001

Sown
Narratives
A personal exploration of alternative food
narratives through editorial design practices

Narrativas
Sembradas
Diego Hernández Dorantes
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
2024

Sown Narratives | Narrarivas Sembradas
A personal exploration of alternative food narratives
through editorial design practices
By
Diego Hernández Dorantes
B. Arch, UNAM, Mexico City

Supervisor:
Cameron Neat
Internal Reviewer:
Leo Vicenti
External Reviewer:
Ellen Lupton

A critical and process documentation thesis paper
submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of:

Unless stated otherwise Sown Narratives © 2024 by Diego Hernandez
Dorantes is licensed under Creative Commons AttributionNonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International. To view a copy of this
license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

Master of Design
Emily Carr University of Art + Design
2024

Abstract
This research explores the intersection between alternative
food and editorial design. To investigate this gap, it proposes generating a body of editorial expressions that embody a
series of alternative food narratives found in local contexts
in Mexico City and Vancouver. The study is grounded on the
necessity of looking for alternative ways to relate to food and
considers the editorial design practice as a critical mechanism to empower that shift. This is based on the premise that
awareness of alternative food practices is necessary to change
the negative impacts of the current conventional food system
that are affecting our lands, bodies and cultures. This research
considers a practice-based methodology that includes reflective practice and design methods, as well as literature review,
field research, empirical observation, social engagement and
conversations with food producers. The research centers on
a body of editorial work related to typography, photography,
and illustration that inquires about bringing alternative food
narratives into the creative practice of editorial design.

Keywords
editorial design
food publishing
food design
reflective practice
typography

Ayaquemetl landscape, Mexico City.

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SOWN NARRATIVES



“Tal vez la única salida que nos queda es rescatar el
fuego civilizador y convertirlo nuevamente en el centro
de nuestro hogar. Reunámonos junto a el para refle­
xionar sobre nuestra relación íntima con la vida.
Recuperemos el culto a la cocina, para que dentro de ese
espacio de libertad y democracia, podamos recordad
cual es el significado de nuestra existencia.”
“Maybe the only way out that has been left is to
rescue the civilizer fire and turn it again into the cen­ter of our home. Let’s gather around it to reflect
on our intimate relationship with life. Let’s recover
the cult in the kitchen, so within this space of
free­dom and democracy, we can remember the
meaning of our existence.” (Esquivel, 2001)

009

Land Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge that part of this
research has been conducted in the stolen and
unceded traditional territories of the Coast
Salish people, the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam),
Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səl̓ilw̓ ətaʔɬ
(Tsleil-Waututh) Nations.
Aditonally, part of the reseach took place in the
native territories of Tlahuac, Xochimilco, Milpa
Alta and Tlalpan.
I would like to recognize the inherited value of
these lands and communities. I am thankfull
for the shared knowledge
I recieved in these places during my research.

Acknowledgements
This research project has been a long journey that I couldn’t have done
without the support of all the people involved. The direction, reflections
and insights are the result of many talks, questions, and suggestions.
Thank you to my supervisor, Cameron Neat, for all his feedback, guidance, and suggestions and for encouraging me in my creative practice.
To Leo Vicenti, my internal reviewer, for his interesting and meaningful
reflections about my works. I also thank Ellen Lupton for taking the time
to review my thesis and asking relevant questions about my research.
I extend my gratitude to Katherine Gillieson, whose close involvement in
my projects and practice has been invaluable, particularly in developing
Food Journeys, and for inviting me to be part of Occasional Press during
these years. I also appreciate Jon Hannan for his insightful risographic
suggestions.
Furthermore, I am deeply grateful to all my professors, especially Robin
Mitchell-Cranfield, Louse St. Pierre, and Laura Kozak, for their collective
efforts in helping me develop this research. I also want to acknowledge
my cohort for our shared ideas, questions, and insights that have significantly shaped this research. Thank you to Howsem Huang, Charlie
(Llyang Zha), Mayura Colling, Julie McIntosh, Erik Asia, Sabid Ali,
Nat Kowo, Priyanka Abraham, and all those who have contributed to
my research.
I’d also like to express my deepest gratitude to my parents, Lilia and Efra,
for their unwavering support and encouragement in pursuing my goals.
Lastly, I’d like to truly thank my partner, Herlo, for his countless and
invaluable help throughout this research and for being my constant
companion throughout this journey.

g
c

Table of Content
209

Abstract/Keywords

016

List of Figures

079 Harvest

080 Harvest
Markets

091 Mercado Alternativo de Tlalpan

021 Introduction

u

099 Vancouver Farmers’ Markets

023 About this Thesis

Farms

031 Seedtime

111 Athiana Acres
125 Arca Tierra

032 Seedtime

035 Background and Position
043 Alternative Food Field

135 Cooking

136 Cooking

		044 Alternative Food Meanings
		046 The Reconnection with Food
		051 Towards the Joy of Engage with Food

Explorations

149 Tomatillo

059 Editorial Design Field

157 Organica

		060 Editorial Design Meanings
		063 Reconsider the Invisible

167 Portraits of Ephemeral
Table

069 The Intersection
		072 Food Design
		073 Different Ways of Naming
		075 An Honest Approach to Food

181 Food Journeys

201 Sobremesa
202 Sobremesa
203 Final Reflections

209

Appendices
202 Bibliography
212 Food Journeys Texts

Figures
Figure 01: Agroecological growing tomato.

022

Figure 31: Beets and turnips.

106

Figure 02: Methodology diagram.

026

Figure 32: Athiana Acres organic farm.

110

Figure 03: Exploration Scales diagram.

028

Figure 33: Kale production.

113

Figure 04: Maize field, Tláhuac, Mexico City.

034

Figure 34: Green house garlic.

114

Figure 05: Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) graphic.

036

Figure 35: Green house cherry tomato.

117

Figure 06: Oat field in the Ayaquemetl, Mexico City.

041

Figure 36: Green house cherry tomato.

118

Figure 07: Flowers in a sustainable farm.

043

Figure 37: Rye cover crop.

120

Figure 08: Ravioli dough preparation.

048

Figure 38: Flowers as part of the farm ecosystem.

122

Figure 39: Xochimilco canals.

124

Figure 40: Chinampa chard production.

127

Figure 41: Brief explanation of the chinampa soil properties.

128

Figure 09: Como Agua para chocolate postulate a food experience
through its narrative.

053

Figure 10: Jacob Jardens, part of The Feast of Bean King, 1640–1645.
(Public Domain)

054

Figure 42: Diverse type of herbs at the chinampa

130

Figure 11: Coca-Cola twentieth-century advertisements.

057

Figure 43: Diverse type of herbs at the chinampa

131

Figure 12: Engraving of an early German printing press, 1522.

058

Figure 44: Chinampa crop production.

132

Figure 13: Florentine Codex. Getty Museum Archive. (Public domain)

062

Figure 45: My kitchen.

139

Figure 14: Jean-François Millet, The Gleaners, 1857. (Public domain)

064

Figure 46: Tides, typography exercise made for a studio seminar

Figure 15: Latin America Food Design by Amazink.

070

prompt on the first year of the program.

Figure 16: Dough preparation for pan de muerto.

077

Figure 47: Earth, typography exercise made for a studio seminar

Figure 17: Deep Cove Park, BC, Canada.

082

prompt on the first year of the program.

Figure 18: Ayaquemetl farmland hill, limits of Mexico City, Mexico.

084

Figure 48: Workshop. Participants were ask to describe their

Figure 19: Diego Rivera, Market of Tlatelolco mural, 1929-35.

088

impressions of a series of food representations depicting the same

Figure 20: Producer at the Mercado Alternativo Tlalpan.

090

theme with different aesthetic forms.

142

Figure 21: Amaranth candies at the Mercado Alternativo Tlalpan.

092

Figure 49: Shared ingredients workshop.

145

Figure 22: Local-produced products.

095

Figure 50: Tomatillo pictograph.

148

Figure 23: Food vendors at the market.

096

Figure 51: Sketches of food representation.

150

Figure 24: Pulque beverage.

097

Figure 52: Mexica pictographic system used by the native people

Figure 25: Different types of green beans..

098

of Mexico City. (Public domain)

151

Figure 26: Products in season sign.

100

Figure 53: Tomatillo.

152

Figure 27: Garlics.

101

Figure 54: Carrots.

153

Figure 28: Local Berries.

102

Figure 55: Dingbat font system with its correspondence keyboard keys. 154

Figure 29: Vendor at the market.

103

Figure 56: Organica construction.

156

Figure 30: Blueberries.

104

Figure 57: Sketches of the letters.

159

140
141

Figure 58: Food shapes inspiration.

160

Figure 59: Typeface terminal details.

162

Figure 60: Set of stamps of the typeface.

164

Figure 61: Portrait of Ephemeral publication.

166

Figure 62: Publication’s photograph.

168

Figure 63: Publication’s photograph.

169

Figure 64: Publication’s photograph.

170

Figure 65: Exploration of a food portrait.

172

Figure 66: Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Four seasons in one head, circa 1590.

173

Figure 67: Portraits of Ephemera accordion publication.

174

Figure 68: Portrait of Ephemeral publication.

176

Figure 69: Food Journals issue 01 cover.

180

Figure 70: Print tests of the cover.

183

Figure 71: Cover issue 01.

184

Figure 72: Map in the publication.

186

Figure 73: Colophon and table of contents.

188

Figure 74: Risograph aesthetic.

190

Figure 75: Design details.

192

Figure 76: Recipe Example.

194

Figure 77: Publication’s production.

196

Figure 78: Food Journeys issue 02 cover.

198

Figure 79: Research journey initial diagram.

206

Figure 80: Research journey final diagram.

207

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SOWN NARRATIVES



Introduction

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SOWN NARRATIVES

INTRODUCTION

About this Thesis
Since the second half of the last century, we have been experiencing a radical change in our food systems. Led by a macro-scale industrialized model, our current primary food system is based on efficiency and profit as the
main goals. This has had relevant consequences in ecological, social, and
cultural matters. The current inputs-dependent farming threatens biodiversity, pollutes water supplies, decertifies soil, and makes people sick.
Consequently, this food system affects lands, bodies, and cultures.
While many voices have been proclaiming against this regime, the aesthetic dimension of their narratives has often been overlooked. For example, the editorial design of alternative food publications hasn’t yet received much attention in design research. This also reflects the challenge
of including editorial design practices in many local, small, or alternative
food-producing communities. However, the physical forms of these narratives are closely related to the meaning they transmit. Their aesthetic dimension affects how information is received and processed and, thus,
how it is experienced. Hence, considering the aesthetic dimension of food
narratives is also crucial to look for other types of relationships with food.
This thesis, named Sown Narratives, explores the intersection between alternative food and editorial design. To do so, it inquires about the possible
forms of a series of alternative food narratives by generating a body of
editorial design outcomes. By alternative food, the thesis considers food
positions and practices that contrast and respond to the actual macro-industrialized food system and its consequences. However, this thesis
doesn’t contemplate the whole alternative food field as the research
Figure 01: Agroecological growing tomato.

023

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INTRODUCTION

object. Instead, it proposes to focus on particular alternative food narratives—observed from literature and field research—and design a set of
publications and editorial expressions based on them.

The first chapter, “Seedtime,” describes the reflections and considerations
before other actions occur; it is a preliminary exercise to define what is to
be done; here, the research structure, my personal background and the
theoretical framework are described. The second, “Harvest,” represents
the action involved in getting the ingredients or going to the field to harvest; this chapter describes part of the primary research I did in the field.
This chapter intends to show things I learned and insights I came up with
while visiting food communities and production places in Mexico City
and Vancouver. The third one, “Cooking,” expresses the act of making that
is present in food preparation; the kitchen is also a studio where insights
occur from creativity; the chapter shows the editorial practice I developed
and the design outcomes. The last part is “Sobremesa,” which works as a
conclusion of the thesis. The name is a Mexican word that references the
after-meal conversations that occur still at the table. In this final section, I
put my final thoughts and reflections about this thesis as an invitation to
a conversation.

Aiming to focus on the editorial practice, this thesis uses a practice-based
research methodology. While the terms practice-based and practice-led
refer to practice-related research and are frequently used interchangeably,
there are specific postures that establish crucial differences between the
two. For this research, the term practice-based is used to clarify that the
“creative artifact[s] [are] the basis of a contribution to knowledge” as well
as the processes involved in making them (Candy, 2006). Putting editorial
design practice in a prominent space encourages a closer look at the aesthetic dimension that takes place in these narratives.
The methodology of this research includes various methods for different
purposes. First, it uses a literature review and a critical analysis of it to
define the concepts and theories taken from the editorial design and alternative food fields. Then, it uses field research methods such as photo
documentation, journaling, social engagement, empirical observation,
and casual conversations to document narratives, practices, and observations. Finally, it uses reflective practice methods to generate reflection-in-action and reflection-on-actions (Sochön, 1983). These methods
were used with editorial design methods to develop design outcomes.
The structure of this document is organized into three main chapters:
“Seedtime,” “Harvest,” and “Cooking.” Each chapter describes a specific
area of the research and focuses on particular methods. The titles of the
chapters aim to narrate this thesis as a food story, from sowing the seeds
to the final dishes and the after-meal conversations. The document plays
with this parallel narrative to show connections, links and possible interpretations between editorial design and alternative food. The analogies
between these two practices also encourage new perspectives on how alternative food and editorial design can relate to and benefit each other. In
each chapter, the analogies are seen differently according to the stages of
the research.

