Laila Gohar works wonders with food. So it’s a surprise to hear her say that her work is not really about food at all, but rather about human behaviour. Born in 1988 and raised in Cairo, Egypt, Gohar moved to the States in 2009, working in restaurant kitchens and dipping a tentative toe into food journalism, before success emerged thanks to her catering business Sunday Supper, which captured the attention of New York’s art and fashion crowds.
Commissions to cater events for the likes of Prada, Hermès and Gucci quickly turned into column inches as word got out about her langoustine towers, artichoke swans, and busts made from butter. From design fairs to fashion parties, she brings food fantasies to life in environments where food is not usually centre stage. This is what she means when she refers to her work as a provocation, inspiring feelings in an increasingly anodyne world. Her ephemeral installations are designed to amuse and bemuse guests, who snap and post, telling the world: ‘I was at the event, in the room, in front of the 15m tiramisu’.
