We chatted to Graphic Designer and Illustrator Jaz Christou, about the creation of Chomped Zine.
As part of their residency, Jaz has been using our Riso workspace to create Chomped, and it’s been great to see each edition come to life. Below, Jaz chats through what the project means to them and how printing with Riso has contributed the the design process.
Chomped Zine began as a self publishing project for sharing recipes between friends. The aim was to encourage people to try new food and cook for each other. Food is very much a love language for me. I love spending time in the kitchen, cooking for friends and hosting dinner parties so I wanted to bring this passion to Chomped.
Chomped has grown into a platform for sharing stories behind the food, opening up discourse into what we like to eat, cultural identity, eating seasonally, the ingredients we’re drawn to, and sharing knowledge surrounding cooking. I’m hoping it can keep growing and evolving but the goal remains simple to bring people together around food. And it has already grown beyond the physical zine into hosting supper clubs in collaboration with Leeds based chefs.
The project wouldn’t be possible without all the contributors – it’s a very collaborative process. It’s a combination of posting open calls, reaching out to people, and sometimes meeting in person for a chat. Nothing beats a conversation. You don’t know where the conversation will go and there’s a lot of great things that spark up so I want to capture this within the zine.
I’m also trying to consider alternative types of content, beyond just the recipes, that would be engaging and valuable for readers to dig into. I have an ongoing collaboration with Anna Shindler who runs Food With View, a blog dedicated to showcasing women in the Leeds food scene. And I’m also keen to get more writers involved giving them an opportunity to explore food. I’m very open to what they want to write about but some ideas are gardening, growing, farming, allotments, food waste, food influencers, cooking flops, comfort meals, mouth watering experiences, food banks etc.
Deciding to risoprint the zine was a no-brainer because I think the aesthetic is so beautiful. I know there’s other options for risoprinting in Leeds but they do everything for you. I want to be involved in the whole process, to be able to say I made this thing start to finish. It gives you more autonomy over the final outcome. That’s why East Street Arts is great, they let you get involved in the whole process. I can’t lie, it’s quite a trial and error process, which is how I personally love to work, but there’s something quite charming about it, not knowing what’s going to happen on the day.
The limitations of risograph also make it a fun medium to work with. With each issue I choose a different colour ink and paper stock. I really lean into working with a limited colour palette which allows the process to shine. And ESA have a great selection of inks so it’s given me the chance to experiment with new and unconventional colour combinations.
In my research digging through archives of cookbooks and menus, I started to see a lot of similarities with the design, layout, typography and images. I was seeing the same thing again and again so I wanted to mix things up a bit and challenge this. I saw the possibility to play with the format and layout of a zine. I’m asking myself how can I grab people’s attention and make it fun for them to read whilst retaining the legibility? People need to be able to follow the recipes after all. And that’s what gets me real excited about risograph: the playfulness.
Find Jaz:
Website: jazchristou.co.uk | Instagram: @jaz.christou
Want to start riso printing?
Apply for our Riso Residency Open Call
Programmes like this are made possible thanks to the support of funders Leeds City Council, UKSPF and Arts Council England.
