<p style="text-align:center;"><img class="aligncenter" style="border:0 none;" src="http://www.remain-silent.com/cm/kewlstuff/tilsoncover.jpg" alt="jake tilson" width="400" height="512" /></p>

Jake Tilson has a thing for food. So much so that he wrote, photographed and designed the book <a href="http://www.jaketilson.com/art/12kitchens/index.htm">A Tale of 12 Kitchens, Family Cooking in Four Countries</a>. But what makes this book different from your average food book is that its a personal journey through the cities, cusines and kitchens that entertained Jake throughout his life. From childhood homes, to college flats, to marital first homes.

Jake Tilson is not a chef, not a 'trained' cook, but rather an artist and a father. Who due to his creative inclinations looks at the things we do every day at a different slant. A slant that forces us to stop, think and question why...why we do the things we do.
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"Why do we cook what we cook? What has the deepest effect on our culinary habits? Is it childhood, marriage, the neighbourhood or what we saw on television last night? "

I love this line of questioning because it is one i've at times asked myself. I've found times where my siblings or friends and I will acquire a taste for exactly the same product even though we are many miles away from each other and have different dietary persuasions. Why does this always happen??
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Pictures of the kitchens of Jake's life, handwritten recipes and collage populate the pages of this book. Coupled with personal stories and characters this book goes beyond being 'just about food' to being a touching gastro-self portrait of the life and love of a regular man. A man who has a thing for food.

Jeff will be showing artworks at the <a href="http://www.antidesignfestival.com/">Anti-Design Festival</a> running through Sept 26th in London. More info <a href="http://cravenmaven.wordpress.com/2010/09/21/anti-design-festival/">here</a>.

<em>all images copyright jake tilson - a tale of 12 kitchens</em>