DON’T FEAR THE KITCHEN a graphic design thesis project in the making
“Give a man a fish, feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish and feed him for a lifetime.� Chinese Proverb
DON’T FEAR THE KITCHEN a graphic design thesis project in the making
KATIE KING RUMFORD
thesis development
TERMS What am I talking about?
COOK (VERB) To prepare a meal with heat, or to transform and make suitable for consumption by the means of heat. Cooking kills bacteria present in some raw foods, while it has the power to break down fiber, carbohydrates, and protein for digestion. Cooking transforms otherwise inedible “food� into edible morsels, while increasing the nutritive value of food.
COOKING AT HOME (VERB+NOUN) Cooking at a defined location where one lives, often an environment offering security and happiness. A valued place regarded as a refuge or place of origin. A home can also be defined as a place where something is discovered, founded, developed, or promoted.
FRESH INGREDIENT (ADJECTIVE +NOUN) Pure, original food items newly made or obtained, retaining the original properties unimpaired; not stale or spoiled, not preserved by freezing, canning, pickling, salting, drying, etc. Fresh ingredients are not limited to organic or local, but with local ingredients, the travel and production time are shorter, decreasing the distance from garden, farm or animal, to table.
“The only real stumbling block is fear of failure. In cooking you’ve got to have a ‘what the hell’ kind of attitude.” Julia Child
Table of Contents thesis summary
10
cooking, an overview
12
OGST
16
five reasons
18
what’s it look like?
22
how long will it take?
28
habits forming?
33
where do i go from here?
37
who, what, where?
39
and then there’s me
44
THESIS SUMMARY excite. experience. educate
11 don’t fear the kitchen
“Give a man a fish and feed him for a day, but teach a man to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” —Chinese proverb
Don’t Fear the Kitchen’s main objective is to demystify cooking through the lens of graphic design. There has been a decline in cooking at home, especially with fresh, whole ingredients since World War II with the invention of canned goods and frozen meals People began to choose convenience in the kitchen over cooking. Cooking, in a sense, has become optional. The three justifications I hear most often from people who don’t cook are stemmed from a lack of time, lack of knowledge and fear. Don’t Fear the Kitchen aims to better equip and prepare non-cooks to enter into the kitchen with enthusiasm, knowledge, experience and skill. The three main goals of Don’t Fear the Kitchen are to excite people about cooking and get them into the kitchen, to provide experience in the kitchen, and to educate them in the ways of the kitchen. Cooking shouldn’t just be an option, it should be a way of life. By cooking, people have the power to control what they put in their bodies, what they buy, and have a creative and rewarding outlet.
COOKING, AN OVERVIEW
decline in cooking at home with fresh ingredients
13 don’t fear the kitchen
A Brief History There is no clear evidence when cooking was invented, but some historians suggest it was invented more than 1.8 million years ago, while others suggest an accidental discovery from a natural disaster approximately 40,000 years ago. Like everything else, cooking has evolved over thousands of years from cooking over an open flame to the microwave. A recent decline in cooking reveals that people are evolving just as cooking methods have evolved, leaving behind their cooking skills and natural survival instincts. Since WWII, with the advent of canned goods and processed foods, the tradition and education of cooking has slowly been replaced by prepared meals, frozen T.V. dinners, and take-out, causing America not only to fatten up, but become one of the most unhealthy, stressed yet wealthiest countries in the world. Angelo Pellegrini, the author of The Unprejudiced Palate, said that in the 21st century, Americans became infatuated with the French Culinary world, often finding the recipes described “intricate and
esoteric, making anyone other than the professionally trained cooks feel incapable of making a decent meal.” Much of modern America still holds this view and has sworn off cooking because someone else can do it better. Many would argue that cooking is an art, and to a degree it is true. But this thesis is not meant to address this form of cooking, cooking as a profession and art, but rather, a focus on cooking as a way of life, a life skill. Given the proper instruction and tools, anyone can learn to cook, it has been proven through the hundreds of thousands of years that humans have been cooking.
