Art and Cooking

At the end of September, the Princessehof National Museum of Ceramics will publish a unique cookbook featuring recipes that nationally and internationally renowned chefs, culinary writers, bakers and other foodies have created especially for tableware from the museum’s collections. Uniquely, all the food is presented on and in the precious, often centuries-old plates, dishes and bowls themselves. Our 400-plus page book Art and Cooking. Cookbook Princessehof National Museum Of Ceramics truly combines ceramic and culinary art for the first time. Buy it in our webshop.

For the book, 45 masterpieces from Asia, the Middle East and Europe were selected from the Princessehof’s collections. The oldest is a Chinese bowl dating from the 9th century, the most recent is a series of plates from 2016 by the Dutch design duo Scholten & Baijings. All these objects will be highlighted with splendid photos and fascinating background stories. In addition to the cultural and historical background of the museum’s ceramic objects, the book contains dozens of unique recipes by, among others, Claudia Roden, Yotam Ottolenghi, Tim Raue, Sven Chartier, Titti Qvarnström and Peppe Guida. Their delicious recipes not only combine the flavours of East and West, but also bring the museum pieces from these cultures back to life.

About the cookbook

Unique
Food and ceramics belong together and a beautifully laid table is of all times and all cultures. Even today, we still take out our finest tableware from the cupboard for special occasions. However, once they have been absorbed into museum collections, these objects lose their original function. In Art and Cooking, these museum objects are once again used for their intended purpose: serving tasty food. This book is a culinary glimpse into the Princessehof’s collections. Karin Gaillard, curator of European ceramics and author of the book: ‘What would our imperial bowl look like with a gastronomic delicacy in it, or the eighteenth-century fish service from Marseilles with an authentic bouillabaisse? These questions kept popping into my head as I walked past the display cases. Even in my wildest dreams, I didn’t dare to imagine that this cookery book featuring museum ceramics in the leading role would actually come about. But here it is! It goes without saying that the safety of the objects always had the highest priority in its creation.’

Top chefs and dishes from all the world
Apart from the Netherlands, chefs from China, Japan, Korea, Thailand, Iran, Syria, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, Italy, France, Belgium, England, Germany and Sweden have contributed to the book. Their status varies from star chef to up-and-coming talent. Chef and cookbook author Jean Beddington prepared and styled their dishes for the book and also provided some recipes. Art and Cooking offers a wonderful diversity of fare, from soups and salads to meat, fish and vegan dishes, from starters to cakes, biscuits and desserts. All of them are not only beautiful to look at, but are also easy for adventurous home cooks to prepare.

Cullinary route
Later this year, visitors can also follow a culinary route that leads them past the objects featured in the cookbook in the Princessehof’s permanent exhibition From East to West. Twelve objects will each be accompanied by a mini-documentary, which explains the historical background of the object and the creation of the food. These documentaries, made by SIJE.FILM, feature the cooking sessions and interviews with the participating chefs, the curators and others who were involved.

Dining in the Princessehof
One month after the cookbook is launched, a wide-ranging exhibition will open in the Princessehof showing how people in the Netherlands celebrate: from Carnival to Keti Koti and from Eid al-Fitr (Sugar Festival) to a wedding. Twelve different party settings are used to explore what is being celebrated, with whom and how. The focus is on dining, because celebrations and food – and thus ceramics – are inextricably linked. The exhibition, which can be seen in Leeuwarden from 29 October 2022 to 20 August 2023, consists of twelve festive installations showcasing a wide range of ceramics from the Princessehof’s collections combined with cherished objects and stories from partygoers from all over the Netherlands.