Gabriele Galimberti

I was flipping through an in-flight magazine earlier this year when I stumbled on an interview with Italian photographer, Gabriele Galimberti, about his project and book, In Her Kitchen. The concept resonated with me instantly – a book of stories, portraits and recipes from grandmothers all over the world. What a beautiful way to share culture and give a real perspective on a travel experience.

In short, I obviously got my skates on to contact Gabriele and see if he would be interested in telling us more about the project and himself. The result is below and his award-winning book can be bought here.

JC x

1. Gabriele, how did you get into photography and what do you love the most about your job?

I fell in love with photography when I was 12. At that time my father’s hobby was photography and he built a little dark room at home. I remember that I was helping him to develop films and print photos. I clearly remember those moments when the photo appears on a white paper immersed on the chemical. It was like a magic moment. From that moment I decided that I wanted to become a photographer, so when I was older I decided to go to a photography school in Florence (Italy). I studied there for 3 years, and then, at the age of 20 (more or less) I started to work as photographer. The best thing about my job now is that I have the chance to travel the world. I spend almost 8 months a year traveling! It is amazing.

2. What kind of projects do you enjoy the most?

I love global long term projects! If you look at all the projects I’ve done in the past 6 years, you’ll notice each project was more than two years and have spanned across more than 30 countries.

3. Could you tell us how the In Her Kitchen idea came about and how it came to life?

When I started my trip around the world with the idea of making a documentary about CouchSurfing all my family was a little worried by the fact that I’d be leaving home for 2 years. I was going to travel in many different countries, sleeping at somebody’s house, hosted by people that I didn’t know. I then realised though that my grandmother was mostly worried about the food that I was going to eat. She told me something like: “Are you sure you want to go? What are you going to eat in Africa? And in China? You should stay at home. I can cook for you.”

All this made me laugh a lot and I told my grandma: “You know grandma? There are many grandmothers all over the world and I’m sure they will be happy to feed me and cook something special for me.” And this is the how I came up with the idea for the project!

Gabriele’s grandmother, Marisa Batini in her kitchen in Italy

4. Did you get to sample the food the grandmothers made and which were the standouts?

Yes, I tried everything! I would say I liked 90% of the recipes in the book. The best one is of course my grandmother’s, but I also love Asian food, so the recipe’s from Thailand, the Philippines and Japan.

Maria Luz Fedric in her kitchen in the Cayman Islands

5. What are your favourite cuisines?

I LOOOVE Thai food, Mexican food and sushi!

6. Where do you call home and what are some of your favourite places to eat on your return?

My home is in Tuscany, more precisely Castiglion Fiorentino. Every time that I go back home I love to invite friends for dinner at home and cook for them. I usually prefer to cook at home when I’m in Italy, not because there aren’t good restaurants around my house (actually, there are amazing restaurants), but just because I’m always traveling and eating out, so, when I’m at home I like to prepare my food. One of the first things that I always do is to cook a really big steak on the fireplace and open a good bottle of red Italian wine.

7. What are your favourite things to do when you get some downtime?

I love motorbikes! I have 2 Ducati and every time I have some free time, I take one of my motorbikes and I drive it around Tuscany for a whole day.

8. What places or projects are on your current wish list?

I’m about to start my 4th trip around the world. I will be working on a couple of new projects, one about “fathers” and one about “work”. Stay tuned.

Website: www.gabrielegalimberti.com