FOOD FUTURE

What makes good design? Or rather, what makes design “good”? Aside from creating playful, innovative design that feasts on the senses, celebrates nature and thrives on bold colors, Icelandic design is taking steps in bringing positive change to society.

A recurring theme in this year’s DesignMarch in Reykjavik– the 10th anniversary of the festival – is social design. The international and local speakers at DesignTalks explored design’s power and potential to be a catalyst for social change, in several different aspects.

One of the speakers is Icelandic designer Björn Steinar Blumenstein. He addresses the global problem of food waste and presented a very simple and ingenious solution to it. Through his project, Catch of the Day – which is exhibited during the festival  – the designer produces vodka from thrown-away fruits using a simple distilling machine that he made himself.

“Food waste is a huge problem everywhere in the world. It’s bad for the environment, it’s a waste of resources and money, and still, we throw away 40% of all the food we produce,” Bjorn explains. The motivation for the project grew out of frustration, as the designer – who has been dumpster diving for years – sees perfectly fine food being thrown away by supermarkets and food importers. After finding out that anything with over 20% alcohol doesn’t require an expiry date, Björn was inspired to give food materials an endless storage time by virtue of never going bad.

At first, he approached professional companies, but found the process very bureaucratic and slow. “I just needed to kind of talk about this right now,” he shares. “So I designed and built a simple open-source distilling machine and shared it online for free, so that more people could join me on doing something about this.”

Anyone can build their own distilling machine using kitchen equipment and parts that can easily be bought in stores. Assemble using the free guide available on Bjorn’s website and just add fruit from your local dumpster.

www.bjornsteinar.com

Angel Trinidad

Angel Trinidad is an editor, writer and creative strategist based in Amsterdam. She is the author of 'Scandinavia Dreaming: Nordic Homes, Interiors and Design', and co-author of 'Night Fever 5: Hospitality Design'. She is also the founding editor of Keen On Walls, a website which features inspiring interiors, design and spaces.

www.angeltrinidad.me

Mostly known for its music and art scene, Berlin now also amazes and surprises us with contemporary original food spots. Visionary and talented food aficionados there rethink the way we produce and consume food, like Ema Paulin and Leandro Vergani who opened in March 2017 the first and hopefully not the last vertical-farm restaurant in Europe.
 
Located in the hip district of Mitte, Good Bank serves salads and vegetables that are grown for 28 days in the restaurant itself. Paulin and Vergani teamed up with the Berlin-based food startup Infarm which developed a concept of efficient and ventilated shelves which allow vegetables to grow in the city with LED lighting. Thanks to this innovative system, Infarm can guarantee fresh, chemical-free products to their customers while minimizing the environmental impact of the carbon footprint plus the waste.
 
It was enough to convince Good bank founders to develop a concept of farm-to table restaurant in Berlin. The shelves with the products are located behind the counter so you can look at them while ordering your food. The long bar where one can sit to enjoy his meal potentially bring people together. In front of the bar a huge mirror in which one can observe what is happening in the pink lighted shelves. No smartphone distraction needed, the nature show should be fulfilling enough.
 
Are vertical farms actually the sustainable and auto-sufficient future of urban agriculture? Good Bank founders believe so. But it might be even more. They bring the customer closer to the nature, giving us again the feeling that we belong to it and need to cherish it in order to stay alive.

Watching plants and vegetable grow also has something contemplative that resonates perfectly with the spirit of our time that praises slowness, gratitude and being present.
 
For now the restaurant only produces two kind of salads and baby kale. They are working hard on increasing their offer though, maybe even with herbs and plants that, due to meteorological reasons don’t grow in Europe such as the edible iceplant from the Sahara.
 
The future definitely belongs to dreamers and doers.
 
Chloé Stückelschweiger
 
good-bank.de
 
Chloé is a trend forecaster, brand consultant and editor.She was born and raised in Paris with Austrian blood. in 2014 She founded Granulate in Berlin, a global trend office which aims to explore & identify upcoming dynamics that contribute in creating tomorrow’s world. On a more personal level, her heart definitely beats for yoga, French literature, spicy food, Europe and the bright colors of her new hometown since 2016, Lisbon.

www.burogranulate.net

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) the animal agriculture, more than the transportation sector, accountable for environmental problems like global warming and if we continue to consume meat at this rate, meat will be scarce. Besides environmental problems and running out of sources, they indicate that we will lack protein-rich-food. Dutch designer Carolien Niebling, butcher Herman ter Weele and molecular chef Gabriel Serero teamed up to look for substitutes and other, unconventional resources to create the ‘Future Sausage’.
 
The project ‘The Future Sausage’ is a graduate research-project by graduate Carolien Niebling from Swiss university ÉCAL. The reason for Niebling to re-design the sausage: “It’s one of the first designed food-items, which wants to make most of animal protein in scarce times”. She researched the history of sausage making and asked questions how design could help to give suggestions for future food concepts and alternatives to meat.
 
Next to beer, the sausage is an important part of German culture. The same goes for England, where they’ve got more than 470 kinds of sausages. She discovered that in Germany they even have a law, which prescribes how to make sausages. Together the team re-designed the sausages to reduce the meat content from 20% up to 100% (if insects don’t count as meat). They used meats from unusual parts like the heart or stomach or just less meat. The “Fresh Sausage” for instance, is partly made of mash of peas and potatoes. This reduces the meat quantity by 30%.

Even if we eat less meat, our planet will benefit. Besides the reducing of meat content, they looked for protein-rich resources to put in a sausage, which results in, for example, insect pâté, chocolate-apple blood sausages or fruit salami. The insect pâté is made from insect flour, pecan nuts different spices and carrot juice. Everything could be tasted at Salone del Mobile 2017, the Milan Design Week.
 