This thesis intends to embrace those voices seeking other possible relationships with food in terms of how it is produced and consumed. However, it also proposes seeking other possible ways to relate to food in terms
of how it is narrated. In other words, it looks for diverse ways to design
food narratives.

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SOWN NARRATIVES

027

Everyday Actions
Reflection

Background

Me

Practice

Positioning
Literature Review

Literature Review
Empirical Observation

Design Community Practice

Photo Documentation

Editorial Design Methods
Reflective Practice

Field Observation

Studio Practice

Conversations
Journaling

Editorial Design
Processes & Outcomes
(Thesis)

Practices

Alternative Food
Theories

Figure 02: Methodology diagram.

Conversations

Practice

(Alternative) Food (Editorial) Design

Precedents Review

Methodology

Editorial Design
Theories

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SOWN NARRATIVES

029

In
tr
o

Me

Se
e

n
io
ct
du

st
rve
a
H

e
im
dt

Field Observation

Design Perspectives

Cooking

Editorial Design
Processes & Outcomes

Th
es

Sc

i

s

Alternative Food

op

e

(Alternative) Food (Editorial) Design

Figure 03: Exploration Scales diagram.

Exploration Scales

Editorial Design

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SOWN NARRATIVES

1. Seedtime

About this Thesis

Chapter 1:

Temporada
de siembra
Seedtime

031

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SOWN NARRATIVES

1. Seedtime

Seedtime

Seedtime
I decided to call this first chapter Seedtime. The term means “the season
of sowing” (temporada de siembra in Spanish). I found it convenient to describe the initial phase of this thesis. It is the seedtime where new ideas
spring and planning happens. Additionally, we might associate seeds with
the origin of many foods we usually eat. Seedtime is the beginning of a
new story. Consequently, it has a second meaning: “a period of original
development” (“Seedtime,” n. d.). This first chapter is precisely that: a period where I started to develop the first considerations for this thesis. But
seeds and research don’t suddenly appear from nothing. They are the result of inherited interchange. Seeds emerge from complex natural processes and skilled practices. Research, for its part, comes from shared
theories, hypotheses and curiosity. This thesis arose from experiences,
discoveries and pursuits. For this reason, I considered my background and
influences as crucial parts of this thesis. They define my direction in exploring how to design alternative food stories.
This thesis began with the idea of using my practice, related to editorial
design and visual communication, to explore and support other food perspectives. My first intention was to create editorial design expressions
that embraced the food awareness I had in the last years. From this initial
intention in what topics I should cover in this thesis, I decided first to review authors and references related to alternative food and editorial design. In this chapter, I present the references that encourage me to explore
alternative food narratives more closely. This first chapter shows the concepts I learned and then used to start developing the editorial outcomes.
I organized this chapter into four sections to discuss the thesis’ initial development. The first section describes the experiences and memories that
motivated the generation of the thesis. It also shows my position on this

topic and what encouraged my pursuit of exploring alternative food stories through my practice. The sections that follow present a general overview of relevant concepts and considerations using a literature review. The
first of these sections considers authors and perspectives from the alternative food environment. The second one includes views from the editorial design field. The last section proposes reflections from the intersection of the two fields on how to tell alternative food stories. My
intention in this initial chapter is to offer the reader a better understanding of the topic of this thesis and a clearer view of the concepts that took
part in the development of the editorial design outcomes.

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1. Seedtime

Background and Position

Background and Position
I started this thesis motivated by experiences, conversations, visits, and
discoveries around food. All that background became relevant to frame
this thesis. For this reason, in this section, I describe part of who I am and
what influenced me to pursue this research. Additionally, this might offer
a view of my culture, position, and practice. A better understanding of my
background might help the reader understand how it contributed to developing the editorial outcomes proposed in this thesis.
I was born and raised in Mexico City, a big-scale urban space with a rich
inherited food culture. Its culinary expressions have a large and complex
history that overlaps times and nations and embodies a complex syncretism that comes from the mixture of peoples after the original natives, the
Mexicas, were colonized by the Spanish, creating a “mestizo” culture. The
Mexican capital’s food of Mexico City, the nation's capital, encompasses
traditions from different regions that somehow have made their way into
the local culture. When I was younger, I paid less attention to all the complexity represented in food; I wasn’t aware of its richness and powerful
qualities that can condense centuries of knowledge in only one dish. However, I was amazed by certain traditions. During the Día de Muertos festivities, I would love to experience all the colours, smells, and flavours in the
ofrendas. In the winter, I would enjoy the warmth and smell of ponche, a
traditional beverage made with seasonal fruits, which made me feel comfortable on cold nights. Besides tradition, I used to enjoy seasonal characteristic foods like ataulfo and manila mangos during the summer, when
they would fill all the markets.

Figure 04: Maize field, Tláhuac, Mexico City.

Perhaps that’s why, as I grew older, I became more curious about the processes and stories behind the food, which turned into having a more
critical view of it. A few years ago, influenced by my partner, I visited some
southern parts of Mexico City. Diverse types of food grow on these edges,

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SOWN NARRATIVES

1. Seedtime

Background and Position

Elements of traditional ofrenda

sugar calavera

bread of the dead

candles

chicken mole

mezcal

cut paper

mexican marigold

seasonal fruit

Figure 05: Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead) graphic.

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1. Seedtime

like maize, oats, wheat, beans, and nopales, but they remain pretty invisible from the center of the city’s consuming practices. From those experiences between pulque and barbacoa, I realized the richness behind that
food, lands and stories. Something worth it to admire and yet hidden in
the margins not only of the city but of many people’s attention, in the periphery of the city’s discourse, dispatched of recognition and still resisting
to lose inherited old traditions. I was conscious that, like many others living in that large city, I had ignored those stories, hidden in voices that
didn’t resonate as loud as others in the food media I was exposed to. The
maize growing there represents more than food production; it is a debate
concerning our food culture. While some maize is produced using conventional methods, others are cultivated using less or no chemical inputs;
this decision is affected by economic pressures and the lack of significant
subsidies—not an easy choice for many producers. In any case, this situation shapes the way we eat, having an essential repercussion on culture.

and editorial design practice. I wondered how I could use my practice to
benefit communities, practices and positions that consider food differently, with a conscious look lost inside corporations.

In 2022, I moved to Vancouver, a mid-size city on the Pacific coast of North
America. My perspective about the city was not entirely new. My brother
had lived in this place for some years, and I had the opportunity to know
part of the city’s vibe when I visited him. However, visiting a city is never
the same as actually living there. Moving here represented immersing into
a new cultural context. Here, I noticed other food symbols, like the salmon, expressed in various forms and communities. All these depicted
foods represented a discovery of cultural richness that was new to me.
Nevertheless, I noticed that access to fair, balanced and affordable food is
also challenging here. Many communities struggle to use ecological and
alternative practices in their production, aiming to bring healthier food to
consumers. Even when some places have a solid trajectory, like the Farmers’ Markets—active since 1992—accessing this food is challenging as it is
not affordable to many people. Having those insights, I started to think
about how different discourses, even coming from very different contexts,
can overlap, building bridges and recognizing, within their differences, a
shared empathy for pursuing a more honest way of relating with food. At
the same time, I brought these reflections to my visual communication

Background and Position

My formal path in the design field started with a bachelor of architecture
some years ago. While I was still studying in the school of architecture, I
became involved in other areas of design. When I was there, I worked in
the school’s Editorial Coordination, where architectural publications were
developed. I was amazed by all the processes and details involved in the
production of books and magazines. Working there opened the possibilities for my practice.
Years later, after editorial workshops, typography conferences, graphic tutorials and many design books—as well as casual conversations among
designers—my practice became more interconnected with a larger design
area. This transformed my professional development, where I worked for
some years creating visual identities and editorial projects.
When I approached this research, I intended to use my practice and design experience to echo other voices seeking other directions, possibilities
and findings in the food ecosystem. But soon, I realized this wasn’t only in
one direction; the things I was learning in food environments also influenced and supported my creative processes. This thesis's editorial projects
result from combining my design experience with my food position—influenced by many insights—in our present context. This position is not
fixed but moulded by learning, questions, contradictions, and intentions
found in my food discoveries.
My practice is an ongoing journey inspired by other designers with an
engaging discourse. For example, the inspiring reflections of Peter Biľak
(2021), who leads the foundry Typotheque. In his book Here—which is, in
fact, a type specimen—Biľak opens the publication by saying that typeface
design doesn’t need to be not just a commercial venture but instead a
public service. I think design, in general, can consider that dimension and
be more than a mere commercial tool. It can help communities of

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SOWN NARRATIVES

1. Seedtime

Background and Position

producers or threatened food cultures. The same text mentions that typefaces can preserve culture; from that perspective, I consider that design
can rescue food as part of our culture. It is not an easy task as it is a challenge to fund many design projects—for example, creating a typographic
family for small communities. However, we can look for parallel actions in
our making without escaping entirely from the commercial realm. Contributing to design narratives can represent sowing a seed in the cracks we
can still find. We can aim to create projects in places that often remain
hidden. Working with typography, editorial design and visual communication, I strive to find those parallel roads.

Figure 06: Oat field in the Ayaquemetl, Mexico City.

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1. Seedtime

Alternative Food Field

Alternative Food Field
In the following section, I describe some concepts and ideas concerning
alternative food that I used in this thesis. To explain those concepts and
ideas, I used a literature review and critical analysis. I decided to emphasize contemporary perspectives, preferably published in the present century or the last part of the previous one. I made this decision for two reasons. First, I intended to have perspectives addressing the current food
system and food consumption habits. Second, I wanted to include literature related to my relationship with food and the alternative food stories I
found in my daily life. From this review, I built a theoretical framework
that became the basis of the design outcomes proposed in this thesis.

Figure 07: Flowers in a sustainable farm.

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1. Seedtime

Alternative Food Meanings

the same labs that made explosions during the twentieth century (p.viii).
These technologies eventually led to a system based primarily on efficiency and profit. Consequently, this encouraged large food companies to
use monocultures, artificial pesticides and chemical fertilizers to obtain
bigger crops and more profits. These macro-scale practices have shown a
deterioration of lands and communities in many ways. In many places,
water has been polluted with chemicals for farming (Shiva, 2016), desertification has spread (Tickell & Tickell), and agrodiversity has been threatened (Parasecoli, 2019).

The term “alternative food” doesn’t have a single definition. If we look at
the dictionary, we will find a general definition, such as “a food that is regarded as a healthier alternative to food that is prepared or produced by
conventional methods” (“Alternative Food,” n. d.). But I consider this definition to be limited. It leaves out some essential aspects I found in food alternative literature and the communities I visited. Further, it focuses only
on the healthy features of food. While health quality is relevant to the perspectives I found, it is not the only value that some authors and producers
see. Alternative food’s definitions include aspects such as the relationship
between food and its environment, mainly reflecting ecological principles.
Additionally, other views consider a more holistic vision pursuing a more
balanced relationship with all parts of an ecosystem. Equally important,
there is a cultural dimension represented, for example, in the agrodiversity of food or local food productions.
From this plurality, the term alternative food encompasses many practices
and positions. Sara Elton (2013) mentions that sustainable agriculture received many names, such as “alternative, organic biodynamic, and lowinput, as well as permaculture and agroecology.” (p. 28). However, while
she agrees that there is a diversity of perspectives inside the term, she also
implies that they share a similar ideology. All these definitions are a response, which means they are an alternative to conventional agriculture
or what this represents. The concept then gathers many positions facing a
particular food system that drastically impacts our current food
environment.
Therefore, to understand many of what defines alternative food, we also
need to know what they are alternative to. Elton (2013) mentions that in
conventional agriculture, “the farmer relies on technology and human-made inputs such as chemical fertilizers and pesticides” to produce
food (p. 28). From Vedana Shiva’s (2016) perspective, these inputs don’t
consider farming culture or inherited knowledge. Instead, they arose from
war dynamics. Synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides come from

Alternative Food Field

I took these perspectives as a general background on the topic and to have
some clues about what does it mean alternative food in this thesis. While
they became relevant starting points and became a basis for approaching
this field, this thesis doesn't try to consider alternative food as a whole and
as an object of study, which is too vast. Instead, it focuses on particular
stories and visits that, in my appreciation, are part of alternative food narratives. These stories and visits, which I describe in Chapter 2, added particular meanings to the alternative food concept of this thesis. They also
serve as a basis for developing the design outcomes presented in Chapter
3 of this document. Working with these stories gave me a perspective of
the field through a more personal and familiar approach.
The literature review I made didn’t just help me approach the term alternative food. It also offers compelling reflections on possible ways to use
concepts and ideas present in alternative food literature and connect
them to editorial design practice. Below, I discuss these reflections.

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1. Seedtime

The Reconnection with Food

vision also influences how magazines and books are designed. Even when
these objects generally hold a significant density of information—including, for example, articles or recipes—it is not uncommon to find a certain
level of superficiality and a lack of a deeper engagement with food. The
challenge of escaping from this simplified vision can be seen in a magazine full of advertisements, where its readers are exposed to a constant
reinforcement that food is only a commodity. If we only see food this way,
any possible concern that drives away possible consumers has to be removed, even when this implies generating incomplete and fragmented
food stories.

