World Kitchen's first annual Redefining Dining competition asked entrants to develop innovative ways to both prepare and serve food. The top three winners, just announced, shown below, do so by encouraging playfulness to emerge from ritual, addressing the packaging, consumption and plating of a meal.
Adva Noach's Forplay, pictured top, is a set of utensils that makes the most out of chocolate's properties and reputation. Behavior that is taboo with most food is permissible with chocolate. With Forplay, people participate in the creation of their own dining experience, bringing out the richness of the eating rituals involved: licking, melting and pouring. Juror Ayse Birsel, Birsel+Seck, New York City, praised the design, saying it is 'delightful, cheerful, experiential and unabashedly sensual...a beautiful, ageless form that thoughtfully expresses the properties of chocolate.'
Jennifer Patacchini's Nomadic Gastronomy embeds ritual in a meal that often lacks it: lunch-on-the-go. In her project, the eater is presented with a scenario and not a menu. Concepts include a red-checked table cloth that turns into a scarf and paper plates that peel back to reveal different patterns. Juror Ayse Birsel, Birsel+Seck, New York City, described the design as 'Charming! I love how the interaction connects people through dining and food with intimacy with whimsy.'
Finally, Sense!, designed by Katrien Ploegmakers, is a set of tableware that heightens the eater's awareness of their secondary senses. Consisting of Hot Stone Plates, Scent Flowers, Palate Cleansers and a Hot Ice Tea Ceremony, the designs turn an ordinary meal into an extraordinary experience. Juror Gregg Davis of Design Central, Columbus, Ohio, said, "SENSE! adds a new ritual to dining, redefining the experience from functional rush to multidimensional, highly sensual engagement!'
Look for a more detailed report, including the 18 honorable mentions, and the 2011 theme coming soon to the Redefining Dining website.
Create a Core77 Account
Already have an account? Sign In
By creating a Core77 account you confirm that you accept the Terms of Use
Please enter your email and we will send an email to reset your password.