She has bundled all research and information on the sausages in a book and launched it on ‘Kickstarter’ for printing, continuing the research and developing new sausages. She hopes to inspire people to think about the consumption of meat, eat less of it and look for alternatives.
 
Nine van der Wal
 
thefuturesausage.com
 

There is a global growing trend to prefer experiences to products. To counterbalance our digital and abstract world we need our body and soul to be deeply moved to feel completely alive. The performances imagined by "The Waldorf Project" bring a global immersion in a new form of art as an outright emotional journey.
 
The Waldorf Project unites cutting edge artists in the worlds of environment design, product design, sound design, choreography, costume and textile design, and gastronomy. This synergy, a singular collected sensory reaction, or ‘sixth sense’ of emotion, combines the imagination and skill of a creative team, orchestrated by Sean Rogg.
 
Chapter Three / FUTURO - under the concept of the Japanese emotion ‘AMAE’, meaning ‘a temporary surrender in perfect safety’ will guide participants through the vast abyss, manipulating their emotions and responses in a multi-sensory experience – expressed in a universe of pure black and white.
 
Using exciting technologies and emotional manipulation, The Waldorf Project explores new ways of implementing its algorithmic methods to manipulate the group, the ‘organism’, by interacting with its environment. Between individual stages, or environments, each creating a new emotive synchronisation of taste, sound, touch and sight, participants will be immersed in global sensations.

FUTURO marries cutting-edge design with radical architecture that responds and changes its emotional state, depending on the behaviour of its inhabitants. The sound design in this chapter will pair sound frequencies with architecture – combining aural with physical design. The futuristic wardrobe incorporates custom-engineered, intuitive, technological fabrics which are emotionally reactive.
 
This journey will be in London in mid November. Enjoy!
 
www.waldorfproject.com
 
Thurs 10th – Sun 13th November 2016 / Tues 15th – Sun 20th November 2016

Here East

Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park London E20 3BS / Overground: Hackney Wick

The most beautiful pearls are the ones that are best hidden, that is definitely the case with Flowers and Sours on the Coolhaven in Rotterdam. Even before they were officially opened we had the pleasure to have a look and meet Sanne Zwart en Maidie van den Bos, the lovely owners of this new treasure in the biggest port of Europe.

While the paint on the walls wasn’t even dry and everybody was fighting against time to get everything done before the official opening, Maidie and Sanne still took the time to welcome us as we came by to have an unannounced sneak peek. We got instant pampering with their homemade elderflower drink before they enthusiastically talked about their new pearl, Flowers and Sours.

Entrepreneurs Sanne and Maidie met each other at a market and had an instant click, although their companies are totally different their vision is the same. The both are intrigued by the origin of food and the pureness of nature in ingredients. When they combined their ideas, Flowers and Sours was born. This tasting room and foodlab wants to tell a story about the origin of products and the creative process of preparing the products.

The name of foodlab is actually a literal translation of the individual specialities of both foodies. “Ferme Kolen” is the company of Sanne, who is passionate about the beauty of fermentation. A technique where bacteria are used to work up new products from basic ingredients. Maidie is owner of “Bloesembar”, with which she scours the city of Rotterdam and surroundings to find eatable flowers, seeds and herbs.

These urban gems are transformed into sirop which is used for lemonade, cocktails and steaming cold icecream. 

Their little place on the Coolhaven breaths creativity, with their open kitchen guest are involved with the whole process. An aspect which is paramount for this innovation food concept. However, they do not want to leave it at just selling their products together, their future dream is to turn Flowers and Sours into a creative network of independent food creatives from Rotterdam. A foodlab, a stage for entrepreneurs and a learning environment for everybody who wants to learn and experiment with the pureness of food.

Their main goal is to open the discussion regarding food, sustainability and the makers movement. To connect with likeminded creatives and to inspire those who are interested in food in all its forms. Maidie and Sanne believe people lost the connection with the origin and the possibilities with pure and honest products, their mission is to revive this knowledge in a world where food shortage because a more current topic every single day.

Cecile Cremer

www.flowersandsours.com
 
www.maidievandenbos.com
 
www.keukenboeren.nl

Extremely curious and always searching for little weak signals that tell us things are changing. Cecile is a trend researcher and creative concept developer with the wanderlust of a cosmopolitan.Her aim in life is to develop things that matter to others and to help others change their strategy to be ahead of the future. Because she believes “The future is ours”.

www.wanderingthefuture.com

Although food is one of the most satisfying pleasures of life for most of us, it is also the biggest struggle for some. This satisfaction but also this struggle is not just about food, it might be even more about the way we consume it. 

The way we devour sustenance is strongly influenced by the external elements of consumption, namely the tools and objects we use. Mainly overeating is strongly manipulated by size, colour and usability of our tableware.
 
Portion Distortion is a concept design by Studio José de la O, sprung out of the the work by recent design graduate Dafne Ríos who was an intern at the studio. Dafne conducted research on how external elements of food can be on influence of our consumption. Inspired by the research of behavioural psychologists, Portion Distortion’s hypothetical range of tableware objects, focusses on a specific eating disorder and explores its influence on eating habits.

« Whether a person overeats is not only determined by the food choices they make, it is also determined by the portion sizes they eat and the frequency they eat”.Brian Wansink

The project features three different designs, Maze Cover, Portion Proportion and Forks of Excess. To start at the beginning, Maze Cover is a design that makes it difficult to gorge your food by having to complete a maze before food can be consumed. Especially food that contains high levels of sugar, fat or salt we try to eat as quickly as possible, due to the addictive effect of it. However, it takes our brain about 20 minutes to recognize that we are full, by gorging our food we will overeat without a doubt. The Maze Cover ensures that we will slow down our intake and thus prevents overconsumption.
 
