'Cooking with Zac'. — AFP pic

NEW YORK, Oct 23 — Fashion designer Zac Posen has turned a side passion into a new business venture with the publication of his first cookery title. 

"I probably think about food just as much as I think about fashion," reads the opening sentence of Cooking with Zac.

It's a bold declaration from the designer to the stars, but one that his 1.4 million Instagram followers may already understand, given the many food photos he posts regularly to his feed. 

Divided into seasons and occasions, the book features 100 at-home recipes from Posen's culinary repertoire — dishes he prepares for friends and family when he's not in the design studio. 

Along with classic family recipes, the book includes dishes inspired by his travels — from Japanese cuisine and Italian dumplings to curries and French country fare. 

In the spring and summer chapter, recipes include raw corn salad, beer can chicken, and garden quiche. 

Heading into fall and winter readers learn how to make oxtail soup, and pan-fried gnocchi. 

And for special occasions, he proposes citrus-spiced duck or prosciutto-wrapped tenderloin with creamed spinach. 

"Cooking does a lot of things for me: It's a place for creativity; it connects me to my family's traditions; it"s about giving love and nurturing my loved ones," Posen writes. 

"I am truly passionate about food and good ingredients and really enjoy cooking, eating and entertaining." 

Food and fashion have a long history of intersecting. High fashion houses like Versace, Bulgari, Ralph Lauren and DSquared operate branded restaurants or bars around the world. 

In the publishing world, model Chrissy Teigen came out with a cookbook last year called Cravings: Recipes for All the Food You Want to Eat.

In 2012, Belgian model Cesar Casier published Model Kitchen featuring recipes shared by top models like Karlie Kloss and Milla Jovovich. 

Fashion designer Isaac Mizrahi is also well-known for his love of food and cooking. 

Cooking with Zac is on bookshelves now. — AFP-Relaxnews