Cosme, the restaurant of chef and entrepreneur James Berckemeyer, is defined as much by its local roots as by its popularity and international recognition. That is why, when we were commissioned to write the book for its tenth anniversary, we developed a concept that combined its sense of belonging and its sense of projection.

A key element in the creation of the concept was a distinctive element of the restaurant: the black vulture. This bird, which is commonly viewed with some suspicion because of its appearance, was revalued by Cosme, highlighting its importance in the balance of the environment and emphasizing it as a symbol of sustainability. We continued with that line and saw in the black vulture the flight, adaptation and teamwork. From that, we built a textual and visual narrative that allowed us to fluidly articulate the story of the restaurant and its team with letters from chef friends such as ‘Micha’ Tsumura, the brothers Joan and Jordi Rocca, Juan Mari and Elena Arzak, and Gastón Acurio, who also wrote the prologue.

The book was complemented with a recipe booklet that, like Cosme’s comfort food proposal, had to refer to well-known places. For this, in addition to placing the photo of each dish with its respective ingredients and preparations, we added a characteristic detail of family recipes: annotations with suggestions. Chefs James Berckemeyer and Daniel Sologuren themselves handwrote their recommendations… and even an apology.

“El vuelo de Cosme” (“Cosme’s flight”) is a book that teaches how the dishes are prepared in one of the best restaurants in Latin America, but also tells how his team prepared to get where it is.