About this Event
Family Recipe Archive Lab
With Thanksgiving just two weeks away, this is the moment to preserve that one family dish before the holiday rush begins.
The dish everyone remembers is often the one nobody has written down properly. An old index card might say "add flour until it looks right." A grandmother cooked entirely by feel and never used a measuring spoon. Or you know the taste intimately, but the story of who created it and why it mattered is fading.
Hosted by Gathered Stories Chicago at Studio Momentum, the Family Recipe Archive Lab is a quiet, structured 2-hour working session dedicated to turning one meaningful dish into an enduring physical record.
This is a writing, archival, and storytelling workshop—NOT a cooking class. There are no stoves, no kitchen messes, no tasting, and no need to bring prepared food. You will sit at dedicated writing tables to work through both sides of your heirloom dish:
- The Usable Recipe: Translating vague memories into reproducible steps, establishing realistic yields, and recording sensory cues (aroma, texture, visual doneness) rather than inventing false precision.
- The Human Story: Documenting who made it, when and where it was served, how it evolved across generations, and the family memories anchored to it.
- The Archival Card: Writing your final, complete version onto premium archival 300gsm cards to display on your holiday table or pass down to relatives.
WHAT YOU WILL LEAVE WITH
- Completed Two-Sided Recipe Story Card: Your finished heirloom recorded on heavy, archival-grade 300gsm cotton card stock.
- The Recipe Reconstruction Worksheet: A systematic diagnostic tool to convert "a pinch" and "until done" into reliable guidelines.
- The Sensory Cue Guide: A culinary reference sheet for identifying visual, aromatic, and textural markers that substitute for rigid timing.
- Family Food Story Interview Prompts: A curated list of questions to guide future conversations with older relatives.
- The 30-Day Family Archive Plan: A realistic framework to document your family's next 3–5 core recipes without feeling overwhelmed.
- Zero Performance Pressure: No public storytelling is required. No forced readings. You may work 100% privately at your workstation.
ACCURACY, COPYRIGHT & PRIVACY BOUNDARIES
- Honest Documentation: We distinguish between Known, Remembered, and Needs Testing. You are encouraged to flag uncertain measurements as "to be verified" rather than guessing.
- Copyright & Source Integrity: Bring family, personal, or adapted recipes. Do not copy published, copyrighted cookbook text word-for-word into workshop templates.
- Privacy Protected: You are never required to share private family history, full names, or sensitive personal circumstances. Work with first names, initials, or titles ("Grandmother") as you see fit.
Event venue & nearby stays
1541 W Belmont Ave, 1541 West Belmont Avenue, Chicago, United States
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