The one essential ingredient

Editorial #40

Article

December 2025

text: Nicole Ex

When chef Mory Sacko (b. 1992) cooked for President Emmanuel Macron at a summit in Montpellier, the French press wrote about their beloved chef: ‘He is better than a politician at fostering togetherness.’ That may be a good first sentence to introduce both the Parisian chef and the seductive power of good food: bringing people together – families, communities and even populations separated by arbitrary borders.

For his revolutionary cuisine – characterised by ‘une conversation’ between African, French and Japanese – Sacko was named one of Time magazine’s 100 ‘Next Generation Leaders’ in 2023. Yet anyone who joins him at the oval table at the back of his intimate restaurant Mosuke in Paris is struck first by his gentleness and modesty. He cites ‘intention’ as the most important ingredient in his cooking – the intention to genuinely take care of others. Cooking is Caring is therefore the theme of this special anniversary issue, with which we celebrate ten years of See All This.

I recently received a message from The Islington Twins from London asking: ’Could you have foreseen the impact of See All This ten years later? No pun intended, but could you have seen all this before, when the first issue came out? The answer is simply: ‘No way.’ I had no idea of the heights and depths this journey would bring.

What the Hell Was I Thinking is the title of the exhibition featuring David Shrigley’s self-deprecating drawings at the Kunsthal Rotterdam this winter. I have often asked myself the same question in recent years. Would I have started again if I had known what was in store for me? Nope. Would I have wanted to miss this journey? Never.

I have no idea where the wind will take us in the next ten years, but I hope the intention remains the same: independent journalism that underlines the importance of art, nature and beauty, keeping our eyes open to opportunity, wisdom and joy.

This is the editorial of See All This #40, winter 2025/2026. Order the edition here.