Aesthetic Dining: The Art Restaurant Around the World
Aesthetic Dining: The Art Restaurant Around the World is the first book of its kind to identify and describe the tradition of the art restaurant—a place where taste on the tongue through dining combines with taste in the mind through art, celebrated through the rituals of dining. Starting in the early 20th century at Zürich’s Kronenhalle, it offers a survey of how art has featured in restaurants, from Provence to Cairo, Hong Kong to Sydney, and Santa Monica to New Orleans and New York. It describes where artists gathered to eat, the restaurateurs who collected art, and the chefs and artists who collaborated on dining experiences.
Filled with anecdotes, philosophical musings, stories, and historical facts about restaurant traditions, the book also features new interviews with contemporary artists, including Peter Blake, Damien Hirst, Maggi Hambling, Tracey Emin, Julian Schnabel, and David Shrigley. The artists share their favourite places to eat, why they made works for restaurants, and what it is like to eat under their own pieces.
The book also includes interviews with celebrated global chefs and restaurateurs, such as Massimo Bottura, Daniel Boulud, Marcus Samuelsson, Mark Hix, and the late Leah Chase. They discuss their art collections and explore how art inspires their cuisine and shapes the atmosphere of their establishments.
Aesthetic Dining is a love letter to restaurants, celebrating these spaces as reminders of the creative process, emotional expression, and sensory journeys they invite diners to explore, experience, and share together.
