Presenting recipes as infographics could entice new cooks

May 6, 2013·Lindsay

Tomato sauce

It's fun to both acknowledge and applaud novel approaches to old methods, and a new cookbook coming out in October does just that. Rather than writing out the recipe, this cookbook, (Picture Cook: A Graphic Cookbook by Katie Shelly), presents the recipes as infographics - line drawings that show the recipe being made.

The idea behind this approach is explained in this article from Taxi, Brilliantly Illustrated Cookbook Shows Recipes As Infographics:

"Knowing how tedious it can be to wade through text-heavy recipes, Shelly's illustrated instructions keep words to a minimal, and instead, use simple drawings and arrows to bring their messages across...If you are a visual learner, you would appreciate the charming drawings in this unusual cookbook, which would allow you to pick up complicated dishes at a glance."

We're actually not sure how useful this is, but it's possible that these instructions may well appeal to a new group of potential cooks - and anything that entices people into the kitchen is a good thing. Below are two more examples - check out this site for more.

Carrot Soup

Pesto Sauce

Illustrations from katieshelly.com

7 comments

ThereseMay 13, 2013

I love these. There's not wrong or right way to present a recipe.
And quantities for pesto? Don't you just keep going till it tastes the way you like it (or its limited by the amount of basil in the garden at the time)
I reckon they'd look great printed on ceramic tiles or glass on a kitchen splashback.

bookpoetMay 6, 2013

No, just no.

M.F.K. Fisher and Julia Child are no doubt rolling over, and with good reason.

sir_ken_gMay 7, 2013

Might be good for those with poor literacy - but yes how do you measure?

PatriciaAnnMay 9, 2013

I'm a book person, books are in every room in my house and I love to read. But I also love picture books. I think this book would appeal to a whole realm of visual learners that won't labor through typical books. And even I who love to read find the picture style useful and stimulating. Perhaps the fact that I often use recipes for ideas rather than follow them exactly is why this style of book appeals to me. I know it would appeal to my teens, too.

NaomiManygoatsMay 7, 2013

No thank you....reminds me of the headaches I get when trying to figure out a flow chart for computer software!

geoff@kupesoftware.comMay 7, 2013

Um ... isn't something *missing* from the pesto sauce "recipe"?

Also, how would you figure out quantities from this?

F001May 8, 2013

I think this is a great idea. I have a really dyslexic son who is doing food science in Year 9 and any sort of book in this format would really help him. I understand that it is not for everyone but in terms of making recipes more accessible to a keen cookery student who gets completely exhausted having to read through recipes, it is a great idea. In the interim, we have filed away the idea for use in future school assignments.