In her book Consumed, Sarah Elton (2013) states that “we need to reconnect to the planet through the food we eat” (p. 11). Such a direct statement
shows us the great potential of recovering a close relationship with food.
It also evidences what is at stake when we put food’s connections in an
irrelevant space. From Elton’s perspective, we need to look at what is on
our plate for the sake of our planet. But what exactly is at risk when we
disconnect from food and consume it irreflexively? Completing her argument, Elton mentions that “if industrial food remains the status quo, we
will continue to lose farmlands, we will continue to drain freshwater aquifers and emit tonnes and tonnes of greenhouse gases” (p. 24). Food is taking an essential role within the context of ecological crisis and global
warming.
However, our relationship with food seems distant and, in some cases,
even lost. Michael Pollan points out that we spend less time in the kitchen
(Gibney & Pollan, 2016). For Elton (2016), this is visible in our daily food
consumption. “A trip to the Western supermarket will confirm that our
desire to engage with food has diminished to the point of almost disappearing.” (p. 226). Aside from how much time we spend cooking and what
kind of consumption practices are guiding our actual food detachment,
this is also evident in the visual forms that food takes, completing a narrative that disconnects food from all types of concerns and questionable
practices.
There is a common ground for many food narratives we find daily. Encouraged by the food industry and a commercial view, this general perspective
depicts an idealized food system where all good qualities take the foreground, the prominent space. At the same time, its consequences are hidden or completely disappeared. We can see these in many forms: the giant
billboard that tells us not to worry and enjoy a refreshing soda, the package of a cereal box that proclaims to be the perfect healthy breakfast, or
more contemporary, the fast-food YouTube video showing a delicious
meal in an experience full of joy. Beyond these expressions, this food

Alternative Food Field

This formula is part of a system that benefits itself from the lack of engagement. Simplified versions and incomplete discourses that hide the uncomfortable aspects involved in their practices are crucial to promoting
irreflexive consumption. The American novelist Wendell Berry (2022) says
that the food industry within this vision aims to create “passive, uncritical
and dependent” consumers. If we don’t get out of their food vision, we will
hardly see any concern when choosing any industrialized edible product
contained in a package that tells how fresh it is while including a green
field hill graphic. Despite the convenience of this free-of-concern, readyto-eat food has a cost to be paid: we are detached from all awareness of
our food, and thus, we lose the freedom to choose what kind of food we
want and its meaning in our cultures.
We can take part in other narratives, of course. Not all that we eat is driven
from this perspective. Even the simple gesture of growing a cooking herb
is a way of resisting the inertia of letting the food industry impose how we
should eat in their version of food reality. Different voices claiming an alternative vision of food have risen since the last century. Nevertheless, we
still need to find mechanisms to disseminate those voices and their expressions as they are still relevant. The current food system has taken a
paradoxical condition. Where it seems we’re more connected to our diet
than ever, we ignore many essential facts about our food. We can see any
of the nutrients in food, but at the same time, we’re often ignoring where
it is produced or what practices are involved.

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Figure 08: Ravioli dough preparation.

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Publications can contribute to reconnecting us with food. They can bring
awareness to aspects that remain in the shadows and embody the narratives that different voices are building. Then, it is relevant to consider how
they can capture and shape those discourses from the particular conditions of the editorial design field. We still find something special, a more
profound connection when we engage with publications that raise our
senses through shapes, textures, colours, letter forms or binding techniques. Even in digital publications, something attracts us when, by a conjunction of design decisions, it tells you the story in a particular way and
not in another. In this space, food, and many voices behind it, has the
opportunity to speak about what we eat from rich narratives, aiming to
build new relationships with food. A cookbook, a food magazine, or a
poster depicting food can encourage the connection with food to be
brought back.

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Alternative Food Field

Towards the Joy of Engage with Food
In his essay “The Pleasure of Eating,” Wendell Berry (2022) expresses that
eating is more than a passive act; it is unconnected to processes involved
in his creation and separate from other communities and lands. On the
contrary, he gives this act the potential of action. An opinion resumed in
his phrase, “Eating is an agricultural act” (italics by me). But even when
this is an active act in the farming cycle, Berry points out that consumers
could passively make it. Our contemporary food system commonly breaks
the link between food and land. Food is detached from its origins or any
responsibility with its production. Thus, awareness of how it connects to
its origin is a way to resist this disconnection. To understand eating as
another act in the farming steps that “begins with planting and birth” is to
bring back our relationship with land, producers, and culture and to step
back from seeing food as a mere product (2022, Berry).
Beyond that, Berry shows us that this could even represent joy to ourselves. Yes, eating is part of a whole process, but we can be more or less
aware of it. Knowing more about it could bring us more freedom and joy.
The current food industry promotes a simplified version of food, a fantasy
version that hides all downsides and tells us not to worry about moral
dilemmas. Instead, it promotes instant pleasure. The less we know, the
more we can satisfy our palate without regrets. However, food is more
than a bunch of flavours. Food is a complex phenomenon, and the pleasure from food is an experience, too. Enriching our experiences adds a
deeper dimension to the tastes, aromas, and texture we conceive through
food. Knowing where our food comes from or the whole history of a dish
or if something on our plate is cultivated just some miles away brings another quality to every bite, one also carried by a conscious way to define
our food, to be honest with ourselves and to the decisions we take or we
try to make in every effort to look for the food we think we all deserve.
Publications can express and even participate in that joy related to food.
The experiences and pleasure that food brings are present not only in the

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Alternative Food Field

food itself but also in its forms. When we think of a nice meal we prepared
or a vegetable we have grown in one corner of our home, we subconsciously and emotionally bring food to a state that sticks in our memories. Since
food is so ephemeral, it lives most of the time in our memories (Stummerer & Heblesbestier, 2020, p. 45). Thus, its other forms, like visual representations and narratives, are so relevant to the whole meaning of food. For Berry
(2022), the aesthetic of food is not separate from food’s policies or ethics.
The editorial space can hold many of the shapes food has, and not only
share the joy we relate to them but be part of it. It can also be a medium of
contemplation and recognition as well as a place of joy. A recipe placed in
a book is, in many cases, more than that. It is a position and a story told
from a particular tone. We can never repeat the preparation of a dish in
exactly the same way. Still, we can keep that action, that desire and that
understanding of our inherited culture in the form of a simple recipe described in a book. Thus, publications are containers of those experiences,
moments of shared knowledge, and reflective spaces to make us stop, contemplate and honour food’s complexity. Reconnecting to our food and its
many expressions also reconnects us to our land, others’ efforts, and our
bodies. Honouring those experiences is to see the joy in the simple gestures of our subtle moments with food.
While working on the editorial projects for this thesis, I considered these
notions. How can I interpret the joy of conscious eating? How can I integrate the moment’s experience of preparing a dish, or what is relevant
when sharing a recipe? One of the things I realized is that the function of
a food publication goes beyond a mere practical methodology to cook
something, know the latest trend in nutritional facts, or promote a lifestyle through a series of sophisticated photos of high-end cuisine chefs’
book tables. Besides that, its function can include creating a space to connect honestly with our relationship with food. Alternatively, it could be to
slow down our rush sight that skips a deeper look into what we eat. Or
even publications could be created to bring enjoyment by recognizing the
wonder of a simple vegetable by turning the pages, replete with textures,
colours and letters, that tell us a story about what we eat.

Figure 09: Como Agua para chocolate postulate a food
experience through its narrative.

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Figure 10: Jacob Jardens, part
of The Feast of Bean King,
1640–1645.

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Alternative Food Field

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Figure 11: Coca-Cola
twentieth-century
advertisements.

Alternative Food Field

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Editorial Design Field

Editorial Design Field
In this section, I present some concepts and ideas from the literature review I made in the editorial design field. In the previous section, I defined
the use of the alternative food term. In this one, I describe how I defined
editorial design. Again, here I’m not trying to study editorial design as a
whole, nor making it the research object of this thesis. Studying the whole
discipline is far beyond the limits of this thesis. Still, I’m interested in explaining the references in which this thesis uses the term editorial design.
Further, I also present in this section some reflections I made from a critical analysis of the literature consulted that later influenced the processes
and methods of the editorial outcomes.

Figure 12: Engraving of an early German printing press, 1522.

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Editorial Design Meanings

and analog publications have shared space for a considerable time now in
what he perceives as a “postdigital” phase. The strong digital presence has
not made the printed disappear but specialized and mutated. What is that
hidden in paper and ink that hasn’t been replaced for the pixel world? This
question can be taken from different angles. One consideration I think is
that physical publications have brought new contemplation driven from
the digital world. The tactile, printed media enables another kind of reading experience.

Most of the time, editorial design is described as the graphic design branch
specializing in making publications—like books, magazines, newspapers,
and other similar items. That is why publication design is frequently used
as an interchangeable term. But to what extent does something become a
publication?
Publication comes from the term publish. “To publish is ‘to make public,’
to bring something to the public, to interfere in a public debate” (Vostermans & Pol, 2023, p. 9). In that sense, making information public is the aim
of any publication. However, not only books and magazines can accomplish that task. Digital media has brought new ways of sharing information and making it public on a large scale. Artist’s books, by their hand,
have pushed the boundaries of what a publication is or what its function
is, using the editorial space as a meaning itself.
One of the significant characteristics of editorial design is its emphasis on
the narrative's aesthetic dimension. Considering this, how the information is being told is crucial; the meaning is not seen as purely content but
as the shape it takes. In their book Editorial Design. Digital and Print, Cath
Caldwell and Yolanda Zappaterra (2014) share the definition of the art director of Speak, Martin Venezky:
Editorial Design is the framework through which a given story is read
and interpreted. It consists of both the overall architecture of the publication (and the logical structure that it implies) and the specific treatment of the story (as it bends or even defies that very logic) (p. 10).

From this open-to-interpretation definition, we can see an opportunity to
work on the food editorial design. If we consider new reading practices,
we must reconfigure how we think about publications.
This doesn’t necessarily mean abandoning old techniques or embracing
new technologies unquestioningly. As Ludovico (2012) analyses, digital

Editorial Design Field

It is not rejecting new technologies that will allow us to shape contemporary narratives. It is more taking a critical approach to them. For its part,
the alternative food movements have shown us to consider new perspectives in how we impose value on things. The slow-pace attribute to printed
publishing materials is not necessarily a disadvantage in our fast and immediate-information context. Reading something slower means another
experience, and thus, engaging with narratives differently. The same way
that cooking something in the microwave instead of a dedicated meal is
not the same. Reading fragmented information in digital media is not the
same as reading tactically content in a printed book.
Many latent features of the printed world have influenced the digital
realm. But this doesn’t mean they’ve completely merged or that the digital
forms have replaced the old ones. There’s a risk in simplifying the analog
experience, and this is that some of its essence features aren’t substituted
but simply omitted. It seems crucial to approach technologies carefully
and meditate on how they create meaning in our narratives. There are
many opportunities to explore new media for the narrative space, but that
doesn’t mean throwing away inherited tools that are still present. Older
technologies have resonance in the present context, too.
There’s a similarity in the food environment. Alternative food practices
have been present for centuries—without carrying that label—offering
perspectives we cannot find in the newer industrial models that have led
to a dependency on synthetic inputs. Analyzing the currently available
technologies seems as relevant for our contemporary food system as it is
for our present forms of expressing their narratives.

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The publications presented here try to critically merge digital and analog
technologies, local and global, exploring the possibilities to shape alternative food narratives. With an open approach guided by insights from the
food environment and design practices, they also play with defining what
a food publication means.

Reconsider the Invisible

Editorial Design Field

There’s a well-known statement in the type design practice that says that
typography should remain invisible, leaving the words uncontaminated
by unnecessary embellishments. From this conception, the raison d’être of
typography is to serve the content, and that implies becoming unnoticed
and subordinate to the content. This idea was encouraged by Beatrice
Warde, who in 1932 proclaimed that good book typography should be like
a crystal goblet: unseen and humble in its function (Gutjahr & Benton,
2001, pp. 1-2). In her opinion, anything that makes a type very visible will
carry its failure. While this approach might avoid making a text typeface
too loud, improving its legibility and readability, it implies bearing the
moral struggle of not being noticeable. Anything too much visible—or expressive—would be impudent.
From my perspective, Warde skips one observation in her statement: details, even those that hide in the subtle shapes of the corners of letters,
aren’t invisible. How visible they are could be a subjective question, but
they add meaning and complete typographic functions—not only related
to serving the text. And if something a typeface is not, it’s to be invisible.
This is more evident when we contrast Warde’s perspective with Ellen
Lupton’s (2010) quote: “Typography is how language looks like.” (p. 1). Typography is the embodiment of language in this sense. And as Michele
Moylan and Line Stiles (1996) argue, there is “no such thing as a text
unmediated by its materiality.” But apart from these assertions, typography still carries this embedded humility; its presence is sometimes recognized on the colophons where they are or not even there. This invisibility also has implications. Not being visible is often not being recognized as
relevant.

Figure 13: Florentine Codex. Getty Museum Archive.

This conception can be extended to the editorial design practice, where
there’s a sense of invisibility, too. Most publications are made in the hidden actions that integrate the participation of designers, printers, editors,
paper makers, type designers, binder artisans, illustrators, photographers,

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Figure 14: Jean-François
Millet, The Gleaners, 1857.

