A family cookbook isn’t only about food, it’s about memories

Fabienne Granier, 64 from Paris, crafted a cookbook for her daughter for Christmas 2019, including all members of the family’s favourite and personal recipes. More than being about food, the book is about keeping traditions alive.

When my daughter asked me for a cookbook for Christmas 2019, I thought I would surprise her with a personalised one, including recipes and memories from the whole family. We used to spend the whole summer together when the kids were younger, which is something we do less of now. So I thought this cookbook would be a good way to try and keep traditions going, and to stay close to the family, through recipes. I wanted it to be a book where she’d find food to make, but also love and laugh at. Every member of the family wrote a personal note alongside their signature recipe. I’ve even added a recipe from our cat Kibbles, he’s a member of the family too after all!

As I do a lot of arts and crafts, drawings and travel diaries, I decided the book would be handmade from the beginning until the end. I wanted to do something personal, something unique. I wanted it to be more than just a cookbook, I wanted it to be a handmade object, with drawings and words especially for her. It made me happy to do it, and I hoped to make her happy too. So I’ve built the whole book myself, drawn everything, and included some tips for her new life as a grown up: the basics she needs to have in her fridge so she would always have something to cook from scratch, a list of the seasonal vegetables and fruits, a classic shopping list…

Then, I asked all members of the family to personally hand write their recipes in the book: the cousins, uncles and aunts, sisters and parents. Everybody wrote their own: a personalised punch, a risotto, a rainbow cake… You can see everybody’s personality come out and that’s what makes it special. For example, my nephew wrote the simplest recipe, and that’s his signature dish: “cook pasta, add pesto, add cheese, eat it in the pan because washing dishes is boring!” That is his touch, that is his personality, and that is what I love to see when I go through this book.

I was also really determined to share my mother’s signature recipe. She’s not here anymore, but she’s still a part of the family and her recipes are close to my heart. Cooking has always been something important to her, as it was for her mother and her grandmother. She has always been passionate about family dinner. She liked to cook for everybody and share those moments together. She was a single mother with five children, so when it came to cooking, we would all be around to help her out.

‘It’s an object that can go through time now. I’d be proud to see it 50 years from now and remember all those moments’

The dish I wanted to share from my mother with my daughter is called ‘Les tartines’ (‘the toasts’ in English). It’s a really cheap and easy one to make, as she did not have lots of time or money. This one involves only ham, cream, bread and mushrooms. When we used to cook this meal, we would all sit around the table together; everybody participated in making the dinner. Some of us would cut the mushrooms, while others would cut the ham or the bread. It’s such a good family memory now, and this dish represents this childhood experience we shared together. I really wanted my daughter to have this recipe both in her cookbook and in her memory; to remember her grandmother’s history and traditions.

After all, cooking is about sharing moments but also knowledge, and continuing a legacy. Even if over time my own recipes became slightly different from my mother’s, and my daughters’ will be different from mine, I still want some recipes to be connected to the family. I want them to remember our family’s history, her uncle’s personality or what her little cousin’s would cook at this age. There are traditional recipes that bring people together and it’s important to remember them.

I didn’t plan to add any pictures in the cookbook at first, but as it was taking shape, I decided if this object is going to be a book of memories, it would also be nice to remember how we all looked at this time of her life. I’ve even added a picture of the kitchen she grew up in. Maybe it’s a book she could share later with her own children, and they’ll see how we all looked when we were young, what we used to cook in 2019. It’s an object that can go through time now. I’d be proud to see it 50 years from now and remember all those moments. Traditional recipes bring people together in special times – I really wanted her to remember that.

Les tartines de Mémie recipe:

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200°
2. Melt butter in a pot
3. Add flour and stir well.
4. Bring the milk to the boil and let it boil for a few moments.
5. Pour the milk on the mix butter/flour.
6. Add the mushrooms, the ham and the cheese to the mix.
7. Season to taste.
8. Spread the mixture on slices of bread.
9. Put the bread in the oven for five to ten minutes (depending on how crispy you want it to be). Serve hot.

Gretel’s tip: You can toast the bread before putting the mix on it for more crispiness.