Convenience Over Action As mentioned before, WWII changed the modern world and structure of the home. Women went to work outside the home and had little energy to cook after a long day at work. At the same time, food giants like General Mills and Kraft began to sell the idea of convenience to Americans. Simplicity and instant gratification became a way of life. Less and less time was devoted to cooking with the invention or convenient food items and frozen foods.
Modern Food Movement In Michael Pollan’s 2009 New York Times article, Out of the Kitchen, Onto the Couch he says that “the average person spends just 27 minutes a day on food preparation,” while further research shows the average American watches 4 hours of television a day. People watch more television about cooking than they actually spend in the kitchen cooking. Americans sit before their televisions, transfixed, eating take-out. It’s because entertainment television has made cooking a sport, involving competition with winners and losers. The truth is that people love food, want to be around food, eat food, see food, watch food, but aren’t willing or prepared to actually cook the food they so desire due to a lack in skill and technique.
15
The average American spends just 27 minutes a day on food preparation, compared to the 4 hours of television watched each day. to food as a general concept. With the motivation inspired by of people like Michael Pollan, Alice Waters and Jamie Oliver, there has never been more interest in food, where it comes from, and how it’s made. But now that we have the power to change the way we eat, people aren’t equipped to make the change in the kitchen.
Who Is This For? So if such a large population is in dire need of this thesis, who then is this for? Well, I’m not directing this towards children, many great efforts are already being made in that area. I’m also, not aiming at seasoned parents or grandparents who already have a kitchen and cooking system in place. Rather than addressing people at a station in life, I am aiming to reach a certain mind-set. It’s important that my audience has a love for food already, and are open to give the kitchen a try. Likely they have just been telling themselves they can’t cook, for whatever reason and I want to change that.
don’t fear the kitchen
The modern Food Movement, focuses on food awareness. Addressing the concerns about where food comes from, how it’s prepared, what it’s packaged in and how the animals are raised. It has been successful, especially in modern foodie cities, bringing awareness
O// OBJECTIVE
demystify cooking G// GOALS
excite
experience
spread the joy of cooking. show them what they’re missing. excite people to get in the kitchen.
get people in the kitchen. once they’re in, they cook. successes & failures.
S / / S T R AT E G I E S
break proccess down into baby steps
hands-on experience in the kitchen
visual representation of ease and comfort in the kitchen
immediate interaction with own personal instructor & chef
own something to be proud of
community cooking space(s)
T / / TA C T I C S visual campaign posters
ads/print
identitty & branding, marketing materials: posters, books, advertisements, pamphlets website community based communication, fourm: tips, tricks, seasons, tutorials, questions printed book(s) own something to be proud of cooking set (packaging)
cooking classes
something to be proud of, a set to introduce baby-steps in the kitchen. cookware, tools & receipes
hands-on instruction: tools & techniques
interactive book/app in the kitchen instructor, video tutorials, step-by-step photography
educate train in skill & understanding. techiniques & cooking methods. healthy & safety.
connect community of non-cooks
one-stop-shop for info, tools, techniques and ingredients
visualization of cooking process
OGST visual campaign
printed book infographics & photographic documented process.
The OGST is a visual way to break down big ideas and make easily digestible. By stating the over arching objective, demystify cooking, I can place goals, strategies and tactics underneath it, reflecting that whatever falls under the objective truly supports it. My three main goals, as stated previously, are to excite people about cooking, offer opportunities for them to create experiences in the kitchen and finally once they’re interested and in the kitchen education comes into play. Basic baby steps to more advanced methods. My research has shown that to get people cooking I have to convince them that it’s easy, quick and simple.
5 REASONS
why people should learn to cook
19 don’t fear the kitchen
1:
Cooking is Simple Many people don’t cook because they don’t know how. But the reality is that cooking isn’t rocket science or it wouldn’t have been passed down for thousands of years. Cooking can be simple with few ingredients, and the best part about it is that there are recipes to aid the chef, but cooking is flexible and adaptable to any ingredient and timeframe. Not to mention, with cooking at home you don’t need a PhD in Biochemistry to understand the ingredients.
