Biscuits are an intimate part of that classic New Zealand ritual - morning and afternoon tea. Cameo Creams, Gingernuts, Shrewsburys and Vanilla Wines slide from the cellophane with undisguised ease. But what are these all too familiar objects of everyday life and who are the people who make them? Do we ever stop to consider the typographic design, the intricacy of the die-cutter´s craft, the manual labour of the dough-makers, the heat and smell of the ovens, the clatter of sorters, packers, and shippers? Alan Knowles takes us behind the scenes at Griffins Foods in Lower Hutt. His lens reveals the unexpected and illuminates the invisible: the beauty of repetition, the dance of form, aroha in the workplace, and the hands which translate food into art. These icons of Kiwi consumable culture will never be the same.

Dr Sydney J. Shep
Senior Lecturer & Wai-te-ata Press Printer, Victoria University of Wellington.
Author of: The Restaurant at this end of the Universe: Edible Typography in New Zealand.