Migration is integral for our existence. For Italians, food isn’t just nourishment, it is life. Recipes are passed down through generations and across cultures. The Italians have always travelled.
Once the Romans went to conquer the world, followed by the Venetian merchants searched for fortune and Marco Polo searched for new land. This continued through centuries, including mass migration of Italians to America in the turn of the 20th century. Wherever they have travelled, the cuisine has followed the Italians.
Now, Italian cuisine or even just pasta is a staple around the world. The basic idea of flour, eggs and water to create a noodle or unique pasta shape has been adapted around the world with flavours of different cultures. From pesto and garlic in Italy to ramen noodles in China, pasta is eaten by all walks of life. From student living as an easy meal after a long day to a lavish Sunday evening meal.
The pasta we are made of explores these ideas through recipes and a journal of the migration of pasta across the globe.
My intention with this project was to use a common item, a recipe book as a base for exploration. Using the Italian cultural ideas of sharing meals and the importance in life.
Recipes tell a story, whenever it is a time or place. A generation, a traditional or signifies travel through migration. Recipe books have long been a key part of family history, especially in Italians where food is more than just nourishment. The content for my approach to this brief has begun based from the design of Rene Pedezi’s journals of his restaurant, how he tells a story through recipes and a journal combined.
Visually looking at minimalist cookbook design, the columns, white pages and strong typographic elements of books such as the recipe by Josh Emmett has influenced my practice in how the recipe book conveys the story of migration of Italians.
