Tasting the Unseen reimagines the cookbook as a space of exploration where recipes are treated as open prompts rather than fixed instructions. Cooking becomes an interpretative process shaped by memory, texture and sensory associations, encouraging readers to engage with food through intuition and imagination rather than predefined expectations.
The visual imagery departs from the conventions of food photography. Instead of documenting dishes as finished results, the images evoke their atmosphere and sensory qualities. Generated through artificial intelligence, they intentionally embrace ambiguity: distorted textures, unfamiliar forms and unexpected details create space for interpretation rather than certainty. In this context, AI functions less as a tool of representation and more as a speculative device, producing images that resist accuracy and leave room for the reader’s imagination.
Alongside the imagery, each recipe generates its own visual grid. Built from keywords, ingredients, flavours and textures, the grid acts as a structural layer translating the identity of the dish into a graphic system. These patterns operate as abstract fingerprints, mapping the sensory qualities of each recipe.