The second design is the Portion Proportion, this tableware takes care of the volume we eat.
 
People tend to rely on consumption norms to help them determine how much they should consume, but as package volume grows this norm fades. Therefor new norms regarding proportion should be created with this dotted patterned tableware. The different coloured dots tell consumers the quantity of food one should eat.

Lastly, the forks of excess, based on the knowledge that heavier metallic cutlery increases the food experience to be of higher quality.

Moreover, the size of the cutlery can impact on how much people eat, the smaller the fork, the more consumers seem to eat. However, this phenomenon only appears when people have to pay for food, because in home situation a smaller fork stimulates a decrease of intake. The Forks of Excess are developed with the intention of showing how relative the way we consumer our food is.
 
Portion Distortion answers to our consciousness trend perfectly as it makes consumers aware of specific behaviour. We’ve lost all connection to food, mainly because we do not take the time to eat a proper meal. In our 24/7 society, where we are always stressed and busy, we tend to gobble our breakfast while catching a train, have lunch while being in a skype-meeting and diner while watching TV. We do not take the time to look at our food, recognize it and even really taste it. With Portion Distortion this unhealthy behaviour is being to transform it into new standards of conduct regarding our food consumption.

Cecile Cremer
 
www.studiojosedelao.com
 
Extremely curious and always searching for little weak signals that tell us things are changing. Cecile is a trend researcher and creative concept developer with the wanderlust of a cosmopolitan.Her aim in life is to develop things that matter to others and to help others change their strategy to be ahead of the future. Because she believes “The future is ours”.

www.wanderingthefuture.com

The first British Museum of Food is born - and it comes as no surprise that Bompas & Parr is behind it. Bompas & Parr leads in flavour-based experience design, culinary research, architectural installations and contemporary food design.
 
Self-declared ‘the first cultural institution devoted to history, evolution, science and art sociology and contemporary trends of food, presenting it in exciting new ways’, the Museum carries exhibitions and experiences that explore our relationship with food, from farming to digestion. They are set up as a charity and located on the grounds of their bar ‘Alcoholic Architecture’, in a former banana warehouse in South London at the oldest food market in the city: Borough Market.
 
Visitors are able to eat free chocolate, be part of a 10,000-person experiment tracking eating habits, stroll through a butterfly enclosure celebrating the unsung heroes of pollination (heated to 30°C), and browse through a British Menu Archive.
 
“The aims of the museum are to fundamentally change peoples’ lives by helping you consider what they eat, where it comes from, how it gets to your table… and what happens when it’s inside your body. We want to spread knowledge around nutrition, health and the social and cultural importance of food. Above all, we want to celebrate the glories of food, in all its forms.In time, we hope the British Museum of Food becomes a globally recognized cultural icon, with a growing archive that becomes a national resource, as a platform for experimentation and innovation, and a body that can advise government policy makers on anything related to food.”

Bompas & Parr is the food and drink company responsible for the fastest cheese trolley in the world (0-62 mph in 6.6 seconds), the world’s first space coffee (taken to 37km high and back) and the first ever barbecue cooked on 2,100°C molten lava.
 
“With the rise of social-media food has become one of the most important mediums through which people perform their identity,” says Sam Bompas. Having opened the BMoF and seen the response it almost seems absurd that one hadn’t existed before. We want to educate, entertain and inspire. We don’t want the museum to be an ossuary of precious objects where you come worship another’s genius. This is to be a living museum where the exhibits give a sensual and sensory experience. People will leave armed with knowledge and the desire to hit the kitchen and create for friends and lovers.”

Lydia Janis Caldana
 

www.bmof.org
 
 

Lydia Janis Caldana is a trend forecaster with a creative background and both eyes on the future. Amazed by the opportunities new technologies bring at an exponential rate, she uses her abilities to predict movements and change to help companies, governments and disrupters be in charge of a more sustainable, inspiring and tech-solutioned world. Lydia keeps a blog about technology, is the LatAm correspondent for The Future Is Already Here, a think tank for a better world, and co-curates Ello’s official community about tech, culture and innovation, Ello Future.
 
lydiacaldana

Plant Bones is the latest project by Marije Vogelzang which is presented at the Thinking Food Design exhibition at Galerie Joseph Braque during Paris Design week starting the 5th of September 2015. This project is said to be ‘an archeological inquiry of the future’.
 
What if, by design, something in our evolutional past did not evolve in the same way? What if elephants could fly in a cloudy sky in the same way whales swim in the vast sea? Does it seem strange or impossible? The truth is something as tiny as a little seed falling in a different place could effect a big evolutionary change. We are forever evolving, nature is never finished defining itself. Who knows what the end of our evolutionary journey will look like.
 
Within the project PLANT BONES Vogelzang investigates the what if of plants with a meat-like structure and bones. Are they highly evolved, genetically engineered or the result of a nuclear mutation of some sort? What if plants had bones from vegetal cellulose with meat-like tissue growing around them? It would certainly make up for a botanical curiosity that would have scientists of the future wondering.
 
PLANT BONES could also provide for an interesting vegan eating experience. In a world where we find ourselves challenged to find alternatives for our excessive meat consumption, something like this would relieve us from killing animals on an ever larger scale. What if plants really would taste like meat? Would it increase or decrease their popularity? Is a plant still a plant with meat and bones? What really defines a plant?
 
