They Draw and Cook

They Draw and Cook is the six-month-old blog Nate Padavick runs with his sister Salli Swindell that is all about inspiration — to cook or draw, or both. A new illustrated recipe is posted daily by illustrators and designers from around the world. They are not always in English, but this is not necessarily a problem. Take Emilia Szewczyk's clever, subdued painting with instructions for Red Pepper Soup, or Jackie Mancuso’s pretty, pastel painting depicting a recipe for Les Endives Jambon d’Ernest. It is tempting to create a story about Ernest (who we think is the cute black and white pup at the center of the picture) with a clear taste for sophisticated French food — and pink Le Creuset cookware.

Padavick and his sister, both professional illustrators, decided to start They Draw and Cook after Padavick recreated a fig pasta dish for Swindell that he’d eaten in Berlin. When Swindell spied Padavick’s crate of figs, she was inspired. Their shape and color, she says, were so intriguing. Swindell realized how much fun she had painting food and her artist friends quickly followed suit. They thought of writing a book but settled instead on a blog.

Like most professional chefs (and painters), Padavick and his sister are visually sensitive, stimulated by the beauty around them, especially when it comes to food: “There are so many shapes, colors and memories to pull from,” admits Padavick. One of his most recent inspirations was the CSA near his western Massachusetts house: “This week we got bushels of the prettiest-colored eggplant in all these weird shapes. I rarely cook with eggplant, but now I want to.” Mission accomplished. And with such fun and lighthearted illustrated depictions of cooking (see Kaylene Lockwood's Watermelon Sorbet or Chiara Pallotti's Italian Parmigiana eggplant), it's hard not to feel inspired to seek out the same beauty in your food. Even kids can now get into the spirit, on Padavick and Swindell's recently launched and utterly adorable spinoff Kids Draw and Cook.