A recipe from TASTE APPEAL

Unusual food creations in newspaper format

TASTE APPEAL is the brainchild of Calle, Lukas and Pia. Since 2021, the three have been providing us with high-quality recipes several times a year in their magazine. The design is deliberately kept simple and the focus is on the dishes. In addition to their magazine, the recipes can also be read on the TASTE APPEAL blog and Instagram page. Exclusively for us, the three now give insights into their work and also reveal their recipe for a mini pear turmeric tart, which we naturally want to share with you.

Your food magazine is structured like a newspaper in terms of format and design. How did you come up with this idea?

Calle: Right from the start, it was clear to us that we didn't want to launch the 1000th food magazine on the market in the usual A4 format. Rather a magazine that visually comes across as a coffee table book - but in magazine form. 

The logical conclusion: a special format and special paper. So after a few tests, the decision was made in favor of the tabloid newspaper format, especially because most people associate newspapers with high-value information and quality, which is what we represent in the food segment. 

A very mundane advantage that this format also brings is that we can play very large with the photos and texts, something where a smaller format would have restricted us.

Each issue has a theme or is dedicated to a particular food. How do the themes come about and where do you get your inspiration? 

Calle: Realistically, our small team often just sits together over lunch of various photo productions - while we do this, we throw visual or content-related topics at each other that we find appealing. After a few sessions, we usually come up with a pre-selection from which we knit a common thread. 

Our approach is not simply to show seasonal cuisine, but to always bring in a twist. For example, the "Summer Night" issue, where everything comes from the grill and is prepared with spirits, or the issue now appearing, "ERNTEZEIT," which deliberately takes the seasonal calendar and turns it on its head with unusual ingredients to give new inspiration on how to deal with pears or pumpkin.

Our inspiration is as diverse as the three of us (Pia the propstylist, Lukas the recipe developer and me, Calle the photographer) - our baking edition is about based on pure inspiration from textures we've collected. The festive edition "wiedersehen", on the other hand, has its origins in the staging of plays. So it's a pretty colorful potpourri that includes almost everything.

Who develops the recipes for you? Do you have a classical background as a cook or has your hobby become your profession?

Calle: This is what Lukas Baseda, our recipe developer and food stylist, does. Lukas is a trained chef and worked for years in high-end gastronomy & cooking schools before becoming an independent food stylist & recipe developer almost ten years ago. Since then, he has been contributing his expertise not only to TV commercials, billboard campaigns and advertisements, but fortunately also to TASTE APPEAL-.

Previously, Lukas has also styled various cookbooks and also developed the recipes for them. So he is, as they say, "deep in the matter". 

What role does an appealing look and presentation of the food play for you?

A big one and none at the same time. Of course, the food should never look unappetizing, yet as a rule, the overall impression of a subject is often more important to us than the pure focus on the dish itself. The best dish simply doesn't look good in the most unattractive surrounds, and vice versa, of course, even the most beautiful setting is useless if the food is cluttered.

So in our photos, the search for harmony between the surround, the food and the photographic interpretation is always crucial. Nevertheless, there is one principle that always applies to us: Delicious, but not artificial. Attractive, but never loud.

What is your favorite fall ingredient?

That's really difficult - for example, I love almost anything made with mushrooms, but at the same time, a dessert made with pears, a crème de poire, is also a blast. 

The best ingredient probably depends on the weather. Bathed in warm golden autumn light, my choice would be a pear and make it into mini pear turmeric tartes, while in an autumn storm, I'd prefer Caramelized Carrots & Gremolata with Ossobuco.

Most of the time, your gut feeling while standing in front of the vegetable stand is an excellent guide. The only important thing is to dare to pack something new every now and then.

 Mini-Pear-Turmeric-Tarte

INGREDIENTS:

• For the shortcrust pastry:
• 300 g wheat flour, type 405
• 200 g butter, cold
• 100 g sugar
• 1 pinch of salt
• zest of half a lemon
• 1 egg
• cold water if needed 

FOR THE TOPPING:

• 1 pear
• 4 tablespoons sugar for dusting
• 1 tablespoon turmeric for dusting

butter to brush the baking tray
2 figs

PREPARATION:

Sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the center. Cut the butter into small cubes and spread around the hollow. Add the sugar, salt and lemon zest to the well. Add the egg as well.

Using a mixer, quickly knead the ingredients into a smooth dough. If the dough is too dry, carefully add a little cold water.

Shape the dough into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Let rest in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 180°C. 
Roll out the dough on a floured work surface. Cut out circles or other shapes with a suitable cookie cutter or knife.

For the topping:

Wash, halve, core and finely slice the pear. Place one pear slice on each dough circle.  Dust the pear with sugar and turmeric.

Butter a baking sheet and place the dough circles on it, pear side down. Bake in the preheated oven for about 10 to 12 minutes, until the shortbread is golden brown and crisp and the pears are caramelized.

Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Serve garnished with a piece of fig on each. 

Preparation time: 35 minutes

Resting time: 30 minutes

Download recipe as pdf