The Good German Kitchen Cookbook
The Good German Kitchen celebrates my own German culture and the act of passing things down, while acknowledging societal changes in eating habits. Using recipe books and leaflets passed down from my grandmother and great-grandmother, I 'veganised' memorable traditional recipes from my childhood, intending to show a different, modern side to German cuisine than the meat-heavy, stodgy image it tends to have.
Based on this starting point, I allowed the idea of 'taking the old and making it new' to lead the design of the book. This is visible in the modern setting of a blackletter font, duotone scans and halftone images of my grandmother's kitchenware, as well as the materials used. The book is printed on G.F. Smith’s Extract paper made of recycled coffee cups!
Recipe cards at the back of the book are an extra, fun asset with which people can share these recipes.
Hand-lettered German sayings and proverbs, related to food, break up this cookbook, and celebrate another aspect of German culture. The bright, friendly colours intend to make the book feel very inviting and contemporary, while the use of blue throughout is an ode to Bavaria and traditional Bavarian food. The kettle stitch open bind allows the book to lay flat for ease of use.
