"We wanted to explore the ways that food can be a muse.” Jamila Robinson

Looking through the pages of Bon Appétit’s inaugural Art & Design issue (May 2025), it occurred to me that I wasn’t just reading. Each spread, each story, struck a chord and reminded me what aspects of the hospitality industry resonated in my soul from the beginning. Yes, great food is essential, but as important is the way a place makes people feel… the atmosphere, the intention, the story that lives in the walls and on the plate, and the synergy when it all works.
In each restaurant I’ve opened as the final touches and tastings readied for the first day serving the public, I’d sit in nearly every seat just to feel and observe the room from every vantage point. That same care, that same design philosophy, was baked into every inch of this issue. Whether it was a story about Marcus Samuelsson’s return to Ethiopia, building a restaurant atop the tallest building in East Africa—or the role of color psychology—I felt a visceral connection.
Exploring the intersection of food, design, and cultural storytelling with Jamila Robinson, Editor-in-Chief of Bon Appétit and Epicurious, offers a masterclass on how food media can be both beautiful and meaningful. She and her team made print feel like luxury again. They made culture feel close and they reminded us that food isn't just sustenance, it's connection, it’s memory, it's music, it's art. This Art & Design special issue is a collector's item.

HOW WE MOVE
Stay tuned to the end of the guest interview when international speaker, writer and diplomat Ambassador Shabazz (daughter of Malcolm X and Dr. Betty Shabazz) spends a few moments unpacking the discussion and highlights some of the interesting people, places and things that have her attention.

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Theme Music: Bryce Vine

Produced by: Corner Table Media, a division of Brad Johnson Ventures LLC

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