2:
Cooking is Green With cooking, people have the power to choose. Cooking with local, fresh ingredients produces less waste and uses less fuel than eating processed or prepared foods. You have the power to cut down on your carbon footprint with the small choices you make everyday in your kitchen. You have the power to make a difference.
don’t fear the kitchen
20 3:
Cooking is Healthy When dining out or eating processed foods, ingredients and portions are left by the wayside, often forgotten or ignored. Research shows that people consume 50% more calories, fat and sodium when they eat out than when they cook at home (Liz Szabo, USA Today). By cooking you can take control over what you put in your body. America is wrought with obesity. One way to fight obesity is to maintain a healthy diet, learning to cook one’s own food can make an impactful change.
4:
Cooking is Cheap People often assume that eating out is cheaper than staying at home, especially for one or two people but research shows that is not the case. Research shows that dining out is more costly than eating in when all costs are considered (time, gas, money, etc.). By cooking at home, you have the power to spend what you want. Again, you have the power to choose where you shop, how you shop and what you buy. Meal planning is an important part of the process too. Knowing what you need before you go to the store, planning meals with multiple uses for the same ingredient so as not to waste is an important step.
5:
Cooking is Social There’s no doubt that food is an integral part of our culture. Food is everywhere, wherever we gather for social events, food is there. By cooking, you instantly become an entertainer, an educator in the kitchen for those around you and an enthusiast, joined by millions of others who enjoy the same things you do in the kitchen. Being in the kitchen and cooking beside people and for people is one of the most intimate ways we can connect as a culture. Cooking for someone is like sharing a part of yourself. It’s intimate, fun and life-giving.
Less than a third
of Americans under 40 are cooking their evening dinners from scratch. Food Marketing Institute Trends in the United States: Consumer Attitudes and the Supermarket 2001
WHAT’S IT LOOK LIKE?
manifestation of graphic design & cooking
23 don’t fear the kitchen
The following page contains a matrix of materials (or deliverables) that I am proposing to complete for my thesis project. Each piece is rconnected to the others, whether it be in content, look and feel, format or use. This is a roadmap of sorts for me to navigate what I want to accomplish. As part of the thesis process and experience I have been told that this will change in time and not to hold too tightly to any one deliverable. As a graphic designer I love print. Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on who you ask), the profession is moving into a digital world where print still exists but it is often not the primary vehicle for the design. My strength is in book design and layout, so I propose a printed book, but I also am proposing to create a digital interactive book. My research so far has not shown a platform that does what I envision, but I believe it can and will be done. An interactive, digital mobile book that has videos, pictures, techniques and is fuild and changeable.
24 don’t fear the kitchen
This project shows the functional and phsyical pieces I propose to deliver as my final thesis. It is an exhaustive and inter-connected list of items that I would like to create, providing an integrated cooking experience for novice cooks in the kitchen. My goal is to excite, allow for individual experience and to educate non-cooks to be fearless in the kitchen. This list has been revised many times, and likely will continue to be revised from this point on. What’s important to note is the theme of the deliverables. There are three main portions of the deliverables: print, online/app and hands-on experience. All three are important for the success of my thesis, none outshining the other at this point.
