Your typical cookbook uses the following sequence:

1. List ingredients
2. Show step-by-step cooking instructions
3. Close-up beauty shot of the final product (i.e., were it made by a professional chef, in a photography studio, with the aid of a food stylist and lighting technician, captured by a professional photographer)

Step 1 and Step 2 are dull but necessary. Cooking instructions will always remain, but adding some visual flair to the list of ingredients was the brilliant brainchild of photographer Carl Kleiner. For IKEA’s newest cookbook, “Hembakat är Bäst” (Swedish for ‘Homemade is Best’), Carl adds a pinch of artistry and dash of creativity to the ingredients list, setting a tasty tone for the recipe ahead. Enjoy the small collection of visual ingredients below and be sure to check out IKEA’s latest cookbook, which surprisingly, does not come with an Allen key…

Above/Below: Visual recipe and finished product for Gingerbread men and women

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARL KLEINER

Above/Below: Visual ingredients and finished product for Mandelmusslor (almond shells)

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARL KLEINER

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARL KLEINER

Another tasty before and after shot

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARL KLEINER

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARL KLEINER

ALL PHOTOGRAPHY BY CARL KLEINER

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