The Eye

Fun and Beautiful Maps of the World Made From Signature Regional Foods

50 states of corn.

Courtesy of Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin

Food stylist Caitlin Levin and photographer Henry Hargreaves have collaborated on a series of food-based country maps composed of signature national ingredients. The typography is by Sarit Melmed.

“Exploring new places through the food you eat is often a portal to the cultural complexities of that place,” Hargreaves wrote in an email. “In this series we have taken many of the iconic foods of countries and continents and turned them into physical maps … that show how food has traveled the globe—transforming and becoming a part of the cultural identity of that place.”

A map of France is made with cheese and bread:

Courtesy of Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin

South America rendered in citrus:

Courtesy of Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin

Hargreaves said that while tomatoes might have originated in the Andes in South America, Italy has become “the tomato king,” as seen below:

Courtesy of Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin

Shrimp on the barbie? Must be Australia:

Courtesy of Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin

In this map, Japan is an island made of seaweed:

Courtesy of Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin

Hargreaves’ home country of New Zealand is a map made entirely from kiwi fruit:

Courtesy of Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin

The U.K. and Ireland are mapped out in biscuits:

Courtesy of Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin

The continent of Africa is fashioned from bananas and plantains:

Courtesy of Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin

Here’s a map of China rendered in noodles:

Courtesy of Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin

 

Below, a map of India is filled in with spices:

Courtesy of Henry Hargreaves and Caitlin Levin

Hargreaves pointed out that the maps were “painstakingly created with real unadulterated food.” To see how, here’s a brief making-of video: