In memory
The recipes someone was famous for, kept
Recipes are one of the few things a person leaves behind that you can still do rather than only look at.
Free to make and free to collect. You pay only if you print it.
How it works
You send one link to the people who knew them. Each person adds a recipe, either one of theirs or one that reminds them of them, and writes down what they remember. We print it as an A4 hardback.
There is no rush built into any of this. Books stay open as long as you want them to, and nobody is chased unless you ask for reminders.
What people write
The prompts are gentle on purpose: what do you cook when you think of them, and where were you when they first made this for you. Most people find that easier to answer than being asked for a memory.
Half-remembered recipes are welcome. Three people disagreeing about how much cinnamon went in is itself a record of the person.
When to do it
There is no right time, and later is often better than sooner. Some families collect in the weeks after a funeral while everyone is together and in touch. Others start on a first anniversary, when the phone has stopped ringing and people want something to do.
The blank space under each recipe means the book can be passed round at a gathering and written in then.
Who to ask
Family, obviously, but also the friends and neighbours who ate at their table. People outside the family often hold the recipes nobody thought to write down.
Ask anyone who says they cannot cook. What they remember is the point, not what they can make.
What contributors are asked
Every contributor gets a prompt with their recipe, so nobody faces an empty box:
- What do you cook when you think of them?
- Where were you when they first made this for you?
- Who taught you this one?
- When do you make it?
What arrives
An A4 hardback book on 170gsm uncoated paper, printed and bound in the UK, with one recipe per page and space under each for a handwritten note. You read the whole thing as a PDF before anything is printed.
Questions
- How do you make a memorial recipe book?
- Collect the dishes the person was known for from everyone who ate them, alongside what each person remembers, and print it properly so it survives being used. The gathering is the hard part, and one shared link does that.
- What if nobody has the actual recipe written down?
- Most people do not. Contributors write what they remember, in whatever form they remember it, and the book carries the disagreements as well as the measurements.
- Can we print more than one copy?
- Yes. Most families doing this want several, so that every household has one.
No deadline, and no chasing unless you want it.
Three questions and you have a link to send. Free until you print it.