In Bengaluru, culinary traditions preserved through an art exhibition

"You can’t measure nostalgia in grams or litres — but you can feel it instantly when you see it in a picture, smell it in the air, or taste it in a dish,” says Copenhagen-based food designer Priya Mani. In her practice, food moves beyond the plate and into the realm of memory, history and art. We caught up with the artist on her recent visit to Bengaluru for an exhibition, where she spoke about ingredients, preservation, and the philosophies that shape the way we eat. Excerpts:

‘THE DIVERSE POSSIBILITIES FROM A SINGLE INGREDIENT ARE REMARKABLE’
For Priya, ingredients aren’t just building blocks of a recipe; they are materials brimming with possibilities. “An ingredient becomes the starting point for multiple culinary expressions. Take gram flour; it can be steamed into soft khaman, fried into bhujia, or shaped into bundi. The diversity from just one ingredient is spectacular. When you start looking at ingredients as materials, you understand the different textures and flavours they can yield,” she explains.

‘IT’S IMPORTANT TO RECOGNISE THE VALUES THAT SHAPE HOW FOOD IS PREPARED AND SHARED’
She points out that cooking is never just about technique or taste, but also about the philosophies and values embedded in food traditions. “It is important to understand the concepts and values that shape the way food is prepared and shared everywhere. In Hindu traditions, for instance, there is bhog offered to deities before partaking in the meal. Such philosophies are not abstract ideas; they are lived through technique. It’s a set of decisions about ingredients, timing, and who you share the food with,” she notes.

‘RECIPES SURVIVE THROUGH CONTINUITY, NOT CUSTODY’
For Priya, preservation is not about storing recipes in books or archives, but about practising them until they become second nature. “When you cook with your hands, you’re not just making a dish, you’re building muscle memory. That’s how recipes survive: through continuity, not custody. The essence lies in the intuitive choices that come only from doing,” she explains.