Meat on a leaf with a bone like structure: it will take some getting used too. But think of the culinary possibilities and subtle range of flavours. Flowery meat plants, mosses and ferns. Can you imagine their taste?

Vogelzang questions the act of eating through her projects and designs. Nothing comes closer to human beings than food since food is something they literally internalize through the act of eating. Vogelzang’s work is dedicated to analyzing this act by her design in eight substantial categories: the senses, nature, culture, society, technique, psychology, science and action. It’s here we find insight in the performance of eating. Meat like plants would add a compelling dimension to food dialogue and ultimately to our plate.
 
Donata van der Rassel
 
www.marijevogelzang.nl
 
Thinking Food Design exhibition at Galerie Joseph Braque
 
 
Intrigued by human behavior, values and awareness, Donata van der Rassel is a trend watcher and concept developer with a passion for sustainability. She aims to make the world a better place by working with conscious entrepeneurs and businesses to effect radical positive change.
 
www.aurora-concepts.com

It is now possible to 3D print food from over thirty fresh, natural products. Print2Taste’s Bocusini is the first universal plug&play 3D food printing platform, that includes a plug&play food printer, cartridges with printable food and the Bocusini.com online platform, a marketplace for experts and enthusiasts that support discovery, making, and sharing of 3D printable food creations.
 

It is an easy-to-use open-source food printing system for gastronomy, patisserie and home applications.
 
Not only does Bocusini provide the tools for innovation with food, but they also create a community of early users that share recipes, 3D models and instructions to inspire people to print along. With new designs added daily, people are encouraged to surprise their guests with fun and unexpectedly delicious meals. Bocusini focuses on providing premium recipes and the first two cartridges to be created are marzipan and choco (cacao).

Their kickstarter campaign ended successfully on July 6th 2015, achieving more than their goal for finishing the final developments on the printers. They are planning to ship the first Bocusini 3D food printing systems in end of November.
 

« Bocusini isn’t just for chefs, food scientists or 3D designers: anyone can learn to create and print its own food designs. »
 
Lydia Janis Caldana
 
www.bocusini.com
 
Lydia Janis Caldana is a trend forecaster with a creative background and both eyes on the future. Amazed by the opportunities new technologies bring at an exponential rate, she uses her abilities to predict movements and change to help companies, governments and disrupters be in charge of a more sustainable, inspiring and tech-solutioned world. Lydia keeps a blog about technology, is the LatAm correspondent for The Future Is Already Here, a think tank for a better world, and co-curates Ello’s official community about tech, culture and innovation, Ello Future.
 
lydiacaldana

Today's food industry is a mess. Over 100 million tonnes of food are wasted annually in the EU and globally as much as half of all the food produced in the world – equivalent to 2bn tonnes – ends up as waste every year… The world is waking up to the reality of sustainable issues with waste leading the way as one of the biggest topics of recent years. Health is one of the major concern of the future and all the food cycle is involved in this long term trend.

People are now more interested in how their food reaches their plates, and the carbon footprint associated with.

After twelve years fine dining experience from all over the world, head chef Douglas McMaster, returned to the UK hoping to change completely the way restaurants source, cook and sell their food. His philosophy is quiet simple: only locally grown and seasonal food are served; nothing is thrown away! Douglas’s restaurant - Silo- minimises up to 95% of the usual waste produced from traditional restaurants.The concept is so powerful that we hope it will have an effect on the whole restaurant industry.

 
In the ground floor of a handsome warehouse in the heart of Brighton’s trendy district Silo - the UK’s first zero-waste - take place.The overall design is pure, raw and undone. Using a local non-profit making community project who ‘use and share unwanted goods’, Baines&Fricker - repurposed old school tables and used office floor insulation to make tables and bench seating. These designs are coupled with modular stools and chairs made from sterling board OSB. Virtually everything in the restaurant is upcycled or made from intercepted waste materials- from cutlery, jam jar glasses to plates made from recycled plastic bags

In his journey to achieve zero waste McMaster and his team discovered primitive food systems that not only support a package-free lifestyle but has led to a way of preparing food from its wholest form. They mill flour, make yoghurt, roll oats, bake bread, brew vinegar and beer, culture cream, grow mushrooms, cure meat, deal directly with farmers and compost all food scraps in-house. It’s a pre-industrial food system adapted to a modern kitchen. The yoghurt and butter are made from fresh milk, any excess milk is being used to make a curd. The flour mill uses ancient grain varieties to make a signature 48 hour sourdough bread.

The compost machine is functioning well and each week they make over 100 kilos of nutrient rich compost from their food, espresso and other biodegradable waste.Silo has also managed to operate chemical-free with a water electrolysis system. This innovative technology splits tap water into an alkaline and an acidic solution which effectively cleans surfaces killing 99% of bacteria. Electrolized water can be used for both human sanitation and cleaning and offers a more sustainable and ecological alternative to conventional chemical cleaning products.
 

Behind every dish is a story to be told, of a farmer, a forager, a fisherman, a hunter, a brewer, a baker and many more. So many creative, passionate people are involved that it’s a collective project and a way of life. As Douglas McMaster says : «  Food can be a wonderful vehicle for social change. »

 
Cecile Poignant
 
 

Photos: XDB Photography & DevlinPhotos
 
 
silobrighton.com

Cookbook "Foreign Japanese Sweets" shows beginners how to make Japanese traditional desserts using ingredients available in Western countries. Our food culture is gradually becoming more multicultural, and everyday people enjoy foods such as hamburgers, pizza, pasta and curry.