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Editorial Design Field

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and copyeditors, among other specialists. All these contributions, however, are not always apparent to the reader. For example, the common perception of a book or a magazine is as an object detached from all these
processes. What makes those practices and the people involved “disappear” is that they become one with the content, leaving only a few reminiscences of recognition on the credits page. While authors are reasonably prominent in a publication, many of these qualities are attributed to
them. However, publications aren’t just pure vessels of the author’s content; their embodiment represents a whole body of practices, techniques,
decisions, and theories. There’s something else in the embodiment of
those contents that changes the meaning they have.
When we know the editorial design features, they become less invisible.
And that’s why its invisibility is relative. Even when the content and, in
some cases, even the price of a digital book or its printed analog is the
same. The experience we have reading them is not equal. The aesthetic
dimensions are entirely relevant to how we receive information, process
knowledge and engage with content. Moreover, they become part of the
meaning. Frequently, these qualities are received unconsciously and,
therefore, seem invisible. But that doesn’t mean they are not evaluated. If
we choose to read a bounded printed book instead of its Kindle version,
it’s because we prefer certain qualities while reading it. If a magazine’s
cover attracts our sight before others, it is because we perceive something
before. Awareness of those qualities throughout the editorial design field
plays an essential role in constructing narratives.

exemplified an inherited perception of food, unworthy of our attention,
that takes forms in many ways. The School of Life (2019), a community
working on developing tools to bring healing, growth, calm and self-understanding, mentions in their book Thinking & Eating:

Apart from books, this omission of visibility can be found in other scenarios. We often ignore things that are so present if they seem to satisfy our
necessities. We can consider this in food and its exponents, which have
been invisible in many ways. Henry Notaker (2020) states that cooks and
other food practitioners stayed in the shadows for many years in Western
societies. In his documentation of the history of Western Cookbooks, he
describes how the first-known Western printed cookbook, whose author
was Bartolomeo Platina, never mentions the Cook’s manuscript on which
it was based, years later attributed to Martino de’ Rossi, who never received any recognition in his life. But besides the historical anecdote, this

Editorial Design Field

Intellectuals have rarely engaged with food because our culture has long
kept the aspiration of the mind at a distance from the satisfaction of the
body. It has seemed as if one cannot be both a cook and a thinker. (p. 10)

Food is apparently more visible in the contemporary context, but we are
clearly not engaged enough in what we eat. Many narratives in alternative
food communities remain in the shadows, away from our attention, even
when they are significantly related to our context and the food dynamics
we participate in.
Publishing represents resisting invisibility or at least reconsidering its
status. It is an act of preserving something and, at the same time, placing
it in the world, naming it and recognizing its value. The body of publications of this research explores mechanisms to contemplate that visibility.
They ask about the possible actions to bring more attention and value to
food narratives that are often not represented in publications, or when
they do, they do so through standardized frames that don’t consider further editorial forms to bring new ways of representation.

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The Intersection

The Intersection

“Food design postulates new
ways of ralating with food.”
(Guixé, 2010, p. 113)

In this final section of this chapter, I present some considerations about
the intersection space in which this thesis is situated. From a broad perspective, this intersection is between food and design. However, I do not
intend to cover the vast space of food and design in this thesis. From a
closer view, the thesis is situated in a narrower area. Instead of design in
general, I approach it from the perspective of editorial design practice.
Instead of food, I consider only particular concepts and stories in the alternative food field. Having clarified these particularities, I think it is
worth having a broader view of this intersection to understand the context of this research. Therefore, I start this section with a general approach
to Food Design as a research space that brings awareness about the connections between food and design. After this, I discuss some ideas I find
relevant concerning making publications about alternative food stories.

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Figure 15: Latin America Food Design by Amazink.

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Food Design

Different Ways of Naming

While this thesis focuses on a particular intersection, it is situated in a
broader area defined as food design, an emerging space of research and
practice that is still relatively new, and its definitions are varied. Within
this context, different designers and specialists from other fields are
bringing new insights into the connection between food and design. Although this is a little explored space, as it is “one of the more neglected
areas within design research” (Stummerer & Hablesreiter, 2020, p. 20), it
seems that this intersection is raising interest among many designers
(Parasecoli, 2020, p. 14).

In the essay “A Host for Critical Gastronomy,” which Joffrey Swartz (2016)
wrote to describe Guixe’s work, he mentions that the term “Critical Gastronomy” doesn’t exist. It doesn’t exist as a linguistic term nor as a subject of study, at least not as a concept approached from an interdisciplinary critical model that tackles contemporary food culture. Swartz creates
this concept to clarify the position he sees in Guixe’s work, but by doing
this, he also defines a position through which to look at food. Swartz
encourages a more profound understanding that resists the banality and
superficiality of our current food panorama. As he explains: “Everyone
wants to talk about food, but no one wants to know what they are talking
about.” (p. 108)

The interest in referring to food design as a research area is that it emphasizes the prominent space design occupies in the food ecosystem. Sonja
Stummerer and Hablesreiter (2020), for example, consider the aesthetic
dimension of food crucial in its meaning when they say that “the style [of
food], that is, the aesthetic form, is part of the statement […] The meaning
cannot be separated from the aesthetics, but they are conveyed by them”
(p. 112). This consideration places design not only as a mere translator of
meanings but as an active part of them, making it also a mechanism to
propose alternatives, as it is reflected in the words of Martí Guixé (2010):
“Food design postulates new ways of relating to food.” (p. 113) This research
analyzes these considerations on the particular space of editorial design,
considering that publications presented in this study might postulate new
ways of expressing food narratives.

For his part, Parasecoli’s (2023) analyses add an interesting consideration
to this construction. In his essay “Politics Beyond the Plate,” he states,
“A single definition for gastronomy does not exist.” Still, he shows two
aspects that echo Swartz’s statement attributed to the world. One of
them is that gastronomy is usually associated with an interdisciplinary
approach. The other one is perceived “as a potential agent of change.” The
analyses of terms made by Parasecoli and Swarz exemplified an attempt
to represent their positions and views within the food alternative definitions.
In the alternative food movement, diverse expressions have risen to recognize its different meanings. There are, however, contrasts and debates
in how various groups name their vision and practice. The term organic,
for example, has carried controversy as it is now managed by regulations
that decide how restrictive and what policies define organic food, imposing a set of protocols and fees to use the certificate. There are, though,
other names that represent an alternative vision. Many producers define
themselves as agroecological, sustainable, permaculture, or simply honest or real food producers.

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In a similar way to Swartz’s concept, if we search for “honest food” in a
web browser. We won’t find anything defining the term, at least not from
a research or philosophical perspective. However, we will see many food
producers or distributors aiming to determine what is unique about
their items. This uncovered how many of these positions remain outside
many research and discipline practices, including design, which participates in how these voices take form, even when it is unconsciously.
Bringing this awareness might help explore the editorial dimensions in
food environments. This thesis works this representation through the
body of publications that explore defining what would represent making
an honest food publication that embodies a series of discourses around
depicting a food view.

An Honest Approach to Food

If we think about representation, we need to consider the aesthetic
dimension. Words take form through editorial practice, and thus, they
exist determinedly. How do we choose those shapes to interpret those
qualities and meanings? We name things so they can exist, and the editorial design practice embodies their physical dimension.

The Intersection

To describe one of the features of the industrialized food system, Fabio
Parasecoli (2019) wrote in his book Food:
Food production is trying to appear less an industrial mass-oriented
outcome of factory labor and more the result of labors of love, more local
than global. Consumers’ satisfaction is made to appear as a priority for
food businesses. However, you only need scratch the surface to realize
that the main goal of food businesses is still profit. (p. 15)

This contrast between appearance and reality is embedded in many of the
conventional food dynamics, including those that use design practices as
a tool to change its appearance. When Parasecoli mentions the attempt of
industrial food to be perceived as less industrial, it puts a relevant concern
about our food system. Most of what we eat is based on a lying dynamic,
where products are presented through a distortion lens that makes up and
hides.
Not far from this cover-up discourse, it is the labelling politics of GMOs
that, in general, are promoted through simplified arguments: There’s not
enough evidence GMOs affect health and authoritative positions: people
don’t deserve to know what they eat. The dishonest discourse is seen in
the display of proclaims presented in processed food: “100% natural,” “no
sugar added,” “fresh,” “healthy,” and beyond attributes that, however, deny
expressing as they indeed are: “genetically modified crops,” “produced
with glyphosate,” and “meat with hormones and antibiotics.” It is not that
everything needs to be utterly transparent without embellishing their appearance, getting into an absolutist dilemma of truth. Still, there is a notorious imbalance in how many food products are presented and what
they really represent. Michael Pollan (2009) uses the term “edible foodlike substances” (p. 1) to describe the kind of products that appear to be
others and that slightly occupy their space in the supermarket shelves.
How do we believe in an industry that makes food a reality in such a way?
The question of whether a misleading product is still food is still in the air.

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The Intersection

The lying-based food system has brought a feeling state where it is expected to make up reality to make products attractive. So, many of these
words no longer resonate the same way. Hence, its meaning also changes.
Even slightly, we probably don’t trust the same when a product says fresh
or natural. We can find this dilemma in other fields and latitudes. In a
public square discourse, the writer Julio Cortazar mentioned that “words
like men and horses get tired.” How, then, he asked, can we return a resonance in language and its wasted words? Cortazar aimed to find the authenticity of words rejecting demagogy discourses.
Like manipulative rhetoric to embellish and convince listeners, narrative
aesthetics can take a persuasive look. A glossy food magazine that only
idealizes all dishes and hides uncomfortable facts creates an idealized vision of food. A flier in the street advertising delicious fast food, promising
happy experiences through bold typefaces, sells false expectations and
short-lasting pleasures. Or a cookbook of delicious recipes published by a
large-scale company that pollutes lands and creates illusions and simplified visions.
The use of the concept of honesty in this thesis is limited. It is not intended to use a philosophical statement but an empirical one. This research does not aim to find the absolute truth of what real food is or the
right way to eat. It’s not to define the only shape the food narratives should
take or what editorial expressions are the only legitimate ones. Nevertheless, there is an intention to bring a perspective into how to get closer to
alternative food traits and incorporate them in the editorial design. I use
this consideration when I approach the body of works presented here,
where I find a manner to approach my relationship with food with an honest awareness of my positions, possibilities, limits, and experience. Further, it becomes a concept to work with to define alternative food
expressions.

Figure 16: Dough preparation for pan de muerto.

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2. Harvest

The Intersection

Chapter 2:

Cosecha
Harvest

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2. Harvest

Harvest
I named this chapter “Harvest” (Consecha in Spanish). Harvest means
“the season of gathering in agricultural crops.” It is the time to go to the
field and see the yields we can use to prepare food. It defines a time and an
action. That is why, as a verb, it means: “to gather in a crop, especially for
food.” (“Harvest,” 2024). For this thesis, the harvest represented reconnecting with the land and food-producing places. At the same time, it
meant gathering ingredients and narratives. Ingredients that turn into
dishes and narratives that became publications. This chapter describes
the documentation I made in field research. I used this method to get involved with alternative food narratives that I could engage more deeply in
my everyday life. The harvest invites us to create with what is available at
that moment. For me, these represent doing editorial projects with my
everyday connections with alternative food, using narratives and techniques I had at hand.
Based on the insights I had through the literature review I made (see
Chapter 1), I decided to orient the editorial outcomes to a series of publications that address concepts and reflections like reconnecting with food,
considering the invisibility of certain practices in the food and editorial
field, an honest approach to food, and the function of a food publication
in our present context. For that reason, I determined to use a series of insite explorations to generate content and detail how to use those concepts
and reflections in such publications.
I organized this chapter into sections that describe the places I got involved in this research. I visited places in both Mexico City and Vancouver.
The vision of two different contexts gave me a brief perspective of the diversity of approaches in the alternative food field. Additionally, it brought
me insights into common shared ideologies and positions. The chapter
presents these sites in two themes: farms and markets. These themes contain one place from each city to evidence their links and particularities.

While researching in Mexico City, I visited the chinampa-system-producing site of Arca Tierra and the Mercado Alternativo Tlalpaln (AlternativeMarket of Tlalpan). In Vancouver, for its part, I visited the organic and regenerative farm of Athiana Acres and three of the Vancouver Farmers’
Market. The documentation of these places not only generated content for
the editorial projects I made but also directed the intention of each of
these projects. Representing those narratives reflected my own stories in
these places as well.

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Figure 17: Deep Cove Park, BC, Canada.

2. Harvest

Harvest

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Figure 18: Ayaquemetl farmland hill,
limits of Mexico City, Mexico.

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Harvest

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Visited Places

Mercados

Markets

Mercado Alternativo Tlalpan
Xochimilco, Mexico City, Mexico

Farmers’ Market
Richmond, BC, Canada

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Figure 19: Diego Rivera, Market of Tlatelolco mural, 1929-35.

