Food history cookbook illustration: Italian publisher Sellerio Editore
This food history cookbook illustration was licenced to Italian publisher, Sellerio Editore, as a book cover for its translated culinary title, “Delizie d’Oriente,” by renowned scholar Peter Heine.
The Brief
In 2017, a Sicily-based Italian publisher approached me to licence this food history cookbook illustration. It depicts a Jordanian woman wearing a Bedouin dress, while serving an iconic local dish called, Galayet Bandora.
Sellerio Editore printed the artwork as a cookbook cover for their translated culinary publication, “Delizie d’Oriente: Una storia della cultura gastronomica.” The author is Islamic-Studies scholar Peter Heine, who lives in Berlin.
The literal translation of the title is, “Delights of the East: A History of Gastronomic Culture.”
As an illustrator specialising in Mediterranean and Middle Eastern food and travel illustration, I was so delighted to licence my artwork to a cookbook of this calibre.
As a matter of fact, this is exactly the kind of project I want my illustrations to be associated with.
About the Book
Published in several languages, the book’s English version is officially titled: “The Culinary Crescent: A History of Middle Eastern Cuisine.”
Gingko, a “UK-based charity working to improve mutual understanding between the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and the West,” published the book in 2018.
In general, this exciting part cookbook, part food history manuscript explores the cultural history of food in the Middle East, offering foodies over 50 recipes to try.
Moreover, it has some wonderful insights into the food traditions, rules of fasting, and foods associated with religious festivals. There’s also some interesting takeaways about the food preparation rituals in this part of the world.
Markedly, the book discusses politically-motivated food wars in the Middle East under a sub-section titled: “The dispute over hummus and falafel.” There’s also a section about “Other conflicts over the origins of foods.”
The Making of this Food History Cookbook Illustration
I created this food history cookbook illustration for an old blog of mine. My aim was to share a favourite recipe from my country, Jordan.
As I have noted, the artwork reflects the tribal and folk heritage behind a staple Jordanian dish, called Galayet Bandora.
Typically prepared by farmers in Ghor-el-Safi, aka the Jordan Valley, this is a simple dish of tomatoes sautéed in a bit of olive oil. The dish also features onions, garlic and Serrano peppers.
With this Middle Eastern food illustration, I wanted to come up with a way to allude to the culture behind the food.
That’s how the idea of creating an illustration depicting a Jordanian hostess, holding a rustic wooden plate of freshly-cooked fried tomatoes, came about.
Another key point, this local woman is wearing a traditional tribal Jordanian dress. There’s hand-stitched embroidery adorning its neckline and long sleeves.
Inspired by contemporary food photography trends, the hostess’s face is out of frame. This leaves us with the information most relevant to the editorial piece, namely the cultural reference and the food itself.
Client
Sellerio Editore is an Italian publishing house founded in 1969 by Elvira Sellerio (née Giorgianni), and renowned photographer Enzo Sellerio. It is based in Palermo, Sicily
Sector
Book publishing, specialising in Italian literature as well as translated fiction and non-fiction book titles by a selection of international writers
Year
2017
Illustration Format
I submitted this illustration as a raster TIFF file in 300 dpi. File is also in a CMYK colour space, as it was destined for print.
Illustration Technique
This food history cookbook illustration was created digitally using a Wacom tablet. I have also used various paint and texture brushes in Adobe Photoshop. There is photo collage in some areas of the illustration, using royalty-free images.
Keywords
Jordanian food illustration by illustrator and artist Ruba Saqr, Jordanian fried tomatoes dish, illustrated cookery book, people illustration, publishing illustration, culinary book illustration, cookbook cover illustration, illustrated cookbook cover