BREAKING #283

Mory Sacko

Nicole Ex

Column

October 2025

Nicole Ex

is a writer, art historian, and founder of See All This art magazine. Since 2020, her column has appeared every Wednesday in the BREAKING-the-week art newsletter.

Column

October 2025

When Mory Sacko cooked for President Macron at a summit in Montpellier, the French press wrote about their beloved chef: ‘He is better than a politician at promoting unity.’ Which is a beautiful opening line to both introduce the Parisian chef and highlight the seductive power of good food: bringing people together.

Chef Sacko was taught the classical French cuisine at the age of fourteen, but as a child, he was already captivated by his mother’s Malian recipes – even though he wasn’t allowed to help in the kitchen, since cooking was her moment of peace. Later, he would also develop a deep love for Japanese culinary traditions, sparked by the manga comics he used to read.

For his revolutionary Afro-French dishes, he was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 ‘Next Generation Leaders’ in 2023. But anyone who sits with him at the oval table in the back of his intimate restaurant Mosuke in Paris, is above all struck by his gentleness and humility. I’m meeting him to discuss his guest curatorship for the upcoming issue.

He describes the various influences on his cooking style as ‘une conversation’ and ‘un dialogue’. And of all the things that matter in cooking, there is one ingredient he says is absolutely essential: intention. His intention is the sincere desire to care for others. Cooking is Caring is therefore the theme of this celebratory issue (#40), marking ten years of See All This.

The incredible thing is that Sacko – who has cooked for Omar Sy, Naomi Campbell, Timothée Chalamet, and of course President Macron – will be cooking for you and me in Amsterdam on December 6. It promises to be an unforgettable culinary family dinner. A gathering. A moment of connection, because when the world outside is falling apart, we rebuild it from the inside, together.