Lucien Smith's FOOD Is for the People, Not Michelin Stars
The contemporary painter on why reviving the iconic artist-run restaurant from the ’70s makes more sense than another gallery show.
The original iteration of FOOD only ran for three years but had a lasting, outsized impact on New York’s art and gastronomic scenes. Opening its doors in 1971, FOOD—run by Carol Goodden, Tina Girouard and Gordon Matta-Clark—was a restaurant that doubled as a space for artists to feed one another amid the city’s rapidly changing cultural landscape.
One of the first restaurants to occupy SoHo, FOOD catered to artists who were moving into the area’s empty spaces and converting them into studios. Part restaurant, part art piece, it employed painters, sculptors and other creatives as waiters and chefs, who curated menus that pushed the boundaries of cuisine and treated cooking as a form of performance. Even figures like Donald Judd and John Cage contributed dishes to the menu, which offered reasonably priced yet ambitious fare shaped by the imagination of the outsiders behind the stove.
Revived by artist Lucien Smith and chef Mathieu Canet, formerly of Le Dauphin in Paris, and designed by ANY, the new iteration is located in Chinatown. It draws inspiration from the original restaurant’s mission while updating it to fit the spirit of 2025. As before, Smith envisions FOOD as more than a restaurant—it’s a living artwork, shaped by the artists who work and dine there.
At MANIFESTO, a three-day festival presented by Kaleidoscope and GOAT at Espace Niemeyer during Paris Fashion Week, FOOD is in town with an exclusive pop-up featuring a special menu. Before the launch, we caught up with Smith to discuss everything from menu design, artists who inspired him and why FOOD won’t be chasing Michelin stars any time soon.