Homemade is Best by Forsman & Bodenfors,
Evelina Bratell and Carl Kleiner for Ikea

| 31 comments
More:

Homemade is Best by IKEA

Swedish furniture and homeware brand Ikea have released this 140-page cookbook featuring photographs of ingredients laid out in patterns. Update: this project is included in Dezeen Book of Ideas, which is on sale now for £12.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

Called Homemade is Best, the project was a collaboration between creative agency Forsman & Bodenfors, stylist Evelina Bratell and photographer Carl Kleiner.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

The book contains 30 Swedish recipes for cakes and biscuits.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

Photos of ingredients laid out in a style inspired by Japanese minimalism are followed by photography of the completed treats.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

All photographs are by Carl Kleiner.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

Here’s some more from Forsman & Bodenfors:

IKEA – HOMEMADE IS BEST

We wanted to ensure a connection between Ikea's kitchen appliances and one of the best things you can do in a kitchen, some great baking.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

So the main attraction in the campaign became a 140 page coffee-table baking book presented in a very visually unique and spectacular way.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

90% of all the photographs taken in baking books look extremly alike.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

We wanted to try something different and present the recipes in a totally new fashion.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

We let ourselves be inspired by high fashion and japanese minimalism.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

The idea of the book became to tone down the actual cake and put the ingredients in focus.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

The recipes are presented as graphic still-life portraits on a warm and colourful stage.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

And when you turn the page you see the fantastic result.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

The baking book contains 30 classic swedish baking recipes everything from small biscuits to large cakes.

Homemade is Best by IKEA

Workgroup:
Client: Ikea, Joel Idén
Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors, Sweden
Art director: Staffan Lamm, Christoffer Persson
Copywriter: Fredrik Jansson, Anders Hegerfors
Account director: Susanna Fagring
Account manager: Ewa Edlund
Retouch: Factory, Henrik Lagerberg
Photographer: Carl Kleiner
Stylist: Evelina Bratell

Homemade is Best by IKEA

See also:

.

Ikea PS Collection
in Milan		 Well Done: a food company
annual report		 All our book
competitions

Dezeen Book of Ideas out now!

Forsman & Bodenfors and Evelina Bratell and Carl Kleiner for IKEA is included in our book, Dezeen Book of Ideas. Buy it now for just £12.

| 31 comments
More:

Posted on Friday, October 1st, 2010 at 12:31 pm by Joe Mills. See our copyright policy. Before commenting, please read our comments policy.

  • tanyatelford

    blimey some one has logged me into to this again (im smiling) this book does look nice, ( I will have a look at some previous posts on Dezeen (i saw a couple that made me stop for a while a little while ago, "yes I have been keeping my eyes peeled" (where did that saying come from too?),

  • Simon N

    I wonder if there's a disclaimer in the cookbook due to lack of descriptive process into making the cakes/biscuits/pastries:

    "Please note: Ikea is not responsible for any cakes or biscuits which do not turn out as depicted"

    Interesting cookbook…it allows you to guess which order the ingredients go in and allows for your creativity in cooking to take off.

  • steph

    love the concept, but does it say things like, how long to put in the oven? and what are the ingredients shown? i dont recognise all of them….

  • Stevco

    Is this book available for purchase?

    Thanx,
    Stevco.

  • http://www.jjdesmondinteriors.com Jerry

    I followed a couple of these recipes (each took a long time to put together) and ended up with a chip board wardrobe, that has now fallen to pieces.

  • krimane

    cute and cool

    I just hope it won’t break after a few days of use.

  • Alexandra Campbell Interiors

    This is sort of hilarious…but I'd never be able to crack it. Those little men in the furniture instructions are key!

  • bujatt

    jätta kul, nice to look at but how can I cook something from it?

  • francesco

    amazing masterplans!