Despite this variety, we often are not as experimental in cooking foreign food ourselves, as we are willing to purchase and eat it. Japanese desserts are often gluten free and vegan friendly, a trend that has exponentially grown in Western Countries in the past few years. Many recipes use rice flour in stead of wheat flour, and bean paste instead of cream and chocolate.

The book is not for encouraging everyone to pursue gluten free and/or vegan friendly diet, but made in the hope of providing more options than wheat, butter and egg-based cakes and cookies. The book is the second edition of "Guide to the Foreign Japanese Kitchen" which was made to show how to make traditional Japanese food using locally available ingredients in Sweden and many other Western countries.

The books follows the same aesthetics - it's simple and clean, and shows step-by-step cooking process.

www.moe-takemura.com

Buy the book 

If you think about the countries that are most interesting talking about food, you would never mention London in your list.
 

it’s maybe because of the lack of a proper gastronomic culture that Londoners are more openminded and conscious than others about what they eat and where the food comes from. Its weakness became its strength
 

Many exotic food influences have been seriously taken into consideration - from the steam cooking tradition of Chinese kitchen to the health significance of Indian spices to the power of secret powders from Mexico.
 

I grew up eating my way around the world because my parents are obsessed foodies – a nutritionist mother and a cook father.
 

I’ve been living in London for two years now and as Italian with a french background, It was really surprising to discover how healthy Londoners are. I have so many vegetarian and vegan friends who follow a really strict diet and they still have a wide choice here as anywhere else in the world. It’s quite usual to see in Londoners’ kitchen ingredients that you’ve never seen before as it’s common to listen to people asking the food origins before to order or reading the food etiquette at the supermarket.

I live in the east side where Healthy Shops and Farmers Markets are literally ‘mushroom growing’, occupying the most inspected places like School Gardens, Churches or Yoga Homes. I love having lunch in cosy and healthy restaurants as well as buying local products at the market during the week end, that’s how me and my friend met these three amazing woman and we fell in love with their business!
 
 

Camilla Ginevra Bo’
 

Camilla Ginevra Bo' is an Italian architect and freelance journalist. She gained her degree in architecture in Rome, spending two years of the course studying in Paris.  In September 2012 Camilla moved to London to study Art Direction for Fashion at Central Saint Martins. Since completing the course she joined SHOWstudio: The Home of Fashion Film as the Gallery Assistant and she is now working as a freelance contributor for different magazines and as Art Director for 19 greek street in London.



Toco Noco

Winter is the season when time slows down and days become shorter, windows are covered in condensation from the inside heat; the smell of wet wood saturates the air.

Organic and tasty food, a good book to read, cold light and silence. Our idea of a better life is where time stops and things become simpler.

Surrounded by houseboats and swans, we found the perfect place to escape cold days, a Japanese cafe nestled in a courtyard facing Regent’s canal. Yuri, ow- ner, chef and Nono’s mum, chose the name Toco Noco according to the Japanese concept of a child’s playground.

Everything is handmade here, from the wooden furniture to the porceilan cups and saucers. Natural elements such as tatami and tree branches share the space with glass and concrete.The pillowcases, sewn by Yuri, have the colour of traditional japanese ingre- dients like matcha green tea and the special burgundy of sweet beans.The fully glazed windows let the cold winter light in.

All you need now is to smell the delicious butter cookies with dried, salty cherry blossom and poppy seeds.

We decided to come once again to our favorite spot in east London asking its lovely owner to tell us the story of this magic place where swans, kids and raw fish come together. ...And to ask her the recipe of her famous matcha blondie!

www.toconoco.com

words by Camilla Ginevra Bo' - photo by Marina Castagna - coordination by  Maria Rosaria Vallesi

A Portuguese Love Affair

They are the Queens of Cans. Their names are Olga and Dina and they are overflowing with warmth and personality.
 

We spent a Monday morning with them at their shop ‘A Portuguese Love Affair’, recently opened in the middle of the Flower Market in Columbia rd. And this is precisely what it is: a love affair with fish, cork and porcelain. Their project was in embryo for some time and initially the idea was to go back to their roots in Portugal and open a shop there. Luckily the couple decided to bring Portugal to London and conversely they now feel even more strongly connected to their country.
 

From their homeland they choose products in which they believe the most, from food to design through to soaps. However, you can also find wooden tambourines and notebooks whose pages are paper tablecloths, the typical ones in Portuguese restaurants (Serrote). And then brushes and shaving cream, toothpaste of the same brand used by Olga’s grandfather (Couto). Their selection criteria s very attentive to tradition, for example, they show me their selection of canned fish and the variety is very wide. In Portugal, the culture of fishing is one of the engines of the country. I asked both what their favourite items for sale are.

Olga’s one is Santa Catarina’s tuna. Santa Catarina is an example of sustainability: this factory uses the ‘rod and jump’ technique, which involves pulling the fish aboard with one motion, making it jump.
 

The larger the fish, the harder the manoeuvre, and experienced hands are needed to win every battle. It’s a one to one duel, unlike what happens in the trawler fishing practiced by large commercial fleets. Dina instead chooses the decomposable fruit bowl designed by Amorim, a pioneer and leader in the cork industry ever since the 19th century. They explained to me that Portugal is the largest exporter of cork in the world. Telling me about its qualities, they actually point out that Cork is a natural raw material harvested cyclically from trees without harming them.
 
This is one of those realities where aesthetic, tradition and sustainability come together bringing to light a lot of memories. It’s a shop, but more than that it’s a place to visit where you can really trust the owners and you’re more than happy to share this commitment to quality and to Portuguese heritage.
 

