The Soul of Fonda San Miguel

ASSIGNMENT

Design and produce a cookbook to celebrate the 50th anniversary of a beloved Austin institution.

SERVICES

Book Design

Photo Art Direction

328 pages include 102 recipes and photos of the famous food and the restaurant itself in full swing.

The linen case wrap features menu art from the 1970s that we silkscreened and custom stamped.

The pattern, color, and texture are a departure from the typical food photos seen on cookbook covers and represent Fonda San Miguel’s rich history of art and culture.

Tom Gilliland—the founder and owner— has lovingly decorated the restaurant over the years resulting in a space where every square inch is decorated in some way leaving no white space. The exterior is always landscaped and lit beautifully and the kitchen garden has been a staple over the years growing hard to find culinary herbs indiginous to Mexico.

To capture this rich sense of place we painted every page with color, created design elements to represent the living beauty of the space and food and chose typefaces to chanel the history and culture of the brand.

A fraction of Tom’s extensive art collection can be seen in the restaurant at any given time while the rest lives in storage.

In order to showcase some of the unique pieces, without adding significantly to the page count, we created a series of “gallery”inserts with a smaller trim size. Scattered throughout the book, these provide a welcome break in the pacing.

The restaurant’s impressive textile collection has been part of their famous Sunday brunch displays and ofrendas over the years. We layered a selection beneath plated dishes and photos to bring warmth and texture to the pages.

Recipe photos by
Tracey Maurer.

Restaurant photos, and photos of the book itself, by Kenny Braun.

Architectural photos by Paul Bardagjy.