So Chic Stories
Black Flavors: When Art Meets Gastronomy
- - Art & Culture, Gastronomy
This May in Singapore, a remarkable encounter celebrates the very essence of French refinement and creativity.
Contemporary artist Nicolas Lefeuvre — former Chanel Asia Art Director — and three-Michelin-starred Chef Sébastien Lepinoy — Chopard Ambassador — come together for a unique dialogue where two worlds converge: art and haute cuisine.
Through their shared exploration of the color black — profound, elegant, and mysterious — they reveal the invisible threads connecting painting and gastronomy.
In this exclusive interview, they unveil their inspirations, creative rituals, and how they transform emotions into sensory masterpieces.
Enter a world where ink meets caviar, where the artist’s brushstroke mirrors the chef’s movement, and where every creation tells a story.
CREATION AND INSPIRATION
How do you approach the creative process?
Nicolas Lefeuvre:
Many ingredients are involved in my creative process. It begins with mindfulness and contemplation: absorbing images, sounds, lights, and scents. After mentally digesting these impressions, compositions flash into my mind.
I lay down a framework, select my tools, and then let instinct guide the work. Music plays a key role — I start every day with it in the studio, shaping the emotional atmosphere.
Sébastien Lepinoy:
For me, it always starts with the ingredient. I can reflect on a dish for a whole day or more before sketching it.
Then comes research and development in the kitchen to refine both taste and presentation. The structure is essential — like an artist preparing a canvas.
Where do you find inspiration? Do you have rituals to stimulate creativity?
Nicolas Lefeuvre:
I find inspiration in life’s moments, emotional states, and travel.
The studio rituals are essential — starting with music, letting emotions flow. Sometimes intuition strikes while traveling, sometimes from silent observation.
Sébastien Lepinoy:
Seasonal ingredients and my cultural heritage inspire me deeply.
Visiting local markets in France is especially powerful — discovering forgotten produce or speaking with artisans fuels my creativity.
MATERIAL AND COLOR
Color is essential in your disciplines: how do you choose your palettes, whether for a work of art or a dish? What does black—so present in your respective creations—inspire in you?
Nicolas Lefeuvre:
Yes, you are right, color is essential but, for me light is even more important.
That is why my palette goes more into shades of dark blue or black mainly. Black will always
best color to create and glorify light. Black creates depth much better than other colours.
Black absorbes, intrigues, and gives protection…Can it make you hungry ?
Sébastien Lepinoy:
Colors in my dishes are often influenced by the season.
Black is a defining color in my cuisine, as I use ingredients like:
o Black truffle (winter ingredient)
o Caviar (one of my signature ingredients)
Black represents luxury, elegance, and depth, much like in fine art.
Is there a material or texture that fascinates you?
Nicolas Lefeuvre:
I am obsessed by dry soil, linen and water. Why? I am not sure, but I like the fact that water can have 1000 textures in a short time… and can give dry soil a second life.
And I love linen textures for how they look, but also as a tool : I also paint with linen.
Above all, I like the balance between these three materials.
Sébastien Lepinoy:
The plate itself is crucial to the dining experience.
I have my own range of porcelain, decorated with platinum finishes. I prefer porcelain over bone china, as it offers a cleaner, whiter aesthetic and a more delicate texture. The tactile experience of the plate is just as important as the food served on it.
SENSORY EXPERIENCE
Your work stimulates the senses in different ways: how do you evoke emotions through your creations?
Nicolas Lefeuvre:
Evoking emotions through my work is about sewing a thread between the artwork and the viewers. I focus on lights, depths, blurry shapes, textures, and composition to awaken something familiar in them. So they can start building their own feelings, stories…
Every brushstroke, every layer, carries a part of my own experience, but I love that each viewer brings their own interpretation to the work.
Sometimes, it’s through bold contrasts between deep black, lighter black and gold strokes that I express intensity and passion, while softer, muted tones can evoke intimacy or introspection.
The Arts of cooking and painting are a shared emotional space, and our goal is to ignite a connection, whether it’s joy, tension, mystery, or serenity.
Sébastien Lepinoy:
A dish must be immediately understandable to the guest, both visually and conceptually. I design my plating so that diners can instantly recognize the main ingredients and their roles. The goal is to create an elegant, intuitive, and yet memorable experience.
