PARIS STARN

New York–based Paris Starn is a pastry artist, a chef, a designer, and the creative director and founder of her eponymous fashion brand, Paris 99. Her work has garnered attention in the realms of fashion, art, design, and hospitality. Starn, who earned her master’s degree in art history from New York’s Hunter College, staged for award-winning pastry chef Richard Leach in her early years before developing her own style, which involves bringing traditional dishes and desserts into the modern era via innovative techniques and retro aesthetics. Her food emphasizes seasonality and local produce.

1. TIKTOK

   Scrolling through TikTok is a dadaesque experience in the twenty-first century. One second, you’re looking at an AI-generated “chrome lady” (@coolranchdoritowhore) sing about tasting the “goodness of the biscuit” (the lyric is based on a viral ditty by Toasters ’n’ Moose and Vincent Gargiulo), and the next you’re learning about the impact of hair extensions on the social and physical environment. Aesthetically, the app looks like a cadavre exquis, but its curatorial algorithm is more akin to a cabinet of curiosities formed by personal tastes.

   Still from @coolranchdoritowhore’s September 29, 2022, TikTok video.
2. ELSA SCHIAPARELLI

   This early-twentieth-century fashion designer achieved a perfect balance between elegance and humor in her witty and trailblazing designs by incorporating aspects from both high art and popular culture. I often think about Schiaparelli’s approach when creating a new dish, such as my pretzel shaped like a bow.

   Elsa Schiaparelli, fall gloves, 1939, silk crepe, metallic and silk thread embroidery, pearls.
3. JOHNSON’S POPCORN

   One of the most addictive foods on the planet is the caramel corn from Johnson’s, located on New Jersey’s South Shore. The salt air seems to add a little je ne sais quoi to the cloyingly sweet snack. I lose any ounce of self-restraint when it’s fresh from the vat, hot, and sprinkled with Maldon sea salt.

   Johnson’s Popcorn caramel corn, 2019.
4. BERND AND HILLA BECHER AT NEW YORK’S METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART

   For most, water towers and aluminum ducts don’t scream beautiful. But through impeccable lighting and blunt framing, the Bechers expose the individual characteristics that exist in industrial architecture. Their work shows us how to capture inanimate objects, revealing them as things with life and personality.

   Bernd and Hilla Becher, Water Towers, 1967–80, sixteen gelatin silver prints, each 15 7⁄8 × 12 1⁄4".
5. SPOTIFY ENHANCE

   When a microdose of acid turned out to be a maxidose, Spotify Enhance made what could have been a deeply uncomfortable situation quite pleasant. Mulatu Astatke’s Ethiopiques Vol. 4 (1998), João Donato, Dur-Dur Band, and Haruomi Hosono soothed me as I stared at the afternoon sun for hours.

   Dur-Dur Band performing at Gilles Peterson’s Worldwide Awards, Koko, London, January 19, 2019. Photo: Rob Jones.
6. THE REHEARSAL (2022–)

   As someone trying to improve her control-freak tendencies, I really appreciate comedian Nathan Fielder’s new HBO docuseries. In the show, he takes on a directorial role similar to the neurotic voice in my head that wants to commandeer any and every single thing in my life. Unlike me, however, he goes to extreme lengths to achieve this control. In the end, he teaches us the futility of attempting to steer things outside of ourselves, and I learned that maybe it is best to not even bother.

   The Rehearsal, 2022–, still from a TV show on HBO. Season 1, episode 4, “The Fielder Method.” Nathan Fielder. Photo: Allyson Riggs.
7. THE KITCHENISTA

   IMHO, Angela Davis’s @thekitchenista is the best Instagram food account for teaching you how to become an at-home chef. Give her a follow and watch her videos. I promise you will learn so much more than you would from heeding a written recipe. She shows you technique and how to build flavor all on your own.

   Angela Davis (The Kitchenista) holding her fresh rigatoni, October 10, 2022.
8. LIVEAUCTIONEERS.COM

   I am an obsessive collector of antique tableware and vintage furniture. There is no better place to shop for these items than LiveAuctioneers, a platform that connects you to auctions happening all across the country. You’re welcome.

9. AMY AND DAVID SEDARIS

   The funniest, cleverest, and most stylish siblings alive.

   David and Amy Sedaris in David’s apartment, New York, 1997. Photo: Suzanne Opton/Getty Images.
10. ART ABOUT FOOD

    When making art out of food, it’s nice to look at art about food. In my kitchen, I have pieces done with charcoal, paint, collage, and colored pencil by Kenya Hanley, Cary Leibowitz (aka Candyass), and Walter Robinson. Their work inspires me to reimagine all the different ways a dish can be presented.

    Walter Robinson, Dallas BBQ, 2001, acrylic on canvas, 20 × 24".