In a nutshell
I am a notebook guy. I carry one with me, everywhere, all the time. Mine has knife scars and sauce stains on it, but I cherish these marks. They remind me of my love for cooking, and perhaps also that I should stop using it as a lid.
Being able to dump my thoughts rapidly - including recipe observations, tasting feedback, project drawings, or diagrams - is critical to free up space in my head. It also reassures me to know that those precious ideas are safe on paper.
On the rare occasions that I went out without it, I have kicked myself real bad. The brain is always thinking, always processing in the background, so it's impossible to predict when inspiration is going to strike next.
The origins
Over the years, I've used countless notebooks and I can safely say that not all notebooks have been created equal. Most can't stand my specific use and abuse, few are those providing a smooth writing experience, and fewer can be proud of how they're made.
So, as I typically do when I can't find the product I need : I make it.
I used to buy cheap notebooks as a base and then customize them. I would typically have the front and back painted in a vibrant blue - stands out better in my backpack - and I would also insert a few cooking sheets at the end of it. No need to clutter your mind with kitchen conversions.
That hack has been working ok for some years now, but to be honest there also were a few caveats along the way : Like the paint would chip off from time to time, or the cheat sheets would slip out. Also, since I've not always been using the same base, the writing experience was super inconsistent (I am a fountain pen user so bad paper = terrible scratchy writing)
The notebooks I used were never exactly the same size. It took me years to find the right one for me. I've tried to use tiny vertical notebooks, handy but drawings rarely fit in these (an image is worth a thousand words, remember). I've also tried to use larger ones, which are great to draw but they never fit in my pockets. What's the point of having a notebook if you don't have it ready at all time ?
Last but not least : Using cheap notebooks has a price. They're not always recycled, nor are they always produced under good conditions.
So, with all that in mind, I decided to create my own notebook.
I found a printing company here in France with great quality standards, I specifically picked the colours, I tested the interior paper myself and I wrote useful cooking cheat sheets (one-line recipes, volume conversions, ingredient alternatives, and motivation to keep you going).
At the end it is a well made notebook, made for cooks.