Portuguese.Love.Affair

Luiz, Olga and Natalia are three design students finishing their Master studies in Germany. "Undefined Perfection" is a design fiction project that we find particularly interesting. 

"What kind of food rituals could emerge in a world where naturally grown foods become hardly available? How would the function of a banana change if it was too precious to be eaten?
 
It is predicted that population growth will lead to severe food shortages in the near future. Natural foods might be replaced by synthetic 'superfoods' to feed the masses. We imagine these superfoods to have no taste, no visual attraction, no smell, no sound and no texture. Eating in a world where food is rare will be reduced to an intake of artificial nutrients, neglecting our five senses.

Yet, we know that food has always had an important social function: We share and experience food with the family, with friends and in religious rituals. When societies, believe systems and technologies change, our food rituals change as well.
 
For a world where eating is based on the mere intake of nutrients, we imagine naturally grown foods to acquire a higher value. New food rituals will allow to experience food again with all five humans senses. This way we are attempting to achieve inner perfection which is the basic drive that makes us humans."
 
A project by Olga Michel Chico (MEX), Luiz Gustavo Neiva Lara (BR), Natalia Lazarshivili (GE).
 
Contact

Along the very fashionable Avenue George V, in Paris, at the epicenter of the Golden Triangle, Philippe Stark has created Miss Kō. The place looks like a video game, an immersive world in which every detail recounts the story of an imaginary heroine, Miss Kō - an Eurasian who has travelled extensively. She is bewitching and sensual, revealing herself with a body entirely covered in tattoos beautifully created by Horikitsune, the only European to have trained as an apprentice in the traditional Japanese art of Irezumi. Miss Kō is branded by the British firm GBH who created a simple logotype made with nine grains of rice representing the Asian countries which inspired the creation of the Miss Kō menu.

Miss Kō is a mystery, a dream, feverish, crazy and strange. This fantasy created from scratch by Stark and his team is a crazy collage inspired by Blade Runner. The vision is a globalized future in which Asia is the new centre of gravity. Like an alley, stretched across 500 m2 of space, leading to the spectacle of a frenetic / noisy place with a massive screen bar and a spectacular fresco by David Rochline. Lush and fantastic, the monumental fresco - 15 m long-  is poetic and looks like a futuristic manga, a real visual curiosity.

One of Miss Kō's most unusual and hypnotizing features is a 26 m long double bar running the length of the restaurant entirely made from hundred of monitors broadcasting Asian channels, punctuated by the fluid passage of a dragon designed by Label Dalbin. The furnishings are a balanced mix of contemporary items and Far East inspiration.

Jean-Philippe Bourdon, the talented lighting designer uses neon to erase the notion of a ceiling and spotlights the focal points of the staging. The result is rich, smooth and colorful. Orsten Karki designed  Miss Kō 's original soundtrack. An Asian fusion food re-mix & re- twist  : sushi, jiaozi, bo buns, spring rolls and yakitori always served with contrasting flavours and textures. Sashizzas, one the house's specialties are an hybrid pairing Japanese pizzetas and tuna sashimi and it tastes great !

For Philippe Stark “Miss Kō is a place of freedom, humor, creativity, art, friendliness, openness. Miss Kō is a breath of madness, it’s truly insane. A street out of Blade Runner: a cement parking-garage wall with Formica chairs, TV screens that spew out hundreds of images of live news coverage from Asia, a kitchen that smokes and smoulders.”

Miss Kō is an object of curiosity, from the décor to the menu, everything is designed and well done in its Asia+ Blade Runner + Entertainment Style. Miss Kō fascinates, if you are in Paris don't miss the show !

Cecile Poignant

Miss Kō

GBH 

Horikitsune

A return to primal and intense experiences is brewing in the world of art and design. It is clear that we are searching for multi-sensory and experiential stimuli which give us something all-encompassing and rich, rather than the mundane tasks of our daily lives. The rise of synaesthetic projects is evidence of this desire.

The work of Jinhyun Jeon is inspired by such a desire. As a recent graduate from the Design Academy Eindhoven, Jeon created a project entitled 'Tableware as Sensorial Stimuli,' seeking to infuse the daily ritual of eating with the phenomenon of synaesthesia. The project is a set of cutlery in which each piece is designed to engage more senses than simply taste, through a combination of temperature, color, texture, volume, and form.

"The tableware we use for eating should not just be a tool for placing food in our mouth," writes Jeon, "but it should become extensions of our body, challenging our senses even in the moment when the food is still on its way to being consumed."

By exploring synaesthesia through design, the artist hopes to enhance the role of tableware and cutlery, and to enrich the experience of eating by cross-wiring and activating multiple senses.

In the end, the project serves to create a more conscientious and joyful relationship with food, that satiates our primal desires for feeling and experience.

Text by Ryan Moritz

jjhyun.com

Ania and Maciej are polish architects and designers, last year the duo was commissioned to realize a project in a public space for the festival ArtDesign Feldkirch. Their Mobile Gastfreundschaft is based on responsibility and self-initiative in public space, combining food and community in a spontaneous and transitory setting.

The project consists of a wheelbarrow kitchen, ten folding stools, and large table at which passers-by are invited to enjoy a meal with friends and strangers. Expressing a formal language of DIY aesthetics, the wood structures are easily transportable from one public space to the next.

The duo met during their studies in Gdansk, Poland, and imbedded the project with the cultural importance of food and togetherness. An aim for the design process was to bring a smile to people passing by and to offer an interactive experience where design meets delight.

Text by Ryan Moritz

chmararosinke.com

Imagine freshly roasted coffee, hand-brewed in a little stand behind a bicycle, parked outside the Metro station in Paris. This is the image of Arnaud Viratelle's Couleurs Café.