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Mercado Alternativo de Tlalpan

Mercado Alternativo de Tlalpan
In the southern part of Mexico City in the Bosque de Tlalpan (Tlapan Forest), the local market of Mercado Alternativo Tlalpan has been offering
local products since its origin ten years ago. Different vendors provide a
juxtaposition of traditional ingredients and contemporary forms occur
and where old and new techniques merge. Nopales, criollo-corn tortillas,
honey and amaranth, among seasonal fruits and vegetables, can be found
here.
Monserrat Tellez, one of the market managers, explained the vision of the
market to me. She said that the main idea is that producers have a space
without the abusive threats that intermediaries often make. In the market,
producers take the first place in selling their prices, and the market organization supports them in pricing and promoting their items.
Besides offering a space for local producers, the market also promotes
practices that look at better relations with the environment from a perspective that doesn’t necessarily rely on organic certifications. Monse
mentioned that not all producers have an organic certificate since that is a
long and expensive process, but they use different practices that care for
the environment. This position is represented by the term agroecological,
which they use to define their products' legitimacy without organic
regulations.
When talking with Monserrat, we agreed on the opportunity for editorial
projects and other graphic expressions to visualize the positions, knowledge and concerns in the market. It is not that there aren’t any design
outcomes in the market. They have a solid visual identity and different
collaborations bring postcards, calendars, and other items to the space.
However, the potential for more publications, experimentation, and design participation is shared with the market’s organizers.
Figure 20: Producer at the Mercado Alternativo Tlalpan.

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Figure 21: Amaranth candies at the Mercado Alternativo Tlalpan.

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Mercado Alternativo de Tlalpan

Figure 22: Local-produced products.

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Figure 24: Pulque beverage.

Figure 23: Food vendors at the market.

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Figure 25: Different types of green beans..

Vancouver Farmers’ Markets

Vancouver Farmers’ Markets

The Vancouver Farmers’ Markets is an organization that links farmers and
producers to consumers in urban spaces around Metro Vancouver. Established in 1995, it operates seven weekly summer markets and two weekly
winter markets. For almost 30 years, the project has created a diverse community that promotes local and seasonal food consumption, aiming to
connect with the land and the people who produce it.
To better understand the project, I visited the markets at Riley, Kitsilano,
Downtown, and False Creek. There, I employed a series of methods to conduct the thesis research. I used photo documentation to register the market narratives' expressions and to gather graphic content for the editorial
development. Lastly, I used casual conversations to engage with the perspectives and practices of the producers at the market.
When I approached the markets, I first noticed how different the markets
are depending on the season you visit them. The farmers’ produce changes
as the year moves, and the whole market aesthetic changes, too, where
colours and shapes reflect the seasons. It is not that those changes are
exclusive to these markets; even in supermarkets, we see reminiscences of
the seasons. But here, it is more than a seasonal pantomime that plays
with dates superficially. It is a statement. They bring what is feasible to
produce using, in general, low-impact inputs and growing local crops.
The farmers’ markets represent another vision of conventional food consumption. One of the things I noticed here is that people aim to tell their
stories with an honest perspective. For example, they are clear about organic certificates. Some of them hang a sign saying it is in process. Others
consider different approaches and don’t consider them necessary. I noticed this when I asked if the berries I bought were organic. They are not
organic. We don’t use pesticides, just fertilizer, was the answer. Here, the
honest approach shows the complexity of alternative food practices.

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Through my observation, I noticed that one of the stalls displayed photographs above its products. These pictures showed the producers’ farmlands. The photos were part of a narrative that told a humble and honest
story about the food. I thought this narrative gesture might be interesting
to analyze in my editorial design development as a way of visualizing the
origin of my food.

Figure 26: Products in season sign.

Figure 27: Garlics.

Vancouver Farmers’ Markets

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Figure 28: Local Berries.

Figure 29: Vendor at the market.

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Figure 30: Blueberries.

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Figure 31: Beets and turnips.

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Visited Places

Granjas

Farms

Arca Tierra
Xochimilco, Mexico City

Athiana Acress
Richmond, BC

Vancouver Farmers’ Markets

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Athiana Acres

Athiana Acres
Athiana Acres is an organic food producer nestled in Steveston, British
Columbia, Canada. Athiana produces a variety of vegetables using a series
of practices based on the regenerative practices in its 30-acre farm. The
project was founded in 2022 to explore the meanings of contemporary
alternative food production. Besides offering fresh produce on their infarm Saturday market and through the Olympic Village Farmers’ Market
during the summer, they organized thematic workshops at the farm.
I had different reasons to approach Athiana. To begin, due to my awareness of the disconnection of the food processes related to our food (see
Chapter 1), I wanted to connect with food processes that I could relate to
my context. Vancouver and some places in British Columbia became more
familiar since I moved here, but I didn’t know much about its local food
production. That is why I decided to find food-producing places I could
visit. Athiana was one of them. Another reason was to document invisible
practices that I could use later in developing a publication. I had started to
have a rough idea about a publication that visualized what I often didn’t
see present in my food relationship. I didn’t know exactly how this publication would turn out at that moment, but I started by gathering content.
A third reason was to understand how producers interpret concepts like
organic in their practice. While I have a theoretical background in alternative food concepts, I wanted to look at the practice as another way to define such dialogues.

Figure 32: Athiana Acres organic farm.

I met Athiana during one of my visits to the Olympic Village Farmers’
Market. I noticed they were offering visits to their farm to share more
about their vision and knowledge about farming practices. One of the
workshops was called “Intro to Organic, Regenerative Farming.” The workshop aimed to showcase the farm’s practices and to engage with local food
systems. Hence, I thought of this as an opportunity to not only learn about

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more food processes but also to observe what this looks like and see the
actual practice in the field.
I used different research methods in this workshop to obtain a deeper perspective. I used photo documentation to document food production processes and to provide material for editorial outcomes. I used the conversation to engage with Athiana's perspectives and to learn more about the
project. Finally, I used journaling and critical observation to document the
reflections driven by the visit. This documentation would allow me to integrate different concepts into editorial projects.
The morning I attended the workshop, one of the first things I noticed was
the flowers in the foreground of the farm. They display a colourful pattern
that indicates the way to some greenhouses on the farm. But these flowers,
I understood later, weren’t just there as a mere decoration. Their function
was closely related to the growth of food plants. The flowers attract pollinators and help to control plagues—a holistic vision of an ecosystem where
different parts benefit.
A relevant word in this workshop was regenerative. Athianas’ team offered
a series of reflections and examples of what the term regenerative means
to them. Based on the brochure they gave us during the visit, Athiana defines a regenerative farm as something that “works to improve soil health
and the farm’s biodiversity and ecosystem. This method works to align
production with nature and improve long-term viability.” I took the regenerative concept as something that might be interesting to translate
into the editorial design practice and the ways of expressing food that
come from that vision.
One example of this regenerative approach was the use of covering crops.
Covering crops are a particular type of farming crop used to protect the
soil from losing humidity and nutrients. These crops allow more
drought-tolerant agriculture and regenerate the soil more quickly, avoiding excessive use of plowing or fertilizers.

Figure 33: Kale production.

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Figure 34: Green house garlic.

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Athiana Acres

Figure 35: Green house cherry tomato.

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Figure 36: Green house cherry tomato.

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Figure 37: Rye cover crop.

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Figure 38: Flowers as part of the farm ecosystem.

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Arca Tierra

Arca Tierra
Arca Tierra is a local food producer situated in Xochimilco, Mexico City.
Its production is made in a native-inherited producing system known as
chinampa. In this system, they grow a variety of vegetables and herbs using
agroecological techniques. Arca embodies a food-producing system that
integrates into a particular landscape of canals. These canals once supported the primary food system of the native cities in the region, which is
now known as Mexico City.
Before I visited Arca Tierra, I observed how difficult it was to trace most of
Mexico City’s food-growing places and practices. Common fruits, vegetables, dairy or meat are presented without context about where they were
produced or what procedures were used. This tendency extends beyond
Mexico City, which, like many capitals in the world, is influenced by a
global food industry.
My motivation to visit Arca Tierra was to learn more about the local food
production practices in Mexico City. I found that knowing more about
these practices was related not only to my pursuit of engaging with alternative ways of producing food but also to how this intersects with my
cultural background. I wanted to observe the narratives behind those processes and explore possible ways to represent them.
I discovered Arca Tierra through social media. It was interesting to see
how alternative food was approached in those spaces and in which forms.
So, I decided to approach the project. They suggested taking one of their
tours, or “rural experiences,” as they call them.

Figure 39: Xochimilco canals.

I planned to take this approach using different methods to conduct the
research. The methods include photo documentation to record the food,
processes, and landscape. Additionally, I used journaling to record my reflections and conversations to learn more about local food practices.

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Visiting Arca Tierra meant engaging with a local landscape. To get to the
chinampa, we took a traditional boat known as a trajinera. The 15-minute
ride through the canals offers a glimpse of the place's complexity. Herons
were flying around, and local trees called ahuejotes occupied the canal's
edges—used to build the chinampas. However, not everything was an
idyllic vision of a landscape. The waters of the canals, which once were
crystal clear, are now polluted and turbulent. Also, many chinampas that
were used to cultivate food are now abandoned or utilized for other
purposes.

ahuejotes trees to build the chinampa, the richness of those flowers, and
the stories behind the chinamperos who cultivate the chinampas.

When we arrived at the chinampa, we couldn’t see the crops behind a great
shade with tables. After a short introduction, they let us visit the crop area.
There, a display of diverse plants and flowers spread through different
parts of the terrain. I saw a variety of foods like chard, beets, kale, various
types of lettuce, skins, zucchini, amaranth, nopales, and maize. However,
the tour didn’t explain much about the crops, which remained in the
background of the space we were in most of the tour.
After a short visit to the crops, we were invited to a meal with a brief introduction by the chef. At this point, I felt a certain disconnection between
the food and the place. The tour explained this as a tour connecting with
the local products, but we didn’t receive much information about what
was on our plates. It seemed to me that different narratives were occurring
there. One was in the background where the producers were taking place,
and the other was in the central space where we were. This dynamic was
reflected in our lack of engagement with the place.
To obtain a deeper understanding of the project and its practices, I included an informal interview conducted via email as an additional method for
my research. Nevertheless, some of the answers revealed how different the
narratives they promoted were from my experience.
When I left the place, I wondered about the other possible stories there. I
asked myself about the methods used in the chinampa and the characteristics of the maize growing there. I also asked about the use of the

Arca Tierra

From this reflection, I also considered the possible expressions of these
stories. In my perspective, the editorial field can occupy a space shaping
those narratives, aiming to raise awareness of hidden practices and honour voices that remain in the shadows.

Figure 40: Chinampa chard production.

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Figure 41: Brief explanation of the chinampa
soil properties.

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Figure 42: Diverse type of herbs at the
chinampa

Figure 43: Diverse type of herbs at the
chinampa

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Figure 44: Chinampa crop production.

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Arca Tierra

Chapter 3:

Cocinar
Cooking

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3. Cooking

Cooking

I named the third chapter of this thesis “Cooking.” Cooking is the practice
of preparing food by combining, mixing, and heating ingredients. It is the
process of making food after gathering the ingredients. From certain perspectives, cooking can be seen as the whole process, from getting the ingredients to the final presentation. However, in everyday use, the word
emphasizes the generating process when everything is combined to generate a specific dish. The creative act. This chapter also emphasizes that
creative act but focuses on the editorial design practice in this case. As
with cooking, the editorial design practice prepares publications by arranging, scaling, and mixing the ingredients that embody a given story. We
can think about the editorial design ingredients in two senses. First, as the
events that build the narrative. Second, as the elements that embody those
stories: words, images, and drawings. Then, each of these elements can be
cooked in a particular way—words are flavoured with a particular typographic form, for example. A second meaning of cooking is “a manner of
preparing food.” (“Cooking,” n. d.). This chapter shows the particular way
these alternative food stories were cooked.
The field explorations (see Chapter 2) gave me a better idea of the editorial
design approach for this thesis. However, before I generated the final projects, I made some practice explorations that contributed to developing
my editorial design approach. After this, I decided to work on a series of
editorial expressions focusing on specific points. Some of these points
were food reconnection, the visibility of practices, the recognition of alternative values in food, the challenges of naming their positions and an
honest approach to food.

This chapter showcases the editorial design practice I made. First, it briefly shows the previous explorations. Then, it shows the final editorial outcomes. There are four projects presented in this thesis: Tomatillo, which
explores the narratives with typography but using a photographic perspective; Organica, a typographic approach to represent alternative food
narratives; Food Journeys a periodical publication that documents alternative food perspectives in different cities; and Portraits of Ephemera, a photo
publication that addresses a seasonal approach to food. The projects are
presented not only with written descriptions but with images that allow
multiple interpretation of through their visual expressions.

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Figure 45: My kitchen.

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Figure 46: Tides, typography exercise made for a studio seminar
prompt on the first year of the program.

Figure 47: Earth, typography exercise made for a studio seminar
prompt on the first year of the program.

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Figure 48: Workshop. Participants were ask to describe their impressions of a
series of food representations depicting the same theme with different aesthetic
forms.

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Figure 49: Shared ingredients workshop.

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Explorations

Projects

Cooking

1. Tomatillo
2. Organica
3. Portraits of the Ephemeral

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Tomatillo

Tomatillo
“We believe type should start conversations
and spread new ideas” (Socio Type, p. 2)

a
c
gtu
Get to know
your veggies

Figure 50: Tomatillo pictograph.

