Every home in Italy has a copy of Il Cucchiaio d'Argento (or The Silver Spoon as the English translation is known). The cookbook has been a staple of Italian kitchens since its first edition in 1950. For the tome's 12th edition, artist Olimpia Zagnoli was invited to create a new cover design, the fourth artist to leave her mark on the book's 75-year history.
Il Cucchiaio d'Argento turns 75: new edition by Olimpia Zagnoli and Bunker
'The design of an iconic recipe book has its own rules, a tradition to be respected, and at the same time a constant need for evolution,' reads a statement from cultural design studio Bunker, which oversaw the redesign and worked closely with Zagnoli on the cover. 'Olimpia Zagnoli brought her unmistakable style and colour palette from the cover to the internal sections, giving a new form to timeless content. The result is a book that maintains its usefulness in a renewed form.'
The new edition continues the book's grand tradition of bringing the best recipes from Italian gastronomy while at the same time innovating and keeping in touch with the times to speak to a new generation, as reflected by new sections dedicated to veg-based dishes, pantry organisation and shopping-list tips.
The 2,000-plus recipes in the book include traditional dishes that have been part of the Cucchiaio d'Argento editions, and 150 new recipes.
Zagnoli's cover design maintains the book's icon – the spoon – which becomes part of a new a playful, tongue-in-cheek visual narrative. 'The central element of "The Silver Spoon" is, of course, the spoon. I love it because it's rounded and because it's used for soup, one of my favourite dishes,' she says. 'In the various cover designs, the spoon always played a central role: a spoon that becomes an exclamation point, flying spoons, a spoon filled with green dots resembling peas. In the final version, the spoon is in the foreground and is being licked with gusto by the character behind it.'
The rounded silhouette of the spoon is repeated in the character's eyes, and as a graphic sign on the spine. The colour palette, Zagnoli notes, is inspired by gastronomy; she chose tones that complement ingredients from asparagus to chestnuts.'
Il Cucchiaio d’Argento 12° edizione (Editoriale Domus) €49
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