What we find so attractive about Couleurs Café is Arnaud's commitment to providing quality, on-the-go coffee, while foraging on a new path for streetfood in Paris. While foodtrucks have long been a part of the urban fabric in cities across the world, the movement is just gaining traction in Paris with already well known establishments like "Le Camion à Glaces - Glazed " and "Le Camion Qui Fume." The renowned french chef Thierry Marx has even begun a school for street food. The concept of Couleurs Café, however, is more convivial and allows for a personal exchange of conversation and education. According to Arnaud, the idea came to him after trips to India, Thailand, and Peru.

His customers love the cafe espresso, simple and effective. Every day is different and brings curious newcomers, but the unique exchange keep loyal followers coming back.

Arnaud believes there to be a demand for streetfood in Paris and will provide an example for future successes.

Noémie Devime & Ryan Moritz

Couleurs Café on Facebook

There exists a burgeoning trend for multi-sensory experiences. No matter the form, structure, or venue, the goal is to heighten our awareness of the links between the 5 senses. While each sense is distinct, when all 5 are activated and ensemble an experience can become extraordinary.

Beginning today in London and running through the 14th of October is the global premiere of Sean Rogg's the Waldorf Project. Conceived and directed by the British artist, the production traverses genres to unite theatrical performance, visual art, choreography, design, electronic music, and gastronomy. Six collaborators, each chosen for their take on the theme - the Japanese muskmelon - have come together to create a pan-sensory experience.

Among the collaborators is Gina Geoghegan, Set Design, who will transform the Netil House into an immersive environment in addition to Sound Design by sound artists Alessio Natalizia and Sam Willis. Andrew Stellitano and Blanch & Shock, Food Design, have developed a 6 course menu which will be presented to guests by choreographed dancers by Movement Director Imogen Night.

Sean Rogg explains: "The aim of the Waldorf Project is to create a completely new dining experience through the most fully immersive multi-sensory performance possible. This inaugural event, which we have called 'Chapter One / Muskmelon,' is fundamentally themed around the metaphor of the Japanese muskmelon, which is an incredibly rare and sough-after fruit representing a faultless synergy between man and nature."

Ryan Moritz

www.waldorfproject.com

www.astarism.co.uk

blanchandshock.com

Marja Samsom, based in New York, is a well known passionate actor in the "Food World" she creates unexpected recipes, does catering for special events and organizes "underground" dinners.

She is the famous owner of a small sake-and-dumpling empire: the Kithchenclub & Chibi's Bar: celebrated it's 20 anniversary, then closed it's doors and opening a whole new world of opportunities!

Since then Marja has been making a name as "The Dumpling Diva" through her catering business, TV appearances and cooking classes.

To celebrate the end of  summer, we would like to share with you one of Marja's last recipe: "Sunflower Salad", an unexpected polysensorial yellow experience.

A simple and gorgeous recipe, mainly made of sunflowers and chrysanthemum, a "gift of nature". The sunflower seeds are toasted, the buttery and petals are tossed with chrysanthemum leaves, all drizzled with light vinaigrette.

Eating sunflowers will allow you to enjoy the strong power of yellow !

Noémie Devime

Click to listen to Marja's recipe

Marja's website

In one second a taste or a smell can bring back emotions and memories to us. We remember so much more than what was served; who we were with, the environment, in which mood we were in...  As children our parents told us to not play with food. The japanese food creator Ayako Suwa violates the rule and takes it to another level. She challenges the "normal" dinner situation and  gives us a whole new experience in how to eat and how it can make us feel.

After graduating from Kanazawa College of Art, Ayako started Food Creation in 2006. Her first exhibition, "sensuous food, emotional taste", was held two years later at 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa. Ayako created the edible art works by a combination of complicated ingredients trying to express various feelings and emotions of human beings. The exhibition was a great success and since then, Ayako has travelled the world making performances, exhibitions and guerrilla restaurants.

Basically we eat just to satisfy hunger or to enjoy a taste but Ayako values the whole dining situation; when and wherewe eat. She gives her dinner participants a new perspective on eating. Food Creation treat food as the ultimate communication tool and it is "appetite" that leads to the visual expressions.The theme "The concept reaches your stomach" was created and on Food Creation's dinner events Ayako sets up the situation associated with the "eating". It gives the guest a deeper experience as the concept is spread both through the taste and the sense. In its approach, food gains a new value that is not gastronomy nor a nutrient nor an energy source. At a dinner, open your senses and hold the feeling to your next dinner party, and next, and next...

Bon Appétit!

Sofie Broden

foodcreation

Hel Yes! is a temporary restaurant and exhibition imagined and realized by a creative team of Finnish designers and food visionaries. It is commissioned by the Finnish Institute in London and the first event took place during The London Design Festival 2010.

Antto Melasniemi is the Executive Chef and Concept Director of Hel Yes! He leads his team in a straightforward and simple style of cooking, "It is all about the delicacies of primitive Finnish cuisine, which is typically more about pure ingredients than, for example, restaurant culture", says Melasniemi. Hel Yes! serve their dinners on porcelain and glassware from both classic Finnish design houses like Artek and Ittala and smaller design companies, Saas Instruments and Nikari. The clothes and looks on waiters are created by fashion designer Heikki Salonen.

After the great success in London, Hel Yes! travelled back to its roots and in early 2011 they opened a restaurant during 13 days in Helsinki's Kalasatama. In the dark and freezing winter this concept brought warmth and atmospheric hospitality into the old vegetable warehouse where the dinner experience took place.