VISUAL CAMPAIGN
PRINTED BOOK
COOKING SET
identitty & branding marketing materials: posters, books, ads, pamphlets
possibly a monthly or quarterly publication something to be proud of
something to be proud of a set to introduce baby-steps in the kitchen. cookware, tools & receipes
CONTENT // self research & chef ILLUSTRATION // self PHOTOGRAPHY // self & kelli elizabeth
CONTENT // self research & chef ILLUSTRATION // self PHOTOGRAPHY // self, kelli elizabeth,
CONTENT // self research & chef ILLUSTRATION // self PHOTOGRAPHY // self & kelli elizabeth
abby stolfo, sara & hugh forte
INTEGRATED IDENTITY SYSTEM D O N ’ T F E A R T H E K I TC H E N
branding, logo, identity
BUSINESS SYSTEM business cards, letterhead, envelopes
DFTK DFTK DF DF DON’T FEAR THE KITCHEN
SOCIAL MEDIA
don’t fear the kitchen
facebook account (don’t fear the kitchen) twitter account (@fearlesscook) blog (dontfearthekitchen.wordpress.com)
TK TK don’t fear the kitchen
DON’T FEAR THE KITCHEN
THESIS PROCESS BOOK documenting the thesis process
interactive
INTERACTIVE BOOK/APP
WEBSITE & BLOG
in the kitchen instructor video tutorials step-by-step photography & illustration
community based communication fourm, video instruction tips, tricks, seasons, tutorials, questions
CONTENT // self research & chef ILLUSTRATION // self PHOTOGRAPHY // self & kelli elizabeth PROGRAMMING // adobe, aaron
CONTENT // self research & chef ILLUSTRATION // self PHOTOGRAPHY // self & kelli elizabeth PROGRAMMING // adobe, wordpress,
vanderzwan & deb kawamoto
dustin long
“Cooking is one rewarding expe of the immediat and appreciati of your labor.�
of the most eriences because te gratification ion of the fruits —just a little something i’ve realized along the way.
HOW LONG WILL IT TAKE? a timeline laid out for all to see
29 don’t fear the kitchen
The following page has a rough timeline for the rest of my time at the Academy. Similar to the matrix of deliverables, the timeline is subject to change. My hope for my directed study classes is to secure two one-on-ones, one with a seasoned chef who would be willing to show me the ins and outs in the kitchen. Sharing what they know, helping me to generate original content (both written and visual) and inspiring me on a weekly basis to pass on their knowledge to the next generation of cooks. The other one-on-one, I anticipate working with a graphic designer, I don’t know who as of yet, and am open. For my other two directed study classes, I would like to take classes that I think will broaden my portfolio. As of now, my portfolio consists mainly of books, and it would be great to have a variety of materials when I graduate from the academy. Packaging is an option, an advanced type class is another.
D O N ’ T F E A R T H E K I TC H E N
D O N ’ T F E A R T H E K I TC H E N
DFTK DFTK DF DF
Summer 2011
june. july. august. DON’T FEAR THE KITCHEN
COURSES
don’t fear the kitchen
TK TK don’t fear the kitchen
DON’T FEAR THE KITCHEN
DFTK DFTK DF DF
Fall 2011
september. october. november. december. DON’T FEAR THE KITCHEN don’t fear the kitchen
COURSES
TK TK don’t fear the kitchen
DON’T FEAR THE KITCHEN
GR801: thesis development 826 Valencia Design Internship
GR604: nature of identity GR800: 1x1 advising GR360: type 3
RESEARCH
RESEARCH
phase one user research: email contacts survey monkey content research select 1x1 advisor food photography & styling
phase one user research (cont.): survey monkey round 2 conference (CIA napa, ca) 1x1 photography session 1x1 cooking techniques & education information design for cooking
DESIGN
DESIGN
buckets logo & identity system layout for blog
refine buckets continue refining logo & identity system campaign photography & language film first video tutorial
DEVELOPMENT social networking: facebook twitter blog & blog posts
DEVELOPMENT update social networking: facebook twitter blog & blog posts
determine budget knife skills, techniques & cooking methods photograph techniques & knife cuts vocabulary & glossary visual & written glossary
D O N ’ T F E A R T H E K I TC H E N
DFTK DFTK DF DF
Spring 2012
february. march.DON’april. may. T FEAR THE KITCHEN
COURSES
Summer 2012 june. july. august.
don’t fear the kitchen
TK TK don’t fear the kitchen
DON’T FEAR THE KITCHEN
COURSES
FA631: bookarts (elective) GR800: 1x1 with dave eggers GR800: design outside the box
GS604: professional practices (Office Design Internship)
RESEARCH
RESEARCH
phase two hands-on research: 1x1 cooking techniques & education group cooking classes pop-up kitchens contact vendors finalize contacts
meats & vegetables techniques photograph techniques & knife cuts continue vocabulary & glossary visual & written glossary 1x1 (eggers) how to tell a compelling story book content layout
DESIGN finalize logo & identity system business system campaign materials book design & layout app design instructional toolkits
DEVELOPMENT app and web development update social networking: facebook twitter blog & blog posts
method visualization information design visual food dictionary
phase two hands-on research (coninued): photography sessions cooking class feedback finalize vendors
DESIGN book design & layout app design website design packaging design & information books design process book
DEVELOPMENT app and web development packaging mock-ups book mock-ups update social networking: facebook twitter blog & blog posts
Fall 2012
graduate
september. october. novermber. december.
freedom.