When I started to work on developing the editorial outcomes, I focused on
specific areas of editorial design. From a common ground, editorial design
uses different elements to create a visual form of the content. I usually
consider six main pillars to work with: format (or support), layout, typography, colour, imagery, and materials. For that reason, some projects focus
more on one or other of these pillars.
Tomatillo began with a typographic approach. My intention with this project was to design an editorial expression influenced by food. One of the
first questions that came to my mind was how it would be a typeface that,
from its origin, was intended to tell a story about food. Not just food in
general but food that includes other values as opposed to conventional
food. This would consist of the value of recognizing food details.
This was a challenging task to develop in a short time, so I decided to limit
the project and offer an intuitive approach. I was influenced by practices
I’ve seen in the alternative food practice, where the practice also guides
the decisions. With these intuitive practices, I chose not to work with letters but with graphics. This turned Tomatillo into a pictographic approach
to typography. From this perspective, with Tomatillo, I wanted to experiment with what it meant to “talk with food.”
I took the influence of other communication systems. The pictographic
design took inspiration from other narratives present in various cultures.
Soon enough, after I started the project, I was inspired by forms of communication based on visual representations. For example, I looked at the
Mexicas’ narrative. They used pictograms and ideograms to tell stories
that honour and retain food knowledge powerfully and expressively.
On the other hand, in Vancouver, I was amazed by the graphic symbols of

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Tomatillo

the Coast Salish people, who can express meaning through a flourishing
display of patterns and shapes. I took these examples as references, not to
copy shapes or styles but to question the hegemonic ways of written
communication.
Tomatillo gave me the time to see the food, draw the food, and focus on its
details. The representations weren’t perfect, but they intended to transmit
this experience. Tomatillo was also a way to capture my relationship with
food based on alternative narratives that take the time to recognize food
and its value.

Figure 51: Sketches of food representation.

Figure 52: Mexica pictographic system used by the native
people of Mexico City.

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Figure 53: Tomatillo.

Figure 54: Carrots.

t

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c

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155

g c au t
a

Figure 55: Dingbat font system with its correspondence keyboard keys.

g

c

u

t

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Organica

Organica
“The history of typography reflects a continual
tension between the hand and the machine, the
organic and the geometric, the human body and the
abstract system.”
(Lupton, 2010, p. 13)
Cap height

Baseline

Figure 56: Organica construction.

802

0

Organica is a typeface design project that engages with the relationship
between typography and food aesthetics. The type consists of a single upper-case style that resembles the illuminated capitals of old books and
manuscripts. However, Organica is not just a mere historic revival. Its
structure is influenced by canonic shapes, which track back to old-style
reminisces. Yet, its terminals, outer shapes, or, in some cases, counterforms are pointing in another direction—led by organic gestures and irreverent nuances. This tension makes Organica a bridge between two
worlds: letters and food. Aside from its digital format—as a font file—the
project included creating laser-cut rubber stamps for each letter, opening
the possibilities of the font’s use.
Before I started designing this typeface, I noticed how challenging it is to
include type design projects in many alternative food communities. Designing a type is, most of the time, a consuming task that demands hours
of labour and a set of specialized skills—even experienced teams can take
years to develop a type family. This represents an investment that is hard
for small food projects or limited-resource communities.
When I began working on this project, I decided to limit the program, defining one style with only upper-case letters. This would reduce the time
spent on production and the investment in labour. Considering this also
guided the path of the project. I soon thought of the beautiful, expressive,
illuminated capitals, pushing the limits between letters and graphics. But

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besides that, I wanted to add a contemporary perspective, not just copy
old attractive forms.
From this point, one of the questions that directed the project was: What
could be the use of a drop cap in our current editorial context and inside
food narratives? The project addresses this question from various angles.
First, it considers the aesthetic dimension an opportunity to honour food
and its expressions. It resembles the flavour of a condiment you can add
to a dish and make a statement. Secondly, it contemplates that initial letters can easily paired with other typefaces and graphic elements, opening
the editorial medium as a democratic space. Finally, returning to the initial inquiry, it can bring a strategy to integrate editorial design practices
into alternative food communities. Not only as a decoration but as a way
to recognize the virtues of those narratives. The slow practices concerning
the human touch in food can be reflected in the aesthetic of a typeface
reproduced in rubber stamps.

Figure 57: Sketches of the letters.

Organica

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Figure 58: Food shapes inspiration.

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Typeface details

Figure 59: Typeface terminal details.

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Figure 60: Set of stamps of the typeface.

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Portraits of Ephemeral

Portraits of Ephemeral
Portraits of the Ephemera is a photo-publication that explores food
through seasonality. The publication gathers a series of “portraits” of local
fruits and vegetables at specific times of the year. This simple approach
reveals a powerful consciousness about time, land, food, and our identity
embedded in food culture. Each photograph honours the aesthetic features of the portrayed food; naked and devoid of any other object, they
encourage us to look at them carefully, at another pace. The intention
wasn’t simply to detach them from their context. But to wonder about the
stories they hold in their forms, like subtle hints.
The publication presents the pictures in an accordion format, suggesting
possible interactions with them. It could be fully open to see the whole
series or open a single page to detail one portrait, allowing other possible
arrangements in between. With all these features, this work can be seen as
a personal portable exhibition that evidences the close relationship between time and food.

Figure 61: Portrait of Ephemeral
publication.

When I started working on Portraits of Ephemeral, I looked at Rembrand’s
paintings to understand their influence on that type of photography lighting. One thing I noticed is the contrast with some contemporary food representations. In general, commercial photography of food products—and
probably many other products—uses full-illuminated stages and occasionally a few reminiscences of dark shadows or low-illuminated backgrounds, not enough to create too much drama or perturb the viewers. A
vision that escapes from the uncertainty. Displayed this way, products
carry a feeling that you can trust them because everything is visible, and
nothing is hidden. But that appealing vision, in many commercial food
photographs, is oriented primarily to consumption; there’s nothing to discover, nothing to reflect, and food becomes a pure product and model, as
fake as the prompts used in the stage—most of the time, not even real food
is used.

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Portraits of Ephemeral

The pictures in the publication become part of my story, my pursuit of
certain kinds of food with an honest and personal look. And thus, portraits of myself. Being truthful in my food approach didn’t mean to reject
considering the aesthetic dimension. The sincere look doesn’t mean the
lack of any subjections or presenting this as the absolute truth but rather
explaining my interpretation of these narratives. When using certain
lights, particular frames, or specific lenses, it is not against an honest look
but a sincere intention to honour and reveal my perception of those vegetables and fruits to which I relate. And to tell a story of my intimate encounter with them, not as mere products but as part of my food position.
After trying them for the first time, some of them became part of my food
repertoire.

Figure 62: Publication’s photograph.

Figure 63: Publication’s photograph.

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Figure 64: Publication’s photograph.

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Figure 65: Exploration of a food portrait.

Figure 66: Giuseppe Arcimboldo, Four seasons in one head, circa 1590.

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Figure 67: Portraits of Ephemera accordion publication.

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Figure 68: Portrait of Ephemeral publication.

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Table

Project
1. Food Journeys

Portraits of Ephemeral

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Food Journeys

Food Journeys
I started Food Journeys from the idea of creating a publication that talks
about stories, practices, and communities related to alternative food. The
idea came up when, during the literature review and the field research, I
noticed how many places, practices and perspectives remain in the shades
in many editorial design explorations. Finding the mechanisms to explore
this space from an editorial practice was challenging, but it was a prominent and inspiring exercise. After the first ideas came, I decided to generate
a publication project that gathered some of the stories, places, and discoveries I made by pursuing alternative food narratives.
I wanted to not just talk about these sites but express what it means to
reconnect with food in many ways. At the same time, I tried to position
these expressions not just as isolated food depictions but as interconnected stories that show the challenges, stories, and links that food
has. Consequently, the publication took a personal approach. The narratives I represented in the publications were also my stories of reconnecting
with my food. With this in mind, the project became a thematic periodical
publication. Each number would represent one city, and the stories would
be recollected there.

Figure 69: Food Journals issue 01 cover.

One of the first questions I had was how to represent those stories. This
led to one of the first decisions regarding the publication’s shape and
structure. Should it be a magazine or a book? Graphically rich or with
dense text? Should it be large or small? Many of these answers came from
my own set of skills. I knew I could use many photos since I was using this
tool to document many places I visited. I also chose to mix text and images
throughout the publication to build a narrative with different engagement
layers. At the same time, I decided that the design would focus on the
printed version of the publication as I thought this would add a different
reading experience in contrast to the digital version.

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One of the insights I gained from the places I visited and the food explorations I made is the relationship between time and joy. We often interact
with food through instant pleasures; that is one of the premises behind
fast food. But there are other types of postures. Wendell Berry makes us
think of different kinds of pleasures with food, slower and more profound.
In farms, this is represented by the process of producing food: plants grow
slowly. So when we see joy from this perspective, time is part of that experience, and we don’t need to rush things because we miss part of that
pleasure.

practice. It became a place for drawing and experimentation—not only for
me but also for the people involved. It also represented new collaborations and the possibility of further projects. For example, it became a reference for proposing an editorial project to the Mercado Alternativo
Tlalpan in Mexico City. Finally, it is the starting point of a project that aims
to examine the narratives of alternative food in different places. A creative
process that seeks to bring links, empathy, and collaborations between
many alternative food communities. Food Journeys became a process of
looking to express those voices, not in a perfect way but with an honest
way to see my creative journey through these narratives.

With this publication, I pursue that joy. I aimed to bring those experiences
through the shape of the narratives. The main idea was to create a slowread publication. Like those narratives, I wanted to transmit detail and
care but also imperfection and honesty.
From this intention, I started to define specific parameters. The format
became relatively small, like a personal and intimate journey. The content
included illustrations escaping from the perfection of the photos. The
photos were used to honour and reveal what was also a discovery for me.
The typography should be an invitation to read and see, rooted in old but
with a contemporary voice; the stories there were not old memories on
time but current practices and positions. The general form of the publication was a mixture of a journey, magazine, city guide, and recipe book.
Another relevant aspect of the Food Journeys project is the collaboration
in its development. Katherine Gillieson, who leads the Occasional Press
project with Jon Hanan, helped with the edition and design decisions. The
first issue also involved the collaboration of my partner, Herlo Jurado,
who made the illustrations for some dishes. Cameron Neat helped establish the guidelines and character of the publication. Additionally, Kathleen Jacques offered support with technical printing questions with
Risogprah printing.
Food Journeys represented a starting point in various ways. The publication allowed me to connect with other graphic expressions within my

Figure 70: Print tests of the cover.

Food Journeys

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3. Cooking

Food Journeys

Food Journeys

issue 01

Mexico City
19° 26′ 03″ N 99° 8′ 18″ W

Figure 71: Cover issue 01.

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Figure 72: Map in the publication.

3. Cooking

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Figure 73: Colophon and table of contents.

3. Cooking

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Figure 74: Risograph aesthetic.

3. Cooking

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Figure 75: Design details.

3. Cooking

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Figure 76: Recipe Example.

3. Cooking

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Figure 77: Publication’s production.

3. Cooking

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3. Cooking

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Food Journeys

issue 02

Vancouver
49° 16′ 57″ N 123° 7′ 14″ W

Figure 78: Food Journeys issue 02 cover.

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After-dinner
conversation
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Sobremesa

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Sobremesa
(Conclusions)

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Sobremesa

Sobremesa

Final Reflections

Sometimes, after having a great meal, there is a moment where informal
conversations happen. In this moment, ideas and reflections flow casually. In Mexico, the term sobremesa refers to these after-dinner conversations, where it is not unusual to spend some time at the table after
having a meal—it can take a few minutes or extend for hours. Before
returning to any other activity, this pause allows us to consider casual
thinking. Maybe an insignificant detail that was forgotten during eating,
perhaps a necessary clarification about the food, or maybe something
that just came spontaneously. In any of these cases, this moment honours food’s meaning as a social gesture and considers eating beyond a
purely biological need—but a reflective act.

I started this thesis with intuitions and expectations led by my practice
and curiosity about food. After walking some time on this research path,
one of the first things I noticed is the great relevance of the relationship
between food and design. Further, I understood the importance of looking
for interdisciplinary approaches to investigate the alternative food space.
From different perspectives, I could realize how many implications this
relationship has in our daily lives and the repercussions this has globally.
Inside the particular space of the editorial field, I recognized the great potential to explore this space, considering both alternative food concepts
and the editorial design practice. I find that exploring this intersection is
relevant as it defines how we are shaping the framework in which part of
the food expressions take place. In other words, defining how food narratives are being told, which is significant in the meaning we assign to food
in our contemporary cultures.

FINAL REFLECTIONS

Food and publications have a great resonance in our cultures, yet they are
frequently overlooked, perhaps due to their ubiquitous nature. Being so
present in our lives, they escape our conscious attention. However, they
don’t escape our interactions with them, which are, on many occasions,
full of subtle, ephemeral and intimate details. Their apparently trivial condition doesn’t make them less important. On the contrary, they are quite
related to shaping our lands, bodies, and cultures and our relationship
with our planet.
Editorial design offers the possibility of getting closer to our food. It has
the potential to become a bridge of different voices, a curated space of
exchange and a canvas to depict what food means to us. It can also represent alternative views of the established system, offering new perspectives
of our reality. In this sense, they push to new realities, see the cracks in a
failed system, and balance our fast lives. However, in this construction,
aesthetics play an essential role. In our daily interactions, narra­tives are

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Sobremesa

not only built on verbal language but also in more complex expressions—
visual matter communicates in a different mode, for example. It is important to reflect on what food stories we are telling, as well as how we are
telling them. The form we tell these stories not only adds meaning, but it
also becomes meaning in the synergy of all blocks of meaning expressed
in the embodiment of narratives.

