Photos: Vivianne Sassen
If the popularity of cooking TV shows and the rise and rise “Foodstagram” has taught us anything in recent years it’s that food is about a lot more than simply eating. Instead, it’s about curating a way of life, of generous get-togethers, forging friendships over sharing platters, starting conversations based on what we eat. This is exactly what fashion designer Phillip Lim had in mind when he asked his friend, the celebrated Dutch art photographer Viviane Sassen to collaborate with him on an unusual cookery book that celebrates the communion of food and friendship.
Aptly titled More than Our Bellies, Lim’s and Sassen’s book is a poetic exploration of the place food occupies in our lives and in our memories. It is as Lim says “a conversation between two friends”. Each of Lim’s 12 recipes — many of which, like “Hainanese Chicken Rice,” are South Asian in origin and inspired by Lim’s Thai upbringing — are accompanied by Sassen’s gorgeous images that capture the delicious dreaminess and emotional significance that we attribute to food. Sassen’s characteristically contrasting photographs, where luminous colour is frequently sliced with dark shadow, demonstrate her signature abstraction of familiar forms as well as a new painterly technique (the images are frequently layered with paint and etched and drawn over). Through her use of warm, dappled light, her photos suggest the sweet nostalgia of a meal once savoured, transporting us to a special moment we can almost taste.
Lim is clear that is not a conventional cookbook — “Let me be honest with you — I am not a chef.” Instead, this collaborative volume is a matter of personal storytelling through food and pictures that illustrate a culinary journey. Food for Lim is a matter of connection, of family, friendship and memories. He says it best when he says so himself: “Food is like love to me; the love we dream about, the love we give and the love we receive. Love memories that sustain and nourish more than our bellies.”
More Than Our Bellies: A Cookbook is available to buy now.