Gill Holcombe

Gill Holcombe

I came across Gill Holcombe when looking for 'A Girl Called Jack'. They are incredibly similar in what they have done however Gill Holcombe is actually a lot simpler than Jack Monroe with a lot more focus on creating family meals on an incredibly tight budget.

What intrested me the most about her cookbook is that they are incredibly similar to the old style cookbooks from Victorian times. There are no pictures to accompany the recipes. They are purely text based. Although this is not something that i want in my cookbook i do like the way that the recipes flow. The text is written in such a way that the book flows without becoming difficult to follow.

 The other aspect that i want to take from looking at Gill Holcombe's work is the way that she has illustrated the front cover. Once again it takes a look back at the old style where illustrations were the only images used as these were the easiest to print. This still remains the case that the cheapest way to print and produce a book is without images.

Although i like this style not using images is not something i want to pursue. Mainly because people have now become so used to having a visual guideline to what they are cooking they may be put off by not having something to aim for. On the other hand it may appeal to those who feel they can not get it perfect everytime. For students however if they create something that looks similar to what they are trying to make this motivates them to try it more often. This is where i will be looking at how i use photographs in my book. If the photos are too extravagant and make the meal look too unrealistic then i will not be producing something that will make my goal true to its self.

One thing that all of the chefs have in common is that they do not use a logo on their work. They use their names to market it. This is definitely something i will be using as it seems that it works a lot better than when they have used a logo. This i will go on to look at as i feel it will lead me to coming up with an idea for the text and imagery i will use.

Sam Stern

Sam Stern

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I came across sam stern when i started looking up student cook books. He has written half a dozen cookbooks with most of them being aimed at students. His food is more made to look and taste good but be simple to cook. In my book i want to keep it simple and basic as that is what it is about.

The main reason i chose to continue researching him is because i like the simplistic design of the photographs that he has used in his cook books. They are 'clean' and asthetically pleasing but still have the homely feel that i am aiming for.

The main issue i have is that his recipes are quite complex and contain many ingredients. This is great when you have a larger budget but i feel that the spirit of the minimalistic lifestyle students tend to lead is lost within this. For my cook book i want it to be simple and i want it to be easy to make/afford.

    In saying this i do like the way he has laid out his website. Again it is simple and aesthetically pleasing. He uses the same text throughout which is something i will look deeper into. Many people have their own text created if they are going to use their name as their logo. Not only does this create, i feel, more interest but it means you can market a name rather than a name and separate logo.

What i want to take from looking at sam stern is more about the way he has visually represented his product rather than the way he has produced it. The way he uses his name as the logo is something i will definitely take forward and think about doing for my own book.

A Girl Called Jack

'A GIRL CALLED JACK'
  I came across Jack Monroe through one of my tutors. She is a twenty five year old single mother who is now renound for making meals that can cost as little as 10p. She started out by writing a blog that outlined the way she has had to live with her son. With barely any money, paying rent through any means possible and at times having to go hungry. She has created what can be called the ultimate budget cookbook.

She creates all of her recipes from 'Sainsbury's basics' and when she can afford it free range meat. She has roughly fourty four vegetarian recipes, eight fish and four meat. I felt that she could be a great inspiration for my cookbook as i also want to do it on a budget for students.

To show her recipes she started using a blog, she has now landed a book deal with penguin and has been able to produce her own cookbook.

http://agirlcalledjack.com/2012/07/30/hunger-hurts/

This link is to one of her blogs that she outlines just how great the desperation became at one point. She has also been linked to press statements recently that are trying to smear and tarnish her reputation. Liz Jones wrote and article condemning her use of meat as along with cigarettes and alcohol meat is another luxury that you have to give up when you're 'poor'. As she pointed out she is no longer jobless however she is on a medium wage which allows her to sustain her and her son.

Although the cook book i want to do mainly focuses around the use of beans i want to incorperate the way that she has used many simple items to create a great dish. Although mine will have a recurring theme i want it to be more focused on the food rather than the prices as the book could get quite repetitive.


