Ian Fleming's gentleman spy James Bond is not only known for martinis, girls and guns. He is also known for having very particular tastes in what he eats and drinks. Ian Fleming followed in the literary footsteps of Charles Dicken's when he described extraordinary meals that the general public in post-war Britain only could dream of.

English photographer Henry Hargreaves had the inspiring idea to recreate Bond's meals in photos. He contacted food stylist Charloyye Omnés and together they meticulously brought these gourmet dinners from the page to real life. Since the books of James Bond mainly takes place during the 1950's, they had to go great lengths to find the proper attributes, such as salt strainers, glasses and cutlery.

They decided to present one meal from each book. The shots were styled and lit to match the scenes from the book in which the meal takes place. To increase the sense of authenticity, they added objects that it's reasonable they could have been present during the meal. In one shot you can see Bond's trusty Ronson lighter lying on the table and in another you'll find his summer hat casually put on a stool.

The photo series does not only provide an interesting insight in one of the 20th centurie's most beloved literary creations, but does also say something about culturel climate of the time in which the books were written. Ian Fleming transfered many of his own preferences on to his literary hero and through the photo series we get a sense of what was considered exotic and luxurious at the time.

The photo series is called Dying to Eat and can be found here.