: Book a cooking demonstration for your club's next meeting. Invite a guest chef to your holiday party. Arrange an intimate class in a chef's kitchen as a gift for a foodie friend.

The company works with chefs and wine experts on O'ahu, Maui and the Big Island. Arrangements and locations can be custom-tailored. Fees vary. In private cooking classes, all participants receive recipes, a certificate of completion, a photo with the chef and a Gourmet Cooking Hawaii gift package. Information: www.GourmetCookingHawaii.com. Write to GourmetCookingHawaii@hawaii.rr.com or call 735-7788.