COURSES GR800: portfolio
RESEARCH
Final Presentation
Winter Show
comps and feedback refinement complete vedor transactions
prepare for unconditional pass or resubmit
get hired in san francisco but before starting...vacation in italy
DESIGN finalize book finalize process book finalize interactive book/app complete website
DEVELOPMENT go live with website print and bind book(s) final packagin material social networking: facebook twitter blog & blog posts
HABITS FORMING? language. technology. friends
From of the book 100 Habits of Successful Graphic Designers: Insider Secrets on Working Smart and Staying Creative written and designed by Plazm. There are many more successful habits that I highlighted throughout my research but there were three habits that spoke to me, not only as a designer but also as someone who wants to communicate to a population of people who needs an introdcution to cooking, who is obsessed with technology and loves their social lives. How fitting that the three habits that stuck with me follow this theme.
20: Teach the Client Your Language One of my challenges with this thesis topic is that both cooking and design have two different languages. Thus, communicating with my audience, who are likely unfamiliar with both, could present a problem. The advice to teach the client the language was a priceless insight for me. I was assuming that people know what the difference between sautÊ and sous vide, but that’s the Curse of Knowledge taking over. In order to get my audience comfortable with the idea of being in the kitchen (before even getting them in the kitchen) they need to feel like they’re prepared for what to expect. Learning any language helps to feel a sense of belonging and comfort in the area of origin and this is what I need to do with my audience, teach them the language of food and cooking.
35 This isn’t a huge shocker, but to be reminded that unexpectedness is an advantage when using technology. Often I get caught in the mind set that new things in technology hold people back because it’s foreign or people are unfamiliar, but that’s the nature of the beast. People are always going to fall behind and there’s always going to be the next generation of technology. What I hope to do with my thesis is beat the wave of technology and create an interactive form of technology, perhaps the platform or an example of how the platform would operate. If it beats me to the punch then I’ll have to adapt and either join the flow or change.
73: Make Friends with People Who Know a Technology You Want to Learn This is another obvious idea, but key to my deliverable ideas. I am not an expert in web design or apps but I can make friends and contacts with people who are. I’ve already reached out to those who I have connections with that have experience in these areas. With technology, I should be learning how to do things, so even if I don’t hire out to the people who know, perhaps I can learn the tricks of the trade and gain a new skill set, making me a more desirable future employees and colleague.
don’t fear the kitchen
71: Use Technology in Unexpected Ways
WHERE DO I GO FROM HERE? scenario planning for the next five years
don’t fear the kitchen
38 1: Food Network My dream for the past few years has been to become involved with Food Network. Some say far from realistic, but I think combining my love for food and design would be well received there. I have a few connections, so all hope is not lost. My thesis deliverables and their method of instruction would be something that FN would want. The app will be a new way for readers to interact with recipes and cooking, taking cooking a step further than a t.v. network and website. The interactive nature of my book/app will entice FN and bring them in to my realm.
2:
Teaching & Small Studio My entire life I’ve wanted to be an “art teacher” because so many have made such an impact on my life and I would love to be able to do the same for future generations. My target audience (the younger non-cooking, fearful Americans) shows my ability to relate to them and get a message across. I would love to teach graphic design for graduate or undergraduate while having my own print studio on the side. The future may seem underwhelming, but it would make me extremely happy, fulfilled and looking forward to learning from others on a day-to-day basis.
