What and Why

My name is Madison Brandt and I am a senior at Colorado State University completing my BA in Cultural Anthropology and my BS in Psychology. As part of my honors thesis work at Colorado State University, I created a community cookbook that features recipes shown to me by Fort Collins locals. The culinary world is characterized by celebration, appreciation, local tradition and a very special form of communication. It is no surprise that food and drink are powerful elements that bind people together and define personal identity and community. My interest in creating this cookbook stems from my desire to tell the stories of people within my own community through the lens of food and drink, and to produce something that people can share and enjoy with each other. The cookbook includes not only delicious recipes from Fort Collins locals, but also the stories behind their recipes, descriptions of who the chefs are within the community, and explanations of their perspectives on food and drink.