Who said fashion people are always on a diet and don’t cook delicious, nutritious and well-concocted food? If you still think so, you will change your mind when you try cooking with Zac Posen, the fashion designer, Project runway host and now cookbook author.

Food and clothing have this in common: that we can’t live without them. Their artistry is at the core of making our lives a departure from sheer survival toward an elevated experience. It makes complete sense, then, that a super creative mind like Zac Posen’s would be intuitively exploring both with great passion.

I have had the very lovely experience of eating Zac’s cooking for decades now. Since a child, Zac has had a love for baking, cooking and gardening. His creative self gets engrossed every step of the way: from the selection of ingredients to the experimental aspects in the kitchen to the last touches of the table setting.

The same way Zac touches a fabric, he’ll pick a fruit or a vegetable. Just like the succession of gowns on the runaway, the sequence of dishes for a meal is designed to leave a memorable experience.

We are told: “For Zac, cooking and fashion are both sensory experiences, and whether you’re planning a meal or a fashion line, the goal is to create a masterpiece. A carefully curated collection of the best recipes he has gathered throughout his extraordinary life, Cooking with Zac includes inventive creations, longstanding family favorites, and flavors he’s gathered from traveling to the corners of the globe.”

I believe it, as it has been my experience. And the book is wonderful, shot on premise at the family home, it is full of great anecdotes and is fun and beautiful. And it only gets better: his cooking journey is accompanied by the great Raquel Pelzel. Go buy your copy and feel fashionable when you are back in the kitchen!

Text: Barbara Stehle