There's a reason why a piping hot bowl of home-made chicken soup is an instant pick-me-up when you’re under the weather — a feat store-bought versions can seldom accomplish. Or why five-rupee, rastewala kala khatta golas are no match for fancy gelato cups on sweltering summer afternoons. It’s because the knowledge of being cared for is synonymous with sipping on a comforting broth dished out just for you. And because, the nostalgia of a sneaky, forbidden gola with friends after school, is a slurpy toast to the good ol’ days. It is this intrinsic connection between what’s on our plate and what’s in our heart that Barcelona-based artist Sophia Katharina is attempting to capture with The Food And Love Project.

As part of it, the 25-year-old documents crowd-sourced stories of food and love, along with the recipes. She then illustrates the recipes, and sends the participants their personal art prints. With over 30 such stories in her kitty, the illustrator has sketched out a gallery of recipes from across the globe, from India to Switzerland. Katharina, who was born in Zurich but raised in Spain, shares that the project is a result of the constant need for reinvention that the pandemic prompted.