Design and Cooking
[Photos by Jinyoung Yoon and Christopher Kicherer]
There is a powerful synergy between design and cooking. It’s a wonderful thing to take the daily habits and necessities of life and make them beautiful. To elevate the routine utilities of survival into something extraordinary makes a day of hard-work more fullfilling. We find that the same discipline informing good design commonly applies to food and cooking. We take great pleasure in design and cooking -all the more so in the summer time when you can drag the dining room table out onto the deck and host dinner parties that last into the late summer evenings. There’s a few resources doing some truly inspirational work when it comes to blending design and cooking. Hopefully some of them are fresh to you; as always let us know of your favorites.
[Photo by Jake Price]
Gastronomica, The Journal of Food and Culture
With excellent writing and extraordinary photographs this quarterly journal covers design, art, social movements, even a bit of history, and of course food. The recipes go beyond mere ingredients to arrive at a succulent dish, and expand into the origins and storytelling behind the foods.
One year subscription (4 issues) is $40.
[Photo by Jinyoung Yoon]
[Photo by Christopher Kicherer]
Living and Eating, John Pawson and Annie Bell
From the book jacket: “Architect and designer John Pawson is renowned for his calm, uncluttered, flawless spaces. Together with food writer Annie Bell, he brings his philosophy of the minimalism to the kitchen.”
[Photos by Christopher Kicherer]
This book is beautifully presented in crisp photos with simple, rich dishes. If you’re a fan of modernism you’ll find yourself drooling on the pages.
[Photo by Christopher Kicherer]
Toward the back of the 300 page book is a list of recommended equipment that will leave you inspired and taking out a second mortgage.
If this book does it for you, also check out the When Objects Work website for well designed kitchen goodies.
Potter Press, $30 – $40 new
[Photo by Christopher Kicherer]
[Photo by Thayer Allyson Gowdy]
Sunset Magazine, how to live in the west
Since embracing Pacific Northwest Modern design several years ago Sunset has really taken on some inspiring territory. The magazine does an excellent job of creating synergy between food, gardening, travel, architecture and design.
[Photo by Lisa Romerein]
The regional focus is always a nice ego boost. The featured architecture tends to be practical and achievable, the recipes are fun and casual. And you’d be foolish to go on a road-trip in the northwest without throwing a copy in the back seat.
One year subscription (12 issues) is $24
[Photo by Thomas J. Story]
Cheers from all of us here at the BUILDblog; have yourself a weekend full of great food, drink and design.
[Photo by Chase Jarvis]
10 Comments
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By mike, July 10, 2009 @ 8:26 am
‘the architect the cook and good taste’ was a gift i got from a family friend that is a chef and knows i like to cook (albeit not very well). it contains some interesting articles by architects on food and architecture. though, surprisingly, it lacks any of marco frascari’s writings. his lectures on food and architecture in school were always fascinating and entertaining.
frascari:
‘villa girasole, a macaronic dream’
‘Semiotica Ab Edendo: Taste in Architecture’
By Anonymous, July 10, 2009 @ 10:11 am
As an amateur photographer I really appreciate that the BUILDblog always gives proper credit to photographers. The blogging world is murky in terms of authorship and credit and you guys are setting the bar. Thanks for the attention to detail.
By Jim, July 10, 2009 @ 12:14 pm
While writing my thesis I did a lot of reasearching about Pawson, and of course grew to love his work. In a sort of “things related” internet search while trying to hunt down some of his more elusive books I was shown this:
http://www.amazon.de/What-Architects-Cook-Up-Architekten/dp/3920034198
Though I never read nor skimmed the book, I always wondered if it had any value. Might be worth looking at… in the same “things related” sort of way.
By Lasse Jaakola-Architect, July 10, 2009 @ 4:39 pm
The architecture profession is much like cooking or baking. I have always drawn an analogy with recipes and “blueprints”, as we used to call them back whenever. One builds from blueprints and cooks or bakes from recipes. Sometimes magic happens if one departs from the recipe and improvises. Same happens in architecture, but in that case you get taken to court. I love to cook and despite how hard I try to follow the recipe, I find myself out of an ingredient. So I improves with something that I think might be similar or which I believe might make it better. Then I have a surprise, but I don’t get sued. Either I receive applause or some ugly faces. Who cares. It’s for fun, as long as someone doesn’t get sick. Then you’re in trouble.
By Richter, July 12, 2009 @ 2:47 pm
While it doesn’t directly cover design or architecture, Cooks Illustrated is so well designed and executed that I think you guys would enjoy it as a food and cooking resource (if you don’t already subscribe).
By Gus, July 12, 2009 @ 2:52 pm
…same goes for the “Silver Spoon” – it’s purely a cookbook but so well composed that it can’t not appeal to the design minded.
By Alix, July 13, 2009 @ 11:24 am
I especially like that you included two ends of the spectrum in Gastronomica (beautifully presented and very well written but definitely a food *journal*) and Sunset (every so slightly more accessible in my day-to-day).
As an organized sort of person I’ve always enjoyed the process that comes with cooking and the precision with baking, but without beauty in the finished product you would just have a lump of something that no one wanted to eat. Mom wasn’t kidding when she taught me that people also eat with their eyes.
By baobabs, July 14, 2009 @ 1:08 am
Thanks for sharing. Looks like excellent reading material that merges gastronomy and design.
By kelly, August 19, 2009 @ 11:11 pm
I wholeheartedly agree! Since we have a 50/50 love affair going on here. I guess what else is supposed to happen when one puts themselves through Architecture school working in restaurants… now its really all I want to design. I’ve got something brewing in this department that I’ll share soon.