I will not try to copy the amount of recipes that she has created as i have already decided that i will make fifteen. I like the way that she started off using a blog to show her recipes and has since moved to a book. The images are not taken in a photography studio for the recipes on the blog. This i feel adds to the homemade, rustic type feel that i want to create with my own cookbook. I also like the way she has kept all of the recipes simple and they all look like they are achievable. Too many cookbooks have images that are over processed and make the food look fake. This for me puts me off trying to cook it as i know that i will never be able to create the same dish, not without

spending a fortune beforehand anyway.
Although i like the images in the blog i do want to make my own look a little more professional. This is just personal preference although i will keep in mind that i do not want an over processed final look. As my book is aimed at students i have to make it so that it is achievable however simple the recipie may be.

Her recipes are aimed at everyone who wants to try and eat for less but still eat good food. This is something that i want to take into my own cookbook as it is the main reason i went and looked at her work.

Cook books

After i decided that i wanted to create a cook book i went away and looked at the most popular cookbooks that i could find. These are the top  20 that are displayed on Amazon:
  

Looking at these books i realised that they are all mainly focused around simple cooking, something that appeals to many people in modern times. People want quick food but a healthy option to go along with it. Although all of these books are fantastic in the sense that they cater for those with a busy lifestyle, many do not cater for those on a budget. This is something that i want to bear in mind as i do not want to create a cook book that goes against my brief. 

What i can take from this however is the way some of the books are laid out. Many are simple in design but interesting. The idea of my cookbook is that it is simple in design but homely. The other aspect that i am looking at is the publisher to all these books. My book will be self published as it will be a dummy book, it will be then down to the company to chose who they wish to publish the final product with. However i want to see if there are any correlations with the popularity and the publisher, also if the publisher only produces certain types of cook books or by certain people.

I changed my search to 'budget cookbooks' to see what would come up. Many of the books were very boring in appearence. This was one that was within the first page of the google search:

Although the theme is simple and on a budget i do not see why you can't have some extravagance when making a simple cookbook. For me i would not be interested in this book as it does not capture my attention and does not make me want to look at the recipes inside. The main reason is that the book being bland automatically makes me think that the recipes will be the same inside. 

Although i feel that you do not have to have a fancy cook book that costs a fortune to produce i feel that more people would be interested in something that is aesthetically pleasing. The whole aim of the cook book is so that people can make dishes that look and taste good whilst being on a budget. 

For many people now they like the 'vintage' look especially a lot of students. This would tie in really well with the 'homely' feel that i need to create for the cook book so i will look at whether many cook books have done this when i look more into the design process.

Overall i feel that there are many books that target people that want to create quick meals that look and taste good, however there is a hole in the market for books that do this but also tie in the fact that many are on a budget.

Unit 7 Brief

BEAN POWER

 Your brief is to produce a cookbook showing the different ways in which baked beans can be used to create budget student dishes. As beans are comically known to be the stable food source of a student the cookbook has to show ways in which a simple tin of beans can be used to create a quick, easy and most importantly CHEAP dish. 
The target market for the recipe book is students, mainly those living away from home, ages 18-22. With this in mind, considerations should be paid to visual design and recipe specification to appeal to this section of society. BEAN POWER would like to use a homely feel to the overall dishes. 

Objectives:

Design, plan, produce photographs and make a student recipe book for budget bean related dishes. The book should include 15 recipes in two chapters ('Quick snacks and Mains'). The book should have SQUARE dimensions of 15x15cm, and include at least one image with every recipe. 

Specific Requirements: 

The photographer/designer should hold regular meetings with the client (tutor) as part of the development process. Design and format of the final book will be agreed in this manner. the photographer is responsible for all text, layout and photography, plus creation of the final recipe book. 
All book designs and images should be submitted on CD/DVD and you should also produce a dummy physical book for submission for Unit 7. If models are used, model release forms should also be included on the CD. 

For submission forUnit 7, all research and development should be recorded.