Can a dish tell a story like a painting? Have you ever imagined multisensory experiences that combine art and gastronomy?
Nicolas Lefeuvre:
I will let Sebastien answer this question ! But as for the multisensory experience between art and gastronomy I am ready to join Sebastien in his kitchen to prepare a four-hand menu … Not like Paul Pairet’s Ultraviolet experience as I find it a bit diluted, but focusing more on the food/dish itself.
Sébastien Lepinoy:
Every dish tells a story through its ingredients, origins, and presentation.
At Les Amis, our trolley service for caviar, cheese, and ice cream adds a theatrical, interactive element to the dining experience.
Like how a painting’s framing and lighting enhance its impact, the movement, aroma, and presentation of a dish at the table elevate its storytelling.
A well-orchestrated service is like a curated exhibition—it creates anticipation, emotion, and a deeper connection to the dish.
Have you ever been influenced by a dish for a work of art? Or by a work of art for a dish?
Nicolas Lefeuvre:
Living 5 years in Japan, the way “bentos” are organised and presented have influenced me of course… Also, in Tokyo one day, I was amazed by Sadaharu Aoki’s pastry creations (his chocolates presented like a box of pastels).
Sébastien Lepinoy:
I am inspired by structured, balanced compositions, which can say it is similar to Neoclassical, for its harmonious, clarity, and structured elegance. Such as my Lobster Salad is plated with the same symmetry and focus as a refined artwork.
CRAFTSMANSHIP AND TECHNIQUE
How do you balance tradition and innovation, overcome technical challenges, and approach the responsibility of your craft?
Nicolas Lefeuvre:
My work is deeply rooted in craftsmanship: the intelligence of the hand, the authenticity of materials. I paint with natural pigments, old linen, wooden battens — choosing simplicity as a way to stay connected to the essence of creation.
But I am also fascinated by innovation through emotion — studying how memory can alter, blur, and intertwine through life events, music, and subconscious genealogy.
Space is my main technical challenge; I need physical room to allow the gesture to expand fully.
Beyond technique, I believe art carries a responsibility: to inspire, to offer well-being, and to subtly raise awareness. By upcycling materials and promoting “consume less but better,” I try to integrate a sustainable dimension into my artistic practice.
Sébastien Lepinoy:
In gastronomy, tradition lies in flavor — dishes must honor their origins, respecting authenticity and memory.
Yet, plating and presentation have evolved: today’s haute cuisine embraces refinement, minimalism, and airiness that didn’t exist 40 years ago.
The greatest technical challenge is temperature control: cold dishes allow elaborate plating; hot dishes require speed, precision, and absolute consistency.
Beyond culinary technique, I see my work as part of a legacy. Honoring and transmitting French gastronomic heritage, respecting ingredients and craftsmanship, is a form of commitment. Precision, humility, and continuous refinement define our duty towards future generations.
EXCELLENCE & AESTHETICS
What defines excellence for you, and how does the “French Touch” manifest in your work?
Nicolas Lefeuvre:
Excellence comes from perseverance, passion, and the courage to dream relentlessly. It is less about complexity and more about depth and emotional sincerity.
The French Touch, for me, lies in a subtle contradiction: the reverence for academic traditions combined with a desire to challenge them.
It’s this elegant tension that fuels creativity — a perpetual balance between order and freedom.
Sébastien Lepinoy:
Excellence is inseparable from aesthetics — the beauty of a dish magnifies its flavors and elevates the experience.
The French Touch is defined by meticulous attention to detail, harmonious compositions, and effortless elegance.
Whether on a plate, in a work of art, or in a way of life, it is about achieving timelessness with simplicity, refinement, and emotion.
Sebastien Lepinoy, French three-starred Michelin chef, will reopen his restaurant “Les Amis” in Singapore in May.
Nicolas Lefeuvre, French artist, will be present in Singapore for the exhibition “UTOPIAN DRAMA” (May 2-16), presented with Voilah! French Festival in partnership with the French Embassy.
“UTOPIAN DRAMA” GROUP ART EXHIBITION (May 2-16) Co-curated by Marina Oechsner de Coninck and Clémentine de Forton, as part of Voilah!
French Festival and in partnership with the French Embassy in Singapore.
📍 Venue: JW PROJECTS GALLERY, Singapore