3: Stay at home Mom Ha, gotcha! Just making sure you’re still reading. I am so far from wanting to be a stay-at-home mom it’s a bit troublesome, but moving on. My third ideal five-year-plan entails me working at a small studio. Doing freelance work is fine, but having the support of others is a huge component of graphic design that I’ve been missing out on. My thesis would relate to people who have similar passions to me. I want a smaller, intimate design studio where the “team” is more important than competition. Hatch SF, I Shot Him and Office are among the San Francisco studios feel like I could fit in.
WHO, WHAT, WHERE? this is the part where i drop names
40
People
don’t fear the kitchen
iso rabins (forageSF owner) tom pizzica (food network chef) gary danko (restaurant owner/chef) michael polan mike matas (next generation book) sharon hwang (mycookingdiary.com) linda hale (italian chef) melissa martin (cooking sense thesis) sara forte (chef & food stylist) hugh forte (professional food photographer) abby stolfo (food stylist) katie quinn davies (whatkatieate blog) kelli elizabeth durham (photographer) tyler florence (celebrity chef & restaurant owner) dave eggers (mcsweeny's & 826) chef justin west (chef & restaurant owner) weston richards (chef) branden bidwell (chef & wine manager) alice watters (edible schoolyard) aaron vanderzwan (technology developer) dustin long (medical student & web developer) deb kawamoto (ux designer)
Response x x x x x x x x • x x x x x x
open to collaboration for new community kitchen excited to hear more and talk personally gave me his card and said to call, but he hasn’t got back to me assistant got back to me and said he was too busy for students gave me the link to his site, not very receptive to meeting hasn’t got back to me yet interested in hearing more, open to helping told me about her experience and her difficulties. open to meeting unable to provide new work through December 2011, but open to working together unable to provide new work through December 2011, but open to working together willing to help, in response for my help with her ID and website in london, can’t do much, but got back to me saying thanks for the kind words interested and excited about food photography & collaboration never got back to me need to reach out to him. my connection is my internship at 826 valencia teaches cooking classes (fun but more instruction, less hands-on) interested in talking, but doesn’t have much to say culinary guru and wine pairing haven’t heard back yet explained software used. willing to share information wordpress and coding guru willing to help willing to help or connect to someone who can
Places x x • x • • • •
santa barbara city college culinary program (completed 1 semester, 2 courses) cookhouse sf (hands-on culinary class) la cocina sf santa barbara food expo williams sonoma cooking class food network show taping healthy kitchen, healthy lives conference (march 22-25 CIA napa) $1150 CIA food enthusiast “cooking at home” class (august 27, napa) $250
Things x x • • • x •
omnivore’s dilemna made to stick blink joy of cooking On Cooking: A Texbook of Culinary Fundamentals Plate to Pixel: Digital Food Photography & Styling how to cook everything (mark bittman) julia childs julie & julia food inc.
Web food gawker slow food usa time smitten kitchen broke ass gourmet what katie ate visual blog about modernist cuisine ny books usa today passive family income good edible schoolyard ny time fast company jamie oliver ny times focus on food ny times sprouted kitchen good
http://foodgawker.com http://www.slowfood.com http://www.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,2085467,00.html http://smittenkitchen.com http://brokeassgourmet.com http://www.whatkatieate.blogspot.com http://3191.visualblogging.com/galleries/11518_1443007713/69309 http://ezinearticles.com/?Myth-Busting---Fast-Food-Vs-Home-Cooking&id=1572188 http://modernistcuisine.com http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/2010/jun/10/food-movement-rising http://www.usatoday.com/life/lifestyle/2004-05-05-home-cooking_x.htm http://www.passivefamilyincome.com/8-benfits-of-eating-at-home-other-than-saving-money http://www.good.is/post/what-to-cook-and-how-to-cook-it-the-book http://www.edibleschoolyard.org http://www.nytimes.com/1992/01/15/garden/new-lost-generation-the-cooking-illiterate.html http://www.fastcodesign.com/1663168/infographic-of-the-day-a-complete-guide-to-your-kitchen-tools?partner=co_newsletter http://www.jamieoliver.com/jamies-ministry-of-food http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/02/magazine/02cooking-t.html?pagewanted=all http://www.focusonfood.org/cookingbuses.html http://opinionator.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/02/01/a-food-manifesto-for-the-future/?ref=dining http://sproutedkitchen.com http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/7oqgJb/www.good.is/post/food-studies-serious-knife-skills