The word pentimento describes the underneath layers of paint that reveal
earlier present images. It embodies artists’ constant reformulation in an
ongoing, always updatable task. And so it is our editorial practice, a moving action that redefines what it means to shape narratives and whose
voices are represented. I found a helpful metaphor to describe my practice
position within the research and its outcomes: We can see the editorial
design practice in this inquiry space as a pentimento that depicts the desire to explore our relationship with food deeply and constantly in an attempt to recover the joy of engaging profoundly with what we eat. To capture a moment in the conversation after dinner.

There is no unique answer to the problem space I point out in this thesis.
When I initially asked myself how we can express alternative food narratives in the editorial design field, I didn’t intend to create a functional path
that any designer can follow to arrive at a solution. Instead, I wanted to set
up a framework of concepts and considerations to bring to the editorial
field and a referential guide of what I did to explore this intersection. What
I offer here is a set of tools, resources, and positions that I consider helpful
to bring new possibilities when making food publications, aiming to show
an exciting and relevant space for editorial projects.
This thesis shows a series of concepts and key terms that emerged from
both the editorial and the food field. Among the most relevant terms are
regenerative, visibility, reconnection, honesty, recognition, and seasonality. All of them were reflected in the design outcomes—taking part in and
emanating from them— that took the form of publications that explored
typography, photography and illustration as part of the editorial design
ecosystem.
Many theories and discourses have influenced me throughout this research and its creative outputs. It wasn’t uncommon that I struggled to
build a solid and concise statement that guided my whole practice. I noticed at some point that this probably didn’t make sense. A static manifesto would limit something that was outside of it. And beyond that, food
and publications, as well as us, are not static. We should offer a zone of
activity with porous limits and enough diversity. An overlapping space
where ideas and points of view converge in a constant debate. A diverse
editorial practice that echo the many voices postulating alternative ways
to relate with food.

FINAL REFLECTIONS

It is in this space of reflection, that is, the editorial design field, that I found
an opportunity to include the food dialogues of our times. It is relevant to
talk about food, as it is how we shape those stories. This research allowed
me to consider other thoughts and positions that can enrich my design
practice and encourage finding new perspectives on how we design narratives, aiming to help shape dialogues that seek a more balanced, honest
and fair food for everyone.

About Food Journeys
The process of making Food Journeys brought me some insights about
possible ways to design food publications. Throughout this process, I explored formats, materials, and printing technologies. Paying attention to
all these considerations allowed me to play with the possible expressions
of the narratives. I also noticed how bringing concepts from the alternative food space led me to reflect on the editorial process. Producing food
takes time and dedication. In the same way, making a publication is also a
process that involves thorough work. Slowing the practice’s pace encourages paying attention to the editorial details. Working with Food Journeys,
I realized that through a reflective practice, there are plenty of opportunities to explore the editorial design practice. Further, it encourages diversity in the editorial expressions of food narratives.

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Sobremesa

Figure 79: Research journey initial diagram.

Figure 80: Research journey final diagram.

Food Journeys

About my editorial process
My research prompted a significant shift in my understanding of the creative process in the editorial design field. Initially, I approached my practice with a linear vision, considering the creative process as a series of
steps leading to an editorial outcome. However, upon reflection, I realized
that these processes were not linear but rather complex and messy, a realization that fundamentally altered my approach to editorial design.
During the development of the editorial outcome of this thesis, I went
backward and forward in many of the steps to build the final publication.
Something that seemed familiar with some of the processes and approaches of the alternative food space. Trail and error, slow-pace practices, and reconsidering imperfection as part of the process were some ideas
that came from that environment and resonated in my editorial process.

Further, it allowed me to reconsider that the editorial outcomes are not
static, finished objects; instead, they can be seen as seeds. These projects
can be edited, adapted, or inspire new approaches; they can also be the
starting point of new embodied narratives that bring us a diverse dialogue
to think in other possible ways to consider our food and its relationship
with our land, body and culture.

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Apendix

Food Journeys

Appendices

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APENDIX

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Bibliography
alternative food. (n. d.). In Merriam-Webster
Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.
com/dictionary/alternative%20food
Berry, B. W. (2022, April 25). The pleasures
of eating. Emergence Magazine. https://
emergencemagazine.org/essay/the-pleasures-of-eating/
Biľak, P. & Atelier Carvalho Bernau (Eds.).
(2021). Here: Typotheque Specimen #18.
Typotheque.
Borsuk, A. (2018). The book. MIT Press.
Bottura, M. (2021). The Kitchen Studio: Culin­
ary Creations by Artists. Phaidon Press.
Caldwell, C., & Zappaterra, Y. (2014). Editor­
ial design. Hachette UK.
Candy, L. (2006). “Practice Based Research:
A Guide.” Creativity & Cognition Studios.
https://www.creativityandcognition.com
Checkoway, B., & Schön, D. A. (1985). The
Reflective Practitioner: How professionals
think in action. Journal of Policy Analysis
and Management, 4.
Chillingsworth, J. (2021). Grow green: Tips
and Advice for Gardening with Intention.
Hardie Grant Publishing.
cooking. (n. d.). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.
com/dictionary/cooking

Eliasson, O., Iwama, A., Koch, A., Waters,
A., & Wiesmann, D. (2016). Studio Ola­
fur Eliasson: The Kitchen. Phaidon Press
Limited.
Elton, S. (2013). Consumed: Food for a Finite
Planet. University of Chicago Press.
Esquivel, L. (2001) Como agua para choco­
late. [Like water to chocolate]. Bibliotex
Guixé, M. (2016). Food designing. Corraini
Editore.
Gutjahr, P. C., & Benton, M. L. (2010). Il­
luminating letters: Typography and Literary
Interpretation. Univ of Massachusetts
Press.
harvest. (2024). In Merriam-Webster Dictionary. https://www.merriam-webster.
com/dictionary/harvest
Holden, A. (2013). Do grow: Start with 10
simple vegetables. Do Book Company.
Kessler, M. R. (2021). Discomfort food:
The Culinary Imagination in Late Nine­
teenth-Century French Art.
U of Minnesota Press.
Klanten, R., Ehmann, S., Bolhöfer, K., &
Schulze, F. (2010). Turning pages: Editorial
Design for Print Media. Gestalten.
Laudan, R. (2015). Cuisine and Empire: Cook­
ing in World History. Univ of California
Press.

Shcool of Life (2019). Thinking and eating:
Recipes to Nourish and Inspire. School of
Life Press.
Lomme, F. (2022). Can you feel it?: Effectuat­
ing Tactility and Print in the Contemporary.
Set Margins’ Publications.
Ludovico, A. (2012). Post-digital Print: The
Mutation of Publishing Since 1894. Onomatopee 77
Ludovico, A. (2023). Tactical Publishing.
Using Senses, Software, and Archives in the
Twenty-First Century. MIT Press
Lupton, E. (2010). Thinking with Type, 2nd re­
vised and expanded edition: A Critical Guide
for Designers, Writers, Editors, & Students.
Princeton Architectural Press.
Lupton, E. (2017). Design is Storytelling.
Thames & Hudson.
Mercado Alternativo. (n.d.). Mercado alternativo. https://mercadoalternativo.org/
Ng, S. (2023). This is Not a Food Magazine. In
Plain Words | Temporary Press
Notaker, H. (2022). A history of cookbooks:
From Kitchen to Page Over Seven Centuries.
Univ of California Press.
Parasecoli, F. (2019). Food. MIT Press

Parasecoli, F. & Rodriguez-Garcia, G. (2023)
Politics beyond the Plate: Embracing
Transdisciplinarity in Addressing the Gastronomic Heritage of Spain. Gastronomy
2023, issue 1.
Pollan, M. (2006). The Omnivore’s Dilemma:
A Natural History of Four Meals. Penguin.
Pollan, M. (2008). In defense of food: An
Eater’s Manifesto. Penguin.
Shiva, V. (2016). Seed sovereignty, food sec­
urity: Women in the Vanguard of the Fight
against GMOs and Corporate Agriculture.
North Atlantic Books.
Slow Food. (2023, December 15). Slow food.
Good, clean and fair food for all. https://
www.slowfood.com/
Stummerer, S., & Hablesreiter, M. (2020).
Food design small: Reflections on Food,
Design and Language. de Gruyter.
Tickell, J., & Tickell, R. (Directors). (2020).
Kiss the Ground. Big Picture Ranch.
Yonemura, L. C. F. B. G. A. (2021). Books: Art,
Craft & Community.
Vostermans A. & Pol P. (2023) Future books.
Sharing ideas on books and (art) publishing

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Apendix

Food Journeys Texts

Food Journeys Texts

Contents

Colophon
This publication was developed using Microsoft Word
for the manuscript. The layout was designed in Adobe
InDesign. The illustrations were hand drawn and then
digitalized in Adobe Illustrator. The photographs were
revealed in Capture One and set in duo-tone in Adobe
Photoshop. The texts were typeset in Blanco, designed
by Dave Foster, published by Foster Type, and Cabrio,
designed by Hannes von Döhren, published by HDV
Fonts. The publication used Organica and Tomatillo
typefaces, both designed by Diego Hernández. The
printing was made using Risograph printing with two
spot colours: Purple and Sunflower. The paper used
was Astrobrights Stardust White in 176g for the cover
and 90g for the interiors. The publication is saddlestitched and trimmed on 3 sides.

06

Map

ISBN
978-1-7782221-9-1

62
Acknowledgements

18

08

legend:

The Origin of Maize

the city:

Mexico City

10
in the field:

The Southeast

45
interview:

27
daily recipe:

Sopa de Lentejas

24
store:

Arca Tierra

La Casa del Pan

31

Edition: Diego Hernández, Katherine Gillieson
Texts: Diego Hernández
Illustrations: Diego Hernández, Herlo Jurado
Photography: Diego Hernández (otherwise noted)
Published by The Occasional Press
April, 2024

04

Preface

25

market:

Mercado Alternativo Tlalpan

design:

Illustrated Calendars

39
daily recipe:

Tacos Dorados

55
tradition:

57

Día de Muertos

celebration recipe:

Pan de Muerto

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issue: 01

mexico city

map

Food Journeys Texts

04–05

Places in this issue:
ES

• food store: Casa del Pan Papalotl (p.24)
Av. San Fernando 765, Manantial Peña Pobre,
Tlalpan, 14060, CDMX, México.
This organic cafe and store offers different vegetarian dishes
that you can enjoy there or a variety of products to take home.

ENT

ICO

U RG

PERIFER

INS
LOS

ANILLO

AV.
DE

214

• market: Mercado Alternativo Tlalpan (p.31)
Camino Sta. Teresa S/N, Parque Nacional Bosque
del Pedregal, Tlalpan, 14010, CDMX, México.
This weekend market brings some locally-produced products
with an agro-ecology perspective.

TLALPAN
Mercado
Alternativo
Tlalpan

Cumbres del Ajusco
National Park

Casa del Pan
Papalotl
XO
C

H-

XOCHIMILCO
Arca Tierra

OA
X

TE

PE
C

• farm: Arca Tierra (p.45)
TLAHUAC

MILPA ALTA
Ayaquemetl

Antiguo Canal Cuemanco 3, Pista Olímpica Virgilio
Uribe, Xochimilco, 16034, CDMX, México.
This project organizes a range of tours to know their chinampa
an eat there.

• in the field: Ayaquemetl (p.11)
Tláhuac/Milpa Alta
A food production area at the south of the city.

Urban sprawl
City limits

Mexico City

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mexico city

Preface
This publication is an ongoing journey to pursue more conscious,
balanced, regenerative and honest food. In this journey, the publication explores our relationship with food, trying to understand
its complexity and contradiction. It is a journey because the narratives shown here are not a resolution but a constant discovery of
the secrets that food unveils in its processes, stories and cultural
symbolism. It is also a journey in the sense that it includes a continuous movement, not only in the way of visiting some places
seeking to know more about what we eat, but also in the constant
movement of our contemporary cultures.
When I say conscious food, I don’t mean necessary good or the
right and the only way food should be taken. I mean that we need
to consider what we eat more seriously. It is not easy to escape
from the current food system, but when we consider what we eat
and make decisions about it, we can offer resistance to the current
food disconnection. We are less engaged with our food in many
ways—having only minor contact—but what we eat has tremendous repercussions in many aspects of our lives. Bringing awareness to food and its complexity is a way to reconnect with our
lands, cultures and bodies.
Through each issue, this publication series aims to pursue what
it means to eat conscious, balanced, regenerative, honest,
and rebellious food, an open-ended question worth asking to
stop an irreflexive and superficial way of eating.

