As was foretold in a Paste preview, the Food Book Fair recently graced Manhattan’s Ace Hotel for a long weekend of conversation, snacking and book worship. Here are some of the delectable projects on display at the Fair’s “Foodieodicals” fest.
Molly Jean Bennett is a writer and multimedia producer based in New York City. Her essays, poems, and strongly worded letters have appeared in McSweeney’s Internet Tendency, Atlas Obscura, VICE, and elsewhere.
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Chickpea:
With achingly beautiful images of fruits, flowers, fungi, vegetables and grains on every cover, Chickpea isn't just a pretty face. This vegan quarterly magazine features recipes, book reviews, and articles on both practical and philosophical aspects of vegan eating and living.
Photo by Molly Jean Bennett
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Comestible:
With simple, woodcut-style covers and strong prose, Comestible takes on "food, the places it comes from and the people who grow it." The most recent issue includes an essay on organizing the homeless in rural Washington, a recipe for Ulam (Malaysian herb salad), and a guide to dyeing linen napkins with onion skins.
Photo by Molly Jean Bennett
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Middlewest:
Middlewest is a "deconstructed" magazine. That is, each issue consists of an unbound stack of recipe cards in a resealable envelope. Accompanied by photographs and essays, the recipes can be shuffled, uncoupled and recombined. Past recipes include goose fat schmear, a cocktail called "The Breakfast Club," and pea påté.
Photo by Molly Jean Bennett
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Spoonful:
With a focus on seasonal recipes, Spoonful is a beautifully designed "guide to home gatherings." In both its print features and online videos, this quarterly magazine specializes in food so beautiful it will make you weep (and salivate).
Photo by Rachel Bowman for Spoonful Magazine.
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Tabletop:
Tabletop is not one publication, but a consortium that aims to bring together some of the most exciting and unique food-focused projects happening in comics, literature, and illustration. Among their offerings at the Food Book Fair were Debbie Fong'sThings I Ate zine. In the Singapore Edition 2016, a collaboration with Allistair Johnson, Fong and Johnson extol and meticulously illustrate the wonders of Bak Kut Teh ("meat bone tea"), pineapple tarts, curry puffs and more.
Photo by Molly Jean Bennett
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Chips:
Hailing from South Africa, Chips is a new, photo-rich zine that sets itself apart by including a complimentary bag of chips with each periodical. The zine and the chips are all wrapped up together in a foil package with condiments included. Multi-sensory presentation aside (mine came with some exquisite, feather-light maize puffs covered in chutney-flavored dust), Chips doesn't skip dinner. The first issue includes a meditation on bagels; an eclectic batch of recipes and dining guides; and an essay on soup, Islam and identity.
Photo by Molly Jean Bennett
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The Runcible Spoon
Like the Edward Lear poem that inspired its name, The Runcible Spoon is a festival of oddities. Bursting with frenetic collages and funny, often surreal writing, this high-gloss zine is released roughly twice annually in themed issues. Most recently, "The Internet Issue" featured Yelp reviews about health code violations, an email to Martha Stewart about a chocolate cake gone horribly wrong, and an illustrated collection called "Pop-up Ads I'd Actually Click."
Photo by Molly Jean Bennett