Don't judge a book by its cover - unless the cover happens to be made of frosting and you're judging it in a cake competition.
"Eat a book today" was the theme of an event sponsored by the Goldfarb Library during which students and staff made edible book cakes, judged them, and then ate them.
On April 11 in the Rapaporte Treasure Hall, the library hosted its first Edible Book Festival. Students were invited by academic outreach librarian Melanie Radik to take part in this festival by "eating someone else's words."
The International Edible Book Festival is an event that typically occurs on or near April 1 to celebrate the birthday of Jean Anthelme Brillat-Savarin, a French gastronomist and politician born in 1755. Artist B?(c)atrice Coron and librarian and art writer Judith A. Hoffberg started the event in 2000 and it has since been celebrated in libraries all around the world.
Brillat-Savarin is famously known for founding the gastronomic essay. Gastronomy is the study of food and culture and is derived from two Ancient Greek words that essentially mean, "the art or law of regulating the stomach." It puts a specific focus on gourmet cuisine, nutrition and the ingestion of food. The festival incorporates this by challenging participants to make delicious tasting edible books.
Vice Provost, University Librarian and Chief Information Officer John Unsworth suggested the event, while Radik organized it. "It occurs in many countries and is typically hosted in public libraries. Not a lot of people do it at once, but it is pretty widespread," Radik said.
The most commonly featured books were the classics. "It seems to be a split between classics and children books. [There is] a lot of visual inspiration [among them]. With the classics people think other people will get the joke," Radik said. There were over 20 edible book entries, ranging from an entry based on "Sesame Street Unpaved" to A Midsummer Night's Dream. Sesame Street Unpaved featured three of the Sesame Street character's faces made into vegetable platters with dip as the eyes. "A Mintsummer Night's Dream" was a two-tier cake covered in mint and chocolate.
A team of judges decided on their favorite edible book creation. To participate in creating an edible book an online form had to be submitted to the library.
All edible book creations had to be "bookish" or inspired by literature. They could simply be a recreation of cover art, a scene or illustration from a book, a pun on the title, or the shape of a book.
Another entry drew upon the book The Old Man and the Sea. It was adapted into a cake with a man's face on top of blue and white icing. Another was inspired by the children's book, If You Give a Moose a Muffin, titled "If You Give a Mousse a Muffin." Another titled "Metamorphosis" was a chocolate cake shaped into a giant cockroach. The inside of the cake resembled what happens when you step on a cockroach. Many of the cakes were inspired by puns or jokes of books. "I like the puns, I like puns in general and find that books and a visual gag is just great," Radik said.
Radik explained that she hoped this library event would bring the Brandeis community together.
"I hope it gets people into the library and thinking about books. I like that we got entries from all over the community. The librarians were very involved but we also got students, staff, family of staff [to attend the event]," Radik said.
After attendees had the chance to view the cakes, the judges announced a winner and the attendees got to dig in. The edible book entry "A Mintsummer Night's Dream," created by Tamar Forman-Gejrot '16 was the "Best In Show" winner of the festival by popular vote.
Forman-Gejrot's creation was a two-tier cake covered in marshmallows, mint leaves, icing and much more. The top of the second tier had chocolate that resembled fairy wings.
"It's a chocolate fudge cake with a mint-oreo buttercream as well as a raspberry whipped cream and a caramel filling and white chocolate ghanoush covering more chocolate buttercream," she said.
Forman-Gejrot wanted to participate in the contest because of the entire process. "I love baking especially. I have always wanted to do a baked showcase cake and I have never actually done it because there is no occasion."
Pichya Nimit '16 , an attendee of the event, was pleasantly surprised to learn that library was hosting the festival, "If I would have known about it sooner I would have attempted to make one."
Brillat-Savarin once said, "The pleasure of the table belongs to all ages, to all conditions, to all countries, and to all areas; it mingles with all other pleasures, and remains at last to console us for their departure." Brandeis' first celebration of the gastronomist's birthday was one that he would have enjoyed.