Cookbook Photography Review: In Her Kitchen by Gabriele Galimberti

Cookbook/ Photography Book
248 p.
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
Published: 11/11/14
Source: Blogging for Books for review

Gabriele Galimberti's beautiful portraits of grandmothers from all over the world posing with their signature dishes remind us that sharing traditions through food is universal.

As Gabriele Galimberti was preparing to set off on a trip around the world, his Italian grandmother was more concerned about how well he would eat than any risks or mishaps he might face on his travels. As a send-off, she prepared his favorite dish, Swiss Chard and Ricotta Ravioli with Meat Sauce. He then promised her that he would eat good food wherever he went, and while on his trip, persuaded grandmothers in 60 countries to cook a meal for him. At each grandmother's table, he became her curious and hungry grandson, tasting her dish and capturing her pride with his camera. The resulting book's stories, recipes, and loving photographs pay homage to all grandmothers and their cooking and provides a moving, anthropological glimpse into the national palates in faraway places. From a Swedish homemaker and her homemade lox and vegetables to a Zambian villager and her Roasted Spiced Chicken, this collection inspires great appreciation for our most cherished family members.

My thoughts:

As the blurb above tells the tell, Gabriele's grandmother gave him the idea for this book. In fact, she was the first grandma in the book. I just knew I had to check this book out from the fabulous cover! Each part of the book is a grandmother as varied as grandmothers can be. There are some that are surprisingly young and others with several great grandchildren. What they all have in common is their love of family and food. Each page has a picture of the grandmother and the ingredients (like the cover). The next picture is a full page of the dish. On the next pages there is a small paragraph or two about the woman and her meal with the recipe. The book is worth just the pictures and the small stories! Even dishes I would not want to try (caterpillar) still made me feel as if I would be happy to eat them because of the pride that went into cooking the food and why they made it. Other photographs made me wish I was there while they were cooking the food for the companionship and... well... the food! Some of the dishes were mouth watering.

I give this book 5 stars. It is a wonderful book if you just want it as a coffee table book, if you want some short stories about a grandmother's favorite dish or you want unique and interesting recipes. I know this book made me think of my grandma and her dish she made every Thanksgiving. Yes, it made me quite nostalgic. I highly recommend this book.

Photography by Gabirele Galimberti (his grandma's dish)
Other sneak peaks go HERE