When you think about getting together with family, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

Quirky relatives?
Unconditional love?
Food?

Any of these might ring true for you, but food especially seems to be a universal element of family gatherings that most of us can identify with. It’s because eating, cooking, and entertaining is a primary way that people come together, celebrate milestones, and connect.

At Salesforce, we call this Ohana, the Hawaiian word for family. It represents members of our community, employees, customers, and partners, who all share a responsibility to support each other — just like family. The AppExchange Community, where Trailblazers can find apps, Lightning components, and more, is the first to take this idea to the next level.

In July, we’ll be launching the first-ever, Trailblazer-inspired cookbook, complete with delicious recipes from our community and the apps that “pair well” with each featured dish.

It’s a great idea, but definitely unusual for a tech company. So, I'm sure you're wondering: why are we writing a cookbook?

It all started with a tweet...

To understand this story, you first need a bit of context. Here at AppExchange, we give away a limited edition hot sauce at every Dreamforce event. And since I joined the company, our hot sauce has flown off the shelves like hot(sauce)cakes, with many Trailblazers tweeting pictures of their favorite meals paired with the condiment. The idea for this cookbook originated from one of those tweets:

Scott Luikart, a 5x certified Salesforce Admin, then followed the picture up with this tweet:

My wheels started turning. Not only was this a unique idea for a tech company, but I knew the concept would resonate with our community. According to @appexchange Twitter analytics, 56% of followers have an interest in home cooking and grilling. Scott’s idea for a cookbook could be, ahem, “ground-baking.”

Cooking up the cookbook

I immediately reached out to Scott to discuss his idea further. He told me, “When I gather with people, it’s typically around food. Whether I’m inviting people over for dinner, going out for a meal, or having a happy hour with appetizers, food is something I am passionate about because it’s a way to bring people into my life, my home, and to share a deeper connection.”

It was obvious that Scott's idea was about more than just food. It was about community, bringing people together, and learning from each other. He explained how cooking and eating with others forms the same type of bond that occurs when Trailblazers bond over a favorite app. It’s like getting a small glimpse into that person’s personality and preferences, he told me.

From there, it was decided that we’d create a cookbook to honor Scott’s idea and the AppExchange Community, full of original recipes and app recommendations.

“I initially felt silly lobbing this idea out into the ethers of Twitter, but the reaction has been incredible," said Scott. “I couldn’t be happier that this will be a reality soon.”

Submit your recipe now

So, even if Salesforce isn’t the first thing that comes to mind when cooking your favorite recipe, we hope this cookbook will bring together food, Ohana, and apps in a way that inspires you.

You can submit your own recipe and favorite app by March 1, 2018 for the chance to be featured in the our first ever cookbook. (For more information, see the Terms & Conditions.)

And in case you were wondering about Scott’s favorite app, it's Knowledge Base Dashboards & Reports.