Too many cooks…
Sometimes a project takes on a life of it’s own. The pieces of the puzzle just fall into place and what starts as a simple concept turns into a community building effort. 
The Dilemma: The Nelson Municipal Library badly needs funding to support their expansion project. Cuts in provincial and federal budgets mean the Library is relying solely on the community it serves to lend a hand.
The Solution: The Kootenay Co-op, always a keen supporter of community involvement, decides to get on board and collaborate on a fund-raising project–A community cookbook focused on local ingredients.I know I know…’community cookbook’ often brings horrid images to the mind of cheap paper, dodgy black& white images taken with point and shoot cameras and the dreaded plastic coil spine. That was not to be the case with this book.
Through a few chance introductions, the team evolved was secured for the project.
Anne DeGrace-accomplished local author and librarian at the Nelson Library
Jocelyn Carver-Marketing and Outreach Manager at the Kootenay Co-0p
Heather Goldsworthy (me)-Food photographer, Imageobscura Photography
Steven Cretney-Designer, The Forest
As the concept evolved it became more of a coffee table, keepsake book than just a collection of recipes. The idea was to showcase recipes from local contributors that used the abundance of local ingredients available in the area. It would also include a heavy literary content; poems and essays from local published authors expressing the joys of gardening, cooking and entertaining Kootenay-style. The photos would not be limited to your standard cookbook images of the dishes but also incorporate artistic visuals to accompany the literary pieces and celebrate the diversity of the local food and dining culture.
Seasonings, a year of local flavour in words and recipes was born.
The official release date of the book is October 2nd but over the next few weeks I’ll be giving you some sneak peeks at the recipes, photos and stories behind the creation of the cookbook.
Stay tuned…we are just getting started.