Key ď • • x
not receptive (a.k.a. had assistant get back to me) need to do in process reached out/completed
AND THEN THERE’S ME why i am meant to do this
45 don’t fear the kitchen
I Started Cooking to Save My Mom’s Life...Literally If you would have asked me ten years ago whether I would have ever pictured myself as a “cook”, my response would have likely been a definitive, “Never!” I didn’t choose to start cooking, I started cooking to save my mom’s life. It sounds dramatic, I know, but I really did. I grew up in a house with five brothers and a single mom. She didn’t have a steady job, making food in our house scarce, not to mention fighting with five boys over who should get the last fried wing, there was always competition for food. Processed food was the norm in our house. Our daily brown bag lunches often consisted of some pretty odd items. For example, my mom would head over to McDonalds on Sunday nights, buy the maximum amount of .29 cent hamburgers, freeze them and place them in our lunch bags during the week, hoping that they would thaw by lunchtime. Needless to say, no one ever traded their Snack Pack with me.
don’t fear the kitchen
46 In eighth grade, my world came crashing down with the news that my mom had cancer. It was in that instant that my life was changed forever. Life during that time was scary and chaotic but one thing that I vividly remember was how my family’s perception of food changed. It was the first time that I realized what you put in your body affects your health. Over the course of a few months, our eating and cooking habits as a family changed drastically. My
“My mom would head over to McDonalds on sunday nights, buy the maxiumum amount of .29 cent hamburgers, freeze them and place them in our lunch bags during the week, hoping that they would thaw by lunchtime. Needless to say, no one ever traded their snack pack with me.”
brothers and I banded together, taking the task of cooking dinner into our own hands. We were ill-prepared to cook, but we learned because we had to. What we got out of it, besides a few burnt meals here and there, was a tight knit family and the miraculous healing of my mother.
don’t fear the kitchen
48 Cooking wasn’t always important to me, but life changes and you just have to roll with it if you want to move forward. What I’ve learned through my early life experiences so far is that life isn’t simple, but that doesn’t mean that you should give up simply because the future is uncertain or you don’t know how to do it.
Cooking Meets Design I’ve been cooking for more than half my life. I am not a professional but I have devoted more than eight years of my life to the restaurant industry, constantly educating myself in the ways of food and wine. I began a culinary program in Santa Barbara, furthering my interest and knowledge in food and cooking. More than half of my life has been devoted to food while only six years has been devoted to graphic design. That is not said to belittle my design skills, but rather to speak for my skills in the kitchen. With more than twice the experience in the kitchen as I’ve had on the computer, I know that cooking and design are two of my strongest skills, both of which I plan to continue improving. Cooking is similar to design in that it forces you to take a step back, taste, re-evaluate and adapt to the challenge at hand. With a history in both cooking and design, I am well equipped to take on the challenge of demystifying cooking for the future generations of America. Cooking is not a lost art yet, it can be revived and it can flourish, bringing back both joy and community to the dinner table.
thank you.
to follow me & my process: BLOG // dontfearthekitchen.wordpress.com TWITTER // @ fearlesscook FACEBOOK // don’t
fear the kitchen
COLOPHON name id number course professors semester typefaces
photography paper printer cutting binding
katie king rumford 02641829 gr 801: thesis development phil hamlett & hunter wimmer summer 2011 ziggurat baskerville knockout katie king rumford sara & hugh forte (endpages) hp inkjet matte 32lb epson 3800 eco copy katie king rumford
“Nothing would be more tiresome than eating and drinking if God had not made them a pleasure as well as a necessity.� Voltaire
Book design Copyright Š 2011 This book was written and designed by Katie King Rumford for review by the Academy of Art University institution and professors. All Rights Reserved.