Hello my friends,
I have a fascinating conversation for you today that left me thinking about food in an entirely new way. I speak with Marije Vogelzang, a Dutch food designer whose work sits at the intersection of food, design, ritual, psychology, and human connection.
If you’ve never heard of food design, you’re not alone—neither had I until a friend of mine (Nicole Beaudin, ever my muse) sent me one of Marije’s instagram posts. I immediately thought: Who is this person? She’s speaking my language, and I need to talk to her. Marije describes what food design is and how she shifted to it after working in product design. What struck me most is that while Marije works with food, her work isn’t really about food—not in the conventional sense. It’s about people, emotion, and how food can become a portal back to the body and to each other.
She described food as magical, and I loved that framing. Not because it’s precious or performative, but because it’s alive, temporary, and transformative. Food asks something of us: it asks us to engage and to participate. Unlike an object that can sit untouched on a shelf, food demands presence. And maybe that’s part of its power.
We talked about why food is so much more than fuel—how it can bring us back to our bodies, help us access emotions, invite gratitude, and even connect us more deeply to the realities of life and death. Marije’s work is deeply creative, surprising, and profoundly human, and I found myself thinking about this conversation long after we stopped recording.
Stay tuned until the end, as Marije shares a playful and surprisingly simple tip for making meals more meaningful—something you can try at your own dinner table tonight.
In this conversation, we explore:
why food is an experience, not just an object
how ritual and play can transform a meal
the connection between food, death, and gratitude
what feeding one another can reveal about intimacy and care
how food can help us feel more alive, present, and connected
This is a beautiful, thought-provoking episode, and I’d love to hear what resonates with you.
You can listen to (or watch) today’s episode right here, or, better yet, subscribe to the podcast in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, or You Tube.
Last week’s intention episode is still echoing for me, and I’ve found myself coming back to it again and again: I will move one step at a time. Are you also feeling the energy of spring?
I’ll be back on Sunday with the next module of our Mastering Pie Making Series, and this time we’re making a show-stopping savory pie.
In the meantime, remember to nourish yourself with intention and love.
xo,
Nicki
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