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preface

The Food Journeys is an attempt to document that will. It takes
its name from the idea of documenting through a series of journeys—both metaphorically and literally— the discoveries, interpretations and reflections that appear while seeking alternative
food narratives. Journeys that take the form of visits, recipes,
drawings, and beyond this describe what food means to us in a
very casual, idiosyncratic and naive way.
In this first issue, the journey starts with Mexico City, where I
was born and grew up. A city that shaped my identity and which
has a long food legacy. The region of maize, cacao and amaranth.
However, this food culture heritage is not the same as it once was.
It is also now molded by global dynamics threatening inherited
practices and regional species.
Through a series of visits, recipes, talks and reflections, this
issue explores contemporary concerns about the status of Mexico
City’s current food culture. It offers particular visions and positions that talk about other meanings food conveys.
Welcome to this first journey, a reflective space to reconnect and
engage with food.
Diego Hernández

u

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mexico city

Mexico City
I grew up in Mexico City, a place full of people, colours, noise, and
smells. It is also a place full of food expressions; being the capital of a large country, it gathers many influences from different
regions. This vast city—it is inhabited by more than 20 million
people— houses many inherited food forms from different layers
of cultures and histories. If you visit the city, you’ll soon notice
some of the most representative dishes are in the streets. There
are tacos stalls in every neighbourhood, and many kitchens offer
other types of common corn forms like quesadillas, pambazos,
tlacoyos, gorditas, or tamales.
The difference between these expressions is subtle yet recognizable; every detail counts in the food as it counts in their meaning.
Within these expressions, there are diverse dialogues, sometimes resisting the influence of a system that substitutes local
expressions with a macro-industrialized model that infiltrates
every kitchen. Certain ingredients have been substituted without
anyone noticing. Instead of traditional corn, we regularly find
poor-quality corn produced by large companies.
The city is located in a high valley in central Mexico, surrounded
by mountains and volcanoes—a good thing, only one active—that
is called Eje Neovolcánico Transversal. This basin gives the city its
particular geographical features that condition its food. There
has been a water memory since the birth of the original town of
Teotihuacan, which was placed in conjunction with lakes. Today,

08–09

Food Journeys Texts

mexico city

much of what was the original lake is paved, hiding all visual remains of the lake. However, this once visible water presence in the
city still irrigates some of the most fertile soils in the capital.
The city’s southeast part is where most productive lands exist.
However, not all of this production is seen in most parts of the
urban space where food is available from all kinds of places—
many from industrialized processes. Different fields of corn, amaranth, wheat and oats grow in the southeast region. Many other
typical foods are planted here, in the milpa, where different crops
are mutually beneficial, or in the chinampa, a production system
that comes from the original indigenous peoples of the region. All
these forms resist in a context where macro productions occupy
the space in the supermarkets around the city. Many of these local
production places are not easy to find, but they offer a relevant
perspective of alternative dialogues occurring in Mexico City.
This issue explores part of the southern region of the city, showing projects with a particular position on food within the city.
It visits outside towns like Tlahuac, Milpa Alta and Xochimilco,
where local food production still exists.

t

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Apendix

issue: 01

mexico city

legend

The Origin of Maize
Maize is an old plant. Inherited by the native people of the first
towns in Mexico, it has found its path to survive until our days.
Today, it faces a complex and challenging terrain, threatened by
global dynamics that have brought chemical pesticides, artificial
fertilizers and genetic modifications to produce more yields and
profits. The early days of maize are distant, only remembered by
the stories told from mouth to mouth. From older generations
to new ones. Maize, like any cultural symbol, is not static. But is
it still that precious treasure behind the mountains, as the story
told? Or is it just an illusion that remains in our memories?
In the early days, the native people of today’s Mexico City didn’t
know about maize. Aztecs—as they were known— roamed the
land, eating roots and small animals, starving and looking for
better days. They knew that somewhere, hidden behind the old
mountains, lands filled with corn extended. But there was no way
to cross those hostile mountains. They prided their gods on asking
for help. The gods listened to them and tried to move the mountains. Even the gods’ strength couldn’t move the mountains which
had been there before the time.
There was, however, one good called Quetzalcoatl who listened to the Aztecs and, instead of using its force, stared at the
great mountains looking for answers. Quetzalcoatl, the feathered
snake, saw on the ground a tiny ant holding a seed of maize. “How
did you reach that seed?” He asked solemnly. The ant refused to

18–19

Food Journeys Texts

the origin of maize

answer, doubting to share its secret. “I’ll feed the hungry people
that dwell in this land,” tried to persuade the god while changing
its form to a black ant. The ant moved toward the mountains,
showing the hidden track to the god.
There’s no easy way to get to the sacred maize. They had to cross
valleys and rivers, cliffs and slopes, and even volcanos that looked
like a mountain but exhaled smoke. Quetzalcoatl, without hesitation, followed the ant until he found the land where maize grows.
With his small size, he could only take one seed with his jaws and
bring it back to the people.
When the native people received the seed, they planted it on the
ground. And when the first rains came, they saw the plant grow.
After some time, they learned how to care for the plant, which was
called Tlayóhjli’ by then. The domestication of maize was crucial
for the people who lived in what is now Mexico City. It became
central to its diet. Many years have passed since the first crops
were used in different meals, and in the present, the plant has
become a ubiquitous element in Mexican food culture. The corn
is no longer the same. Its shape seems the same, but on closer inspection, we now have transgenic corn, artificial-fertilized corn,
corn with pesticides, and, most of the time, an unknown corn that
we no longer know where it came from. Is the real maize hidden
again behind the mountains? It seems like the new mountains
have taken the form of big corporations.

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mexico city

daily recipe

Food Journeys Texts

26–27

lentil soup

From La Casa del Pan

tomato
market

Sopa de Lentejas
Ingredients

salt
supermarket

coriander
market

onion

garlic clove

market

market

carrots
market

green lentils
Casa del Pan Papalot

2 cups of lentils
1 carrot
1 garlic clove
1/4 onion
1/4 parsley or coriander bunch
2 tomatoes
Pinch of salt

1. First, clean the lentils. Although most lentils come clean, they
may still have some seeds from another plant or other types of
residues.
Cleaning lentils is work that demands patience. Every time
one makes lentil soup, one meditates. The process is slow
and repetitive. Perhaps this helps to clear the mind or at least
change the rhythm of the day. I think lentils are, in many
ways, regenerative. It is a comforting dish.
2. Once the lentils have been cleaned, you have to rinse them and
let them drain. Meanwhile, heat water in a pot. The water should
be enough to cover the lentils.
Lentils also regenerate the soil. Legumes have the property of
fixing nitrogen in the soil, thus providing the necessary nutri-

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28–29

ents for other plants and thus avoiding the use of artificially
synthesized nitrogen.
3. Add a piece of onion and a peeled clove of garlic to the saucepan
with water. Then add the lentils and let them simmer over medium
heat. In another smaller saucepan, cook the carrots with a little bit
of salt.
I have seen different versions in my family; on many occasions, I remember eating it with bacon. There are also those
who even add plantains. Now I prepare them only with carrots, the soup is just as good, and I even think they don’t
need more.
4. While the lentil is cooking, blend two tomatoes with the other
remaining piece of the onion and garlic clove.
5. Add the blended tomato once the lentil is softer but before it
begins to break down. Add salt and a little cilantro or parsley. Add
the carrot that was previously cooked separately, without adding
the water where they boiled. It is possible to add water if the
lentils are not yet condensed or the broth is very dry. Once the
lentils are soft and the broth has taken on flavour, they are ready
to serve.
The smell and flavour of lentils are very particular; it is a soup
that comforts and regenerates.

↗ Illustration: Herlo Jurado

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lentil soup

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Food Journeys Texts

mercado alternativo tlalpan

A community of local producers

Mercado Alternativo Tlalpan
Location:
Camino Sta. Teresa S/N, Parque Nacional Bosque
del Pedregal, Tlalpan, 14010, CDMX, Mexico
Sundays from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm

The Mercado Alternativo Tlalpan (Tlalpan Alternative Market)
is located at one of the Parque Bosque de Tlalpan (Tlalpan Forest
Park) entrances. The small market takes place next to the parking
and in front of a cultural centre during the weekends. Here, several stalls offer different local products, from fruit and vegetables to
nopales, eggs and criollo-corn tortillas.
When I visited the market in June of 2023, I had the chance to
talk with one of the market managers, Monse. She told me about
the origin of the market 10 years ago and her vision of this space
as an opportunity for local producers who often struggle to have a
place to sell their produce. The idea, she mentioned, is to offer local producers the option to sell their products directly to consumers. She also told me about the agroecology perspective of the
market. Many producers find it hard to get an organic certificate
because they have to consider spending on it, and the time it takes
is often long. But, even without it, many of the sellers there try
to have practices that reduce the negative impact on the field. At
the same time, they promote traditional food products, using and
reinterpreting inherited processes. There, you can find nopales,

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honey and eggs, or tortillas made with different types of maices
criollos, which are local varieties of maize that surprisingly don’t
have much presence in the city. The blue and red coloured tortillas
that use sprouted corn have a unique taste and softer texture.

← The market offers different
traditional preparations,
including the pulque, an
original fermented beverage.
It is common to mix it
with fresh fruit juice like
pineapple, mango or guava;
or with other ingredients
like oat and amaranth.

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mercado alternativo tlalpan

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daily recipe

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tacos dorados

From Mercado Alternativo Tlalpan

Tacos Dorados

olive oil

supermarket

Ingredients

salt

supermarket

avocado

market

garlic clove
market

onion
market

queso fresco

market

fried criollo
maize tortilla

Mercado Alternativo
Tlalpan

1 dozen of tortillas
3/4 oz of chicken legs & tights
1 garlic clove
1/4 onion
1 avocado
250g queso fresco

1. Put the chicken in boiling water. You can use some chicken
breasts or thighs. Add a piece of onion and a garlic clove to
the water.
Fried Tacos or tacos dorados [which would literarily translate
as brown tacos in English], as they are called in Mexico City,
are a very common dish in this city. I remember eating this
dish since I was a kid. It’s one of those dishes that you don’t
feel is very special until you don’t eat it regularly. But its simplicity hides a complexity shown in the subtle details of the
dish. Tacos dorados is one of the many variants of a dish made
with tortillas. In this case, the tortillas are fried with oil, and
that makes the tortillas have a slightly crunchy texture.
2. While the chicken is cooking, you can prepare guacamole as a
garnish. Put some salt, onion, and half or a small clove of garlic in

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a molcajete. Then smash the ingredients until they turn into a
purée; it doesn’t matter if some small solid pieces are left. After
that, add the avocados and smash them with the rest of the mix.
The tortilla becomes an essential part of the dish. But it’s hard
to find good tortillas in Mexico City. The all-present tortillas
have gradually become something that seems to be the same
but is not. The process of making tortillas involves a series of
steps, each of them with great complexity. For example, the
nixtamalización [nixtamalization], which means adding cal
(mineral lime) and water to cook the grains, is a critical process to make them softer and digestive. The type of maize also
determines the flavour and colour of the tortillas.
3. Once the chicken is cooked, let it cold on a plate and shred it.
4. In a pan or a griddle, slightly heat the tortillas so they become
softer. Do it one by one. Each time you remove the tortilla, add
some chicken and roll it. Don’t put too much, or it’ll be more
difficult to make them a roll.
5. Once you have all your rolled tacos, fry them in a pan with a
little bit of olive oil. Don’t let them fry too much; they only need to
be brownish and crunchy, not too dark or hard.
6. When the tacos are done, put them on a plate and add queso
fresco on the top as well as the guacamole; you can also place it on
the side. It is also very common to pour some sour cream on them.

↗ Illustration: Herlo Jurado

Food Journeys Texts

tacos dorados

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tradition

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54–55

Day of the Dead
November 2th

The Day of the Dead is a Mexican celebration full of colour, music, flowers, and
of course, food. The most common fare
around the date include pan de muerto
(“Dead’s bread”), calavera de azúcar (Sugar skeletons) and ponche (a seasonal fruit
beverage), among other typical dishes.

→ Two skeletons smiling
and dancing, José Guadalupe
Posada, printer José
Sanchez, ca. 1880-1910.
Metropolitan Museum
of Art collection.

← Skeletons (calaveras)
dancing and drinking,
relating to the coquettish
waitress, corrida in
bottom section, ca. 1892.
Metropolitan Museum
of Art collection.

day of the dead

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pan de muerto

Pan de Muerto
Ingredients
3 cup of whole wheat
1 cup of milk
5 eggs
1/2 cup of sugar
1 1/2 orange zest
150 g of butter

1. First, we need to make the preferment, also known as
starter or sponge. To start, heat 1 cup of milk until it reaches
105 °F (40 °C). Add the dried yeast and dissolve it in the milk.
Incorporate into the mix 1/2 cup of whole wheat flour and 1/2
cup of sugar and mix. Then add 2 eggs and mix it all.
2. Wait for 25-30 min until the preferment increases its size.
3. Put 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour with a pinch of salt and 1
cup of sugar on a working surface. With these ingredients,
make a basin shape.

↗ Illustration: Herlo Jurado

4. Once the preferment increases its size, put it in the middle
of the basin. Add 1 1/2 orange zest and 3 eggs. Incorporate all
the ingredients until it turns into dough. Then include 150 g of
butter chopped up in pieces.

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5. Knead until the dough doesn’t stick to your fingers and
the table.
6. Put the dough in an oiled bowl and cover it to avoid the air
drying it. Let the dough rest until it doubles its size.
7. Once it reaches its size, put the dough on the table and knead it
for a few minutes. Then cut the dough into 4 pieces, 3 of which will
be used for the bases and the other for the “bones” and “skulls” of
the breads. Put the finished bread on a tray with wax paper.
8. Bake them for 40 min in a preheated oven at 300 °F (150 °C) until
they look brownish.
9. Take them out of the oven and let them cold. Finally, spread
some butter over each piece of bread and sprinkle sugar over
them. You can enjoy them with a cup of hot cocoa.

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