From Giuseppe Arcimboldo’s famed painting “Vertumnus” to the endless examples of food included in contemporary artworks, it is hard not to be convinced that food is an inspiration for numerous artists. What about vice versa — art as inspirations for chefs? As a matter of fact, the ways many celebrated chefs describe their practice of culinary creation sound like an artistic practice: expression of oneself, inspirations from nature and life, exciting senses, being adventurous and disrupting conventions.
This list of celebrity chef-collectors compiled by LARRY’S LIST will probably prove even more strongly the close-knit relationship between art and food, between cooking and art making.
Massimo Bottura
@massimobottura
Massimo Bottura, renowned chef and founder of the three-Michelin-starred Osteria Francescana in Modena, Italy, has been collecting modern and contemporary art with his wife Lara Gilmore since 1995. Their art collection include various artworks by Olafur Eliasson, Maurizio Cattelan, Robert Longo, Vik Muniz, Ugo Rondinone, David Salle, Wolfgang Tillmans, Joseph Beuys, Michelangelo Pistoletto, Vanessa Beecroft, Mario Schifano, Jonas Wood , Cindy Sherman, Tracey Emin, etc.
Shannon Bennett
@chefbennett23
Having appeared on a number of Australian food television shows, Shannon Bennett, celebrity chef and founder of Melbourne’s fine dining powerhouse Vue de Monde and its parent company Vue Group. He started collecting art both locally and internationally since 2000. Some of the A-listers found in Bennett’s art collection include, Tony Albert, David LaChapelle, Patricia Piccinini, and Yinka Shonibare CBE among others.
Nobu Matsuhisa
@therealnobu
Nobuyuki “Nobu” Matsuhisa is a Japanese celebrity chef and restaurateur known for his fusion cuisine blending traditional Japanese dishes with Peruvian ingredients. He is also the proud owner of 41 Nobu restaurants, 10 Nobu hotels, and 11 Matsuhisa restaurants all over the world. He has collected works by KAWS, who has visited with his family Matsuhisa’s restaurant in Tokyo. He also owns some art by Alec Monopoly, whom Matsuhisa had met in Los Angeles before the artist became famous.
Rafael Osterling
@rafaelrestaurante
The Peruvian top chef has various restaurants in Lima, Peru and Bogota, Colombia and is a self-confessed art enthusiast. He has a passion for beautiful things. Artworks from his person art collection decorate in salon style the walls of his flagship Lima restaurant Rafael. His collection presents a proud roster of Peruvian and Latin American artists, though scattered with Danish, North American, Austrian or other international artists.
Pierre Gagnaire
@restaurantpierregagnaire
An iconoclastic chef at the forefront of the fusion cuisine movement, Pierre Gagnaire is the head chef and owner of the eponymous Pierre Gagnaire restaurant in Paris. His art collection, started in around 2003, is of food-related photography. For example, a photo by Marc Riboud that shows Chinese miners digging into their rice box lunches and five signed photos from Willy Ronis also related to food. He claimed that he was crazy about art and bought art that provokes a big reaction in him.
Mark Hix
@markehix
Renowned chef, food writer & restaurateur, Mark Hix MBE is known for his British seasonal cooking. Since his youth in East London, Mark Hix developed a wide network of artists with whom he remains close friends with till today, such as Tracey Emin, whom he taught how to cook, and Damien Hirst. Thus, he has accumulated a unique collection of works from his YBA friends. He commissioned them to create artworks, which are hung on the walls and ceilings of his restaurant empire.
(Read previous interview: Hipster Collector Hix: Partying with the YBAs)
David Burke
@chefdavidburke
An American chef and restaurateur, David Burke is known for his appearance on the reality TV program Iron Chef America. He confessed that he likes collecting art and things that he does not need. His collection includes Picasso and Chagall lithographs; a group of blown-glass “baskets” by Dale Chihuly; an enormous, brightly painted missionary bell; and a driftwood figure that Burke bought in Sonoma, California and refers to as “my butler.”
Daniel Boulud
@danielboulud
Best known for his two-Michelin-starred restaurant Daniel in New York City, Daniel Boulud owns restaurants in various cities around the globe. The first painting he bought was by Spanish artist Esteban Vicente, which reminds him of his first restaurant and time spent with the artist. He also has a great friendship with Vik Muniz, with whom he did three parties to create Bar Boulud’s “Wine Stain” series from napkins, which he described as personal, spontaneous, and fun.
Michel Roux Jr.
@michel_roux_jr
An English-French two-Michelin-starred chef, Michel Roux Jr, showcases his eclectic collection in his home and his London restaurant Le Gavroche, with original works by Picasso, Miro, Dali, and Giacometti. He confessed that the most expensive purchase he’s ever made was for an artwork. He has also collected few drawings by Manchester-based artist Rachel Goodyear, who creates black and white illustrations with flashes of red.
Alain Ducasse
@alainducasse
The three-Michelin-starred chef created the menu of Parisian auction house Drouot’s restaurant. Alain Ducasse is addicted to scouring flea markets, second-hand shops and antique dealers for bargains. He is mostly attracted by objects and antique and contemporary furniture. He is most moved by designer Shinichiro Ogata, whom he viewed as representing the quintessence of contemporary Japanese design.
By Ricko Leung
