In 1977, Deborah Barsel, assistant registrar at the George Eastman Museum, crafted the beginning stages of The Photographer’s Cookbook, playing off George Eastman’s own famous recipe for lemon meringue pie, as well as former director Beaumont Newhall’s love of food. Over 120 prominent photographers of the time responded to Barsel’s submission request for photographer’s to send in their favorite recipes and food-related photographs. The recipes do not disappoint, with Ansel Adams’ Poached Eggs in Beer, Imogen Cunningham’s Borscht, William Eggleston’s Cheese Grits Casserole, and Ed Ruscha’s Cactus Omelette, to name a few. However, these submissions were left in the museum’s archives for forty years.
By 2016, the seventies came back to life, as these submissions were found by the George Eastman Museum. With a total of 49 recipes, the book provides a time capsule for literal and visual tastes of the era, rooted in the embrace and recognition of photography as a legitimate art form that took shape in museums and galleries. Each photographer offers the reader a look within their lives, explaining why they chose this recipe before the equipment and recipe are revealed.