DirectGroup Cookbook Project An International Success

Mondolibri's and und France Loisirs' member cookbooks

The concept is as follows: The members of each book club are invited to send in their best and favorite recipes, then an expert jury selects the tastiest submissions and publishes them in a cookbook. In Germany alone close to 10,000 members answered their Club’s call. In the end, 1000 names were featured alongside their favorite recipes on the 620 pages of “ Unser großes Kochbuch " ("Our Great Cookbook"). 83,000 copies have been sold to date. In neighboring France, 567 recipes from France Loisirs members show what their home country’s much-praised cuisine has to offer. 209,565 copies of "Notre grand livre de cuisine" have been sold so far.

Recipes from " Frittata Fantasia " to " Tiramisù di Ricotta al Limoncello "

Now the DirectGroup project’s success story has spread to southern climes: The Italian club Mondolibri has just reported the concept’s latest success. Last September, a total of 1,000 dishes were compiled under the title " Oggi cuciniamo noi. Mille ricette tutte da gustare " ("Today we cook. 1000 recipes to enjoy"). More than 45,000 copies of the voluminous Club cookbook have already been sold – so the international success of the book project continues.

Anyone who thinks Italian cooking culture consists of just pasta and pizza is mistaken: recipes with such resonant titles as " Frittata Fantasia ," " Rognoncini Alla Maniera Della Mia Mamma " and " Tiramisù di Ricotta al Limoncello " can be found in the cookbook - the names alone promise a real culinary treat. All the recipes are categorized by season and cover the full range from antipasti and a variety of main courses to "dolci." At a hefty 1,060 pages, it is bound to contain pretty much everything to keep lovers of Italian cooking happy. And what’s more, Spanish readers will also get a chance to enjoy this exclusive collection: Círculo de Lectores is publishing a translated version of " Oggi cuciniamo noi. Mille ricette tutte da gustare. " In other words, Direct Group’s book project not only provides a successful potpourri of home-cooking recipes, but also promotes an exchange between (food) cultures. And it remains to be seen where else the culinary voyage of discovery in domestic kitchens will lead.