Delicious Designs

Renowned fashion designer Peter Som ’93 has expanded his brand, and now he’d like to expand your palate.

ost childhood dreams never come true. Even the word “dream” implies a separation from reality—a delusion of sorts—and most of us never do become the professional athletes or ballerinas or astronauts or marine biologists we once dreamed of being.

Peter Som ’93 remembers being in fifth grade when he confidently declared to his parents that he was going to be a world-famous fashion designer someday. His dream did come true; by just 30 years old, he had watched his very own fashion line strut down the runway in Bryant Park. He scored a Rising Young Talent nomination with the Councils of Fashion Designers of America Scholarship and an Isaac Mizrahi Gold Thimble Award upon graduating from Parsons School of Design. New York Times fashion critic Cathy Horyn labeled Som as “one of the best young designers working today,” while Vogue’s Andre Leon Talley called him “the head of your generational class.” Over the next few decades, his designs would sell at top retailers worldwide and be worn by the likes of Beyoncé, Scarlett Johansson and Michelle Obama.

When you’ve realized all of your lofty goals before age 50, what do you do for an encore?

“When you’re 10, when you’re 15, you think, ‘30. That’s an adult. That’s when you have it all figured out,’” Som says with a laugh. “But then, years later, things are changing, and I start thinking, ‘Oh my God. Is this a sign? Should I jump?’”

Som did make the leap recently, expanding his design business into a lifestyle brand focused on food, fashion and home decor. His debut cookbook, Family Style, featuring more than 100 “elegant everyday recipes,” hit shelves on March 18.

“Since the day I could pick up a pen—my mom says I was 2—I drew women and their clothes. My parents were not surprised; as architects, their love of modern 20th-century design ran deep. But when I wasn’t drawing and poring over Vogue issues, I was most often in the kitchen helping my mom make her Five Spice Roast Chicken, or whip up the egg whites for a spinach soufflé,” Som says.

Peter Som ’93

“It did take me a while to allow myself to have another dream, but sometimes the most obvious thing is right under your nose. And it was like, ‘Oh, cooking!’ I love cooking. I love how food looks. I love interesting flavor combinations. I love having friends asking me, ‘What is this you made?’ And to be like, ‘Well, I don’t know. I just made it.’”

As he details in Family Style—and as is implied by the book’s title—Som’s mother, Helen, and his grandmother Mary greatly influenced his love of the culinary arts. “Their interest in cooking may have been born out of obvious necessity … but that frisson of excitement, that spark of smile when talking about food—that was about love,” he writes in the book’s dedication to them.

Speaking with me from his wonderfully well-appointed New York City apartment, Som elaborates on his culinary philosophy. “I think food is rooted in one’s own history, storytelling, nostalgia. The memories, the communion of coming together as family, especially when I was a kid, it’s essential to why I love cooking,” he says.

“My grandmother passed away 20 years ago. Writing Family Style let me get to know her again, because I interviewed so many family members. I could reconnect with her through the legacy of her cooking.”

When I wasn’t drawing and poring over Vogue issues, I was most often in the kitchen helping my mom.

— Peter Som ’93

Cacio E Pepe Rice

More than just a cookbook, Family Style features 272 pages of recipes, memories and reflections illustrated with gorgeous photography by Linda Xiao. Som walks readers through a plethora of dishes that, like his fashion designs, have roots in the past but are married to a flair for the present. As a result, they feel both fresh and classic. Additionally, the author interrupts himself with recommendations on what to stock for spices, the delights of eating with friends and family, and musings on everything from vegetables to fried rice to good-but-not-too-sweet desserts.

Conn taught me how to figure things out quickly and get them done and to have no fear.

— Peter Som ’93

While Som’s flair for food, fashion and design trace back to his early days growing up in the San Francisco Bay area, he credits his Connecticut College education with preparing him to chase his dreams to fruition.

“Conn had this wonderful, nurturing environment; a level of support not just for my academics, but also for my personal growth,” he explains. “It helped me cultivate—well, ‘delusions’ is maybe the wrong word because you better have the talent and work ethic to back it up, but—the ‘delusions’ to keep going. It taught me how to figure things out quickly and get them done and to have no fear.”

Char Siu Burger

As we talk, I ask Som if success feels different at 54 than it did at 30. He mulls the question for a moment before answering, “In New York, there’s so much going on, so many people doing things, it is easy to compare and contrast. But with age comes perspective, and you start to get into ‘How do you define success? How do I define success?’

“And you know what? I’m happy, I have amazing friends, a chosen family, blood family, all these people who support me. I still do things in fashion, my first dream, and I’ve been able to widen my focus. I wake up every day and I love what I do, and I can make a living with it. So that feels like success. Every time I file a piece, every time I make anything, I can exhale. They’re all successes.

Find Peter Som’s recipes online at The Extra Taste.

Charred Cabbage Caesar