I definitely fall into “live to eat” segment of the population. Not that I’m a glutton mind you … it’s more along the lines of great food is a social and sensory experience hard to beat. While the cookbook section is one of my favorite stops at Barnes & Noble, I’m usually not terribly bowled over by the designs. So pardon the cliché, but this 224-page casebound book takes the cake.
It’s printed on Yupo. Drop an egg on it? No worries. Just wipe and keep stirring. This seems like such an obvious paper choice for cookbooks, but alas not everyone chooses wisely. The glossy finish also gives the overall design a clean, polished look.
Art direction (Elie el Moubayed), styling (Moe Khadr) and photography are gorgeous. May Ghaibeh’s copy placement makes the recipes easy to read. Solid blocks of color on every spread pair perfectly with the food images.
The varied font sizes used for the numbers on the table of contents pages give the piece a contemporary look and re-enforce the theme: each recipe is shown and photographed side by side in two distinct ways of preparation – everyday and gourmet.
