The Aesthetics of Drinking and Dining: Exploring Taste on the Eye and Tongue with Christina Makris

From New York to Hong Kong via Cairo, London and beyond, tastemaker and aesthetic expert Christina Makris guides you through the concept of aesthetic dining and the ‘Art Restaurant’, exploring how environments influence the way in which we eat and drink and how they are enhanced in the presence of art. Makris will take you through the research on art restaurants from her book, Aesthetic Dining: The Art Restaurant Around the World.  

The first of its kind, the book examines the concept of the ‘Art Restaurant’, exploring the spaces in which food, wine and art fuse to create a transcendent, sensory experience. It features 24 of the finest art collections in restaurants around the world and the stories behind them. 

Art and food come together in “an elevation of the quotidian”, while presenting art history in a new setting. The book’s unique lens provides new insights into the greatest art restaurants of the world, tracing their history and showcasing their treasured artworks alongside interviews with world-leading artists: Damien Hirst, David Shrigley, Tracey Emin, Julian Schnabel, Maggi Hambling, Michael Craig-Martin, Peter Blake, Vik Muniz, and world-renowned chefs: Daniel Boulud, Massimo Bottura, Marcus Samuelsson, Leah Chase.

About Christina Makris

Dr Christina Makris is a cultural commentator and writer. In pursuit of visual taste and aesthetic dining, Makris has travelled to six continents, visited more than 100 cities and sat at countless tables. She began her career in academia, earning two MAs, one MPhil and a doctorate in Philosophy, where she lectured and researched on cultural theory, visual culture, and aesthetics. 

Makris has been involved in the arts as a collector, a philanthropist, and patron of the Royal Academy London, the Design Museum, Tate, and trustee of SITE Gallery. She has been involved with restaurants as an investor, consultant, and sybarite, as well as working with brands and hospitality to integrate culture and the arts though partnerships to deepen client experience.  

She has also recently completed her WSET Level 2 and Level 3 in wine education, put to use in a monthly wine column for Apollo art magazine, and in her second book that she is currently researching and writing, which will take a deep dive into the world of art and wine culture. Makris has also worked with the drinks industry, including Hennessey, Mouton Rothschild, Ruinart, and William Grant & Sons. 

She writes and lectures on philosophy of taste in relation to art and dining at leading cultural institutions, including the Design Museum, the Royal Academy, and Frieze Art Fair; in front of audiences from the world’s most prestigious brands, including Fendi, Chanel, and Burberry.