Anish Kapoor at the table

In Bombay, dishes aren't served one after another as in France, but all together on a large round platter, the thali: small bowls (katori) of vegetables, yogurt, chutneys and sweets surround a mound of rice or bread. For Anish Kapoor, this platter brings together three worlds — the streets of Bombay, his mother's Iraqi Jewish cooking, and the London where he lives — each bowl a color and a texture set side by side, like pigments laid out on a table.

Saffron is the edible gold of this table: three threads are enough to dye a liter of milk or a bowl of yogurt a deep, vibrant yellow. For a sculptor who has spent his life working with pure pigment, color-as-matter and incandescent red, this spice that colors before it flavors is the perfect wink — pigment you can eat.