  • http://www.rebatesmoney.com/cashbackstores/ Max at Rebate Money

    haha, funny and creative

  • http://lettuceoffice.com nico

    hmmm well my interpretation of picture 1:

    2: small scoops of lemon gelato
    2: hexagonal mounds of tightly compacted chalk
    2: organic medium size eggs
    1: piece of 100 grit sand paper cut into a triangle
    2 tbsp: sugar (or cocaine??) (shaped into a triangle, naturally)
    1: mini pyramid of butter
    1: glob of elmer's glue

    mix ingredients together and baked for 6 hours at 750 degrees

    "so my swedish baked goods aren't quite coming out looking like the pictures"

  • AJ

    If only they had made it useful in some way…

  • KaptnKrunch

    This had me chuckling. I presume it's at least moderately tongue in cheek. I think a certain percentage of Ikea's goods are designed so anyway.

    I love it for one, I don't like cooking by recipe anyway, too much like chemistry. This is a book of inspiration rather than instruction I feel.

    Only real improvement needed is a few pictures of Nigella!

  • http://allo-marcel.blogspot.com/ Marcel

    Excellent concept, I love it!

  • viola

    i thought they should put reall discription on back it still would be beautiful book, but the maybe not as precious, so maybe just legend on the back, what is what and little oven with temperature and time…

  • http://flockofteacosy.blogspot.com/ flock of tea cosy

    Ack! I'd probably end up making Nico's recipe version. But love the idea.

  • amsam

    Gorgeous and witty! And people: it's a concept art book. The book that gives you the recipes has already been published fifteen different ways. Get it at the library or online and put this book in your living room.

    • michelalano

      I like the book, but I think it would be infinitely better if it were functional and not just concept art. Why do the two have to be separate? They could just as creatively achieve this (without text) by having a few intermediate photographs between the ingredients and the finished product. Then you could put it in your living room OR your kitchen. Could also be a great teaching tool for kids or people who are learning to bake.

  • olgavansaane

    I can imagine a minimalistic picture for entrecote recipe… a cow and a bottle of cognac.

    Well, I think I could deal with it…

  • noa

    i like it so much

  • http://www.facebook.com/antpereira Antonio Rosa da Silva

    It´s like putting ikea furniture together. Maybe they are preparing to sell the ingredients in small cardboard boxes!!!

  • annl

    It's kind of stolen. In 2005, a German design firm created the Lookcookbook, based on the same principle, but with graphics instead of photos. See e.g. http://www.iconglobe.net/blog/2009/02/21/the-look…

  • Karen

    I love it, but I read on another blog that it is only being handed out if you visit the kitchen department of their stores in Sweden. Anyone in Sweden willing to pick up a copy for me?

  • Nelis Groenefeldt

    thanks nico,
    could you give me such a beautiful instruction for the other pictures too?

  • Jimbo

    @annl – How is it stolen? The lookcookbook has all the weights and cooking times – its a completely different concept. The IKEA one is purely visual.

    They both have their merits. Saying its a stolen idea is like saying a comic book is stealing from a written novel as they both tell a story.

    @michelangelo – why does it have to be functional? so much of the design on here isn’t so why change now. just appreciate the beauty of it. step out of your product designer shoes and appreciate it for what it is. The designers clearly didn’t want to create just another cookbook.

    I like it. lots. I have a strange fondness for IKEA – they have taken over the world, but you cant argue that they do some things right.

  • http://blabla jens

    @annl

    Also the mp3 player was “stolen” by Apple, but somehow no one seem to care.

    It’s not so much about who was first, it’s more about who do it best.

    I think the IKEA version dare to take the step to make it unusable, which also makes it great. The german version just seem annoying and therefor boring. IT’s just a bad cookbook, the IKEA is not a cookbook, but very nice.

  • Sandi McEachron

    As with most of IKEA's ideas, they are innovative, fresh, and yes minimalistic. I just love it.

  • http://www.yaelmiller.com Yael

    I hope they put hints or clues in the book or even online to help motivated and creative home cooks actually make these recipes. I'm pretty good with guessing ratios in recipes, but really find baking is more chemistry than art. If you're off by too much on any one primary ingredient, you're gonna get weird results.

  • http://www.eurekastreetfurniture.com.au/ hardwood furniture

    Wow, yummy and cute as well.

  • Mr T

    Now also as a series of films! http://vimeo.com/20844202

  • Elina Crunkleton

    Homemade is at it best. Nice and simple amazing idea.