Edible Book Festival

Did you devour a book yesterday? April 1 marks the birthday of French gastronome Jean-Anthelme Brillat-Savarin (1755-1826), the author of Physiologie du goût.  In honor of this birthday, and based on an idea conceived in 1999, Judith A. Hoffberg and Béatrice Coron started The International Edible Book Festival.

Eat Libris flyer by
Evanston Print and Paper Shop

This worldwide observation made it to my home town yesterday. The Evanston Print and Paper Shop, which hosted my linocutting class last year, invited bookloving culinary creatives to enter edible goodies into a competition.

Basic Bindings, bread and butter

Those who only came to watch the fun, like me, paid an admission fee. We were given ballots and a menu (letterpress printed of course!) on which to select Best in Show, Best Pun, Most Likely to be Eaten, Most Book-like, and Best Use of Ingredients.

Edible Books Menu by
Evanston Print and Paper Shop

Some people created plotlines for their creations.

Cookie in Death

It was tough to decide, but soon the votes were cast.

Leaves of Grass, a taco dip

I voted Les Miserapples as most likely to be devoured.

So much thoughtfulness went into each of these creations.

In actuality, of Rice and Men was quite popular:

Of Rice and Men,
rice crispies, condensed milk, chocolate and caramel

My favorite childhood book was represented.

Red Velveteen Rabbit,
red velvet cake of course!

Then we actually needed a tie-breaker to judge after we’d already dug into the goodies.

A scone at the end of the world

Catalyst promotional cupcakes

A pail of two Zitis, pasta

Harry Potluck won Best in Show and another category.

 Harry Potluck and the Gobbets of Fire,
chili chocolate pistachio bark,
chili-dusted dried mango slices, dark chocolate crystallized ginger

 

Great Pop Things and The Joy of a Peanuts Christmas

Bacon Eats Books was voted Most Book-like.

Francis Eats Bacon,
Japanese binding in leather (pear, apple, pineapple, strawberry, blackberry)

You can turn the pages:

Cuc’r in the Rye,
rye bread with cream cheese, cucmber and olives

My favorite, both in presentation and taste-full-ness also won a prize:

Materia Medica-Yum,
an edible herbal, gluten-free dough, hummus and herbs

 This looks like it modeled for a Renaissance nature book.

Peeps were represented well, reminding me Easter is coming up soon.

Warren Pizza, pizza and peeps

War and Peeps,
cake with a chocolate bunny and peeps

It looks like the Evanston Print and Paper shop has something else cooking:

I am marking my calendar!

The Secret Life of Cheese