Bites to behold

THERE HAS BEEN NO other culinary era when the phrase “a feast for the eyes” has been so relevant to food trends. With social media dictating dinner inspiration for millions, chefs online and in real life are treating their followers and diners to dishes with visual verve. London-based Mateo Zielonka, who has almost 200,000 followers on Instagram, captures this deliciously beautiful moment in his book, The Pasta Man.

For Zielonka, novel noodles are the main attraction. Lengths of spaghetti and plump tortellini shells are infused with graphic flourishes in beet juice and squid ink. The dough ofhis culurgiones, a stuffed pasta that originates in Sardinia, is embossed to emulate the delicate veins of greenery.

Zielonka’s mix of influences can be credited to the visual smorgasbord that surrounds him as the chef at 180 The Strand, a cultural hub on one of the English capital’s busiest streets. During the past year, local museum and gallery closures created an aesthetic void in his life, so he decided to explore playing with his food using graphic patterns and shapes.

Food is an art form that’s constantly being reinvented by culinary tastemakers. Honolulu-based chef Anthony Rush’s bison wellingtons, for example, are not coated with humble puff pastry but colourful dough reminiscent of stained-glass windows. Seattle baker Lauren Ko has made a splash with her striking pies topped with parquetted slices of cucumber or mesmerizing curls of peach slices. And Toronto’s Shannon Nocos crafts whimsical cakes covered in ornate dollops of icing.

“It’s really thrilling thinking that I could inspire even 10 people to make something,” Zielonka says of the heaps of messages he receives from fans who are proud of their own whimsical kitchen creations. “We’ve had time to slow down and think about what’s important,” he says. And what’s more vital than vittles that satisfy more than one craving? – ODESSA PALOMA PARKER

The Pasta Man: The art of making spectacular pasta – with 40 recipes by Mateo Zielonka, $35.99 at bookstores and online (chroniclebooks.com).