Food may not be the first thing that comes to mind when one is considers science and technology...
...but this National Science Week, running from the 14th to the 22nd of August, is an excellent opportunity to challenge that. Think about the humble grain of salt. From pickling vegetables, to historical preserving methods, and the pinch of salt in baking that brings the whole cake together, salt is highly chemical and endlessly interesting in cooking as in science.
This Science Week, the theme is 'Food: Different By Design' and so we have compiled a list of comic book cookbooks and graphic novels that feature a recipe or few, which celebrate food in a variety of ways and show a connection between food, science, culture and community. The following graphic novels, from junior to adult-level materials and comprising fiction, non-fiction and memoir, span food and cooking in many guises (as well as serving up some delectable drawings of food). We hope you enjoy these sweet and savoury stories.
For starters, there are the colourful comic book cookbooks Let's
Make Dumplings! (Penguin, 2021) and Let's Make Ramen! (Penguin, 2019) by
the delightful due of Hugh Amano and Sarah Becan. These stunning graphic novels are absolutely packed with recipes, accurate and informative art, as well as information on food preparation, historical tidbits, and input from renowned chefs and foodies.
Bake Sale by Sara Varon (First Second, 2011) is a surprisingly moving story starring two tasty treats as they navigate work (at a bakery - of course) as well as the complexities of friendships and other social struggles and commitments. This is a wonderful read for a younger audience that also includes the recipes for what the characters create in the book.
The Brave Chef Brianna series by Sam Sykes and Selina Espiritu (KaBoom, 2017) is a foodie fantasy taking place in a city full of monsters exploring such themes as family, business and passion. When Brianna sets out to prove her worth as a chef capable of leading family empire, she will have to learn a lot about herself and her new surroundings to grow and cook some weird and wonderful food.
Food, family, culture and cooking contests, Measuring Up by Lily LaMotte and Ann Xu (HarperAlley, 2020) has it all. An adorable story with matching art, Measuring Up is a wonderful tale about fitting in and cooking up a storm. While this book doesn't have traditional recipes with measurements, there is a lot to learn here about ingredients, food preparation and culture.
In Cook Korean!: A Comic Book with Recipes (Ten Speed Press, 2016), Robin Ha serves up an incredibly entertaining and informative graphic cookbook. Recipes are rendered so helpfully that you practically feel like someone is there with you taking you through each step and the aspirational art makes you want to cook every item.
Bloom by Kevin Panetta and
Savanna Ganucheau (First Second, 2019) is another ALIA Graphic
favourite, featuring young love set within a struggling family bakery.
This young adult graphic novel will treat you to some gorgeous art, a
gentle romance, and slightly steamy baking scenes.
While Pawcasso by Remy Lai (Allen and Unwin, 2021) may not be about food per se, it still deserves a shout out for including a recipe at the end of the book that is
both people- and canine-friendly and absolutely delightful.
Even superheroes need to cook and eat nourishing food. With that, let us finish with Marvel Comics: Cooking with Deadpool by Marc Sumerak and Elena Craig (Marvel, 2021) and the official Marvel Eat the Universe cookbook by Justin Warner (Marvel, 2020).
If you enjoyed the above, you might be interested in our next Graphic Novel Club, where we will be delving into comic versions of other media on Sunday August 22 at 3pm (register here). The suggested reading items are:
- Doctor Who: Prisoners of Time - Scott and David Tipton (comic adaptation of a television show)
- Life is Strange: Dust - Emma Vieceli, Claudia Leonardi, Andrea Izzo (comic adaptation of a video game)
- Frankenstein - Mary Shelley and Gris Grimly (comic adaptation of a novel)
While we may not be
discussing these food-related books in detail, the comic book cookbook is a
very interesting graphic adaptation of a traditional medium – the cookbook –
that may be worth discussing!
National Science Week 2021: Food: Different By Design 14 – 22 August 2021 Australia Wide. More information here.