The stomach is not only the way to the heart. In a humorous way, the cookbook by Gabriele Edlbauer and Julia S. Goodman, two artists living and working in Vienna, addresses complex feelings and hard truths through chicken recipes. Similar to Engagement Chicken, published by US cookbook author Ina Garten, the 18 recipes in If You Can’t Say It with Words, Say It with Chicken are designed to help readers communicate emotionally difficult announcements.

In developing the book, the authors were inspired by their very different cultural backgrounds. Julia Goodman’s ancestors were mostly Eastern European Jews who emigrated to the USA at the beginning of the 20th century. Gabriele Edlbauer on the other hand grew up on an organic farm in the predominantly Catholic Mühlviertel region of Upper Austria. The artists worked together to create not only the recipes, but also the props, sculptures, and tableware. In order to highlight the emotions associated with these dishes, the meals were staged in various culinary locations, some of them very unconventional: for example, in a sterile doctor’s surgery in Vienna or in a friend’s dimly lit bathroom.

The result is a book filled with emotional recipes. Accompanied by creative serving suggestions, it invites you to express yourself through chicken!