The Hel Yes! experiences differ from each other as the creative team constantly explore new concepts and bring in different partners. In February 2011the tour went on to Stockholm and Eric Ericssonhallen in Skeppsholmskyrkan. They offered an experimental social gathering that combined gastronomy, design and dance. Artist Maria Duncker brought her Bone Orchestra and Helsinki Dance Company performed numbers choreographed by Kenneth Kvarnström.

Get your own Hel Yes! experience later this year when the team executes an event in London between the 18th of September - 2nd of October.

Sofie Brodén

helyes.fi

finnish-institute.org.uk

heikkisalonen.com

Since ancient times, in Southern Europe and Asia, licorice's roots had been used in pharmacy for their benefit in many medicinal recipes. As times are changing, we are looking for new tastes and sensations; ready to bring in our kitchen traditional medicinal plants.

A recent brand founded by Johan Bülow a young, good looking danish entrepreneur is named "Lakrids" which means licorice in danish. Johan used to work in the advertising world, tired of this constant stress he decided to quit everything to focus on what he loves the most: licorice. His brand is only focused on this unique ingredient to offer it a real upscale: gourmet and gastronomic.The licorice is cultivated during 3 to 5 years on the island of Bornholm in Denmark before being harvested. The products are manufactured traditionally and hand-rolled.

Lakrid's products are a mix between a chosen ingredient coming from faraway countries and a danish ingredient.The choice of tastes and consistencies is wide: from hard to soft, sharp to sweet, chewy to crispy, but also spicy. With this large "palette" the chefs no longer use licorice only in desserts, they also use it to add flavor to a salad or a salted sauce. All products are numbered and colored by a graphic and modern approach. Easy to remember like your fetish number!

To eat black food is something unusual and weird, it's linked with the idea of something forbidden or with magical food… probably some of the reasons why we are so fan of licorice!

www.lakrids.nu

To better understand how designers can help humanity to make the changes to its food chain that will be necessary in the future, Premsela, the Netherlands institute for Design and Fashion has organized "Food Cultures : Eating by Design". This exhibition curated by the designer Marije Vogelzang, is at the Designhuis in Eindhoven, Nederland.

Vogelzang calls herself an “eating designer". Her work focuses on the activity of eating, its cultural background and the emotions around it. Over the past 12 years, she's opened two Proef restaurants, written the book Eat Love, and designed dinners and workshops. Vogelzang has invited the curator and artist Koos Flinterman to select works of art for inclusion in Food Culture.

This great exhibition shows the wide perspective and importance of food as a design subject. Highly inspirational, emotional and multi sensorial, the show includes twenty projects from a range of international designers, photojournalists and artists.

Trendtablet managed to catch Marije whose schedule is more than full, to asked her to answer a part of the Proust Questionnaire:

Your favorite virtue ?

Curiosity.

The main feature of your character ?

Positivity and fantasy.

Your favorite qualities in a person?

Humor and openness.

Your favorite occupation ?

Dreaming, playing, talking, eating, drinking.

Your idea of happiness ?

Having eye contact with your child, diving inside the eye and understand love without words.

Your favorite colour and flower ?

I am more interested in colour combinations than single colours. I don't have one favorite. My favorite flower must be edible. Maybe the elderflower.

If not yourself, who would you be? 

I often dream that I am a man. If I was a man i would have a beard and groom it.

Where would you like to live? 

In a cave on top of an underground hot spring where small creatures live that change color and shape according to what you think of.

Your favorite heroes in real life ?

My mother, Li Edelkoort, Nelson Mandela, Pippi Longstocking (the non-fictional one).

Your favorite heroes in fiction ?

Sophie (Roald Dahl).

Your favorite food and drink? 

Something that combines sour and spicy with a touch of sweet and fresh herbs.

What you hate most of all ?

I hate and don't understand sexual child abuse.

Your favorite words ?

Possibly.

What is your present state of mind ?

In curiosity 2.0. Recovering from business betrayal to eventually bloom brighter, lighter and stronger.

For what fault have you most toleration? 

Indulgence!

Your favorite motto ?

Crisis feeds creativity.

www.marijevogelzang.nl

designhuis.nl

Tell me what you eat ...

Bretzel in New York, Dim Sum in Hong Kong , Acarajé from Bahia, the street food with very few expresses the best of a culture.

What is common between shortbread iced with sugar, a calzone pizza with peppers, fried fish dumplings with coriander? The street. "Earthly food" seen by Jean-Francois Mallet can be eaten directly at the asphalt.

From Tokyo to Buenos Aires via Hanoi, India, Armenia, Mali and New York, the belly of the earth unfolds on the sidewalks of the world. Why the streets? The question is not the good one. At the restaurant or on a bench, Jean-Francois Mallet focuses on the diversity of flavors and on the authenticity of recipes.

But it is often in the street that cultures are reflected in their tastiest expression. Cooking is a mode of apprehension and understanding of other's flavors and taste. The bias is aesthetic and ideological. The angle never shows misery or dirt. Yes, you can be happy in the streets,you just need a seat.

Street foods seen by Jean-Francois Mallet are always attractive. To be photographed, it is necessary that the dishes are good, only then they can be beautiful. "I always taste before taking a picture," says chef-photographer-reporter.

His photographic work is against globalization, turning its back on large restaurant chains that bloom on every continent. So why the street? Because it is where the struggle for a better world , within the meaning of the word gourmet is.

text by Emmanuelle Jary

www.malletphoto.com

Buy "Take away" by Jean-François Mallet

Coffee connoisseur, Sara Rosso is on the trail of what you might call, “slow coffee.” Her book, How to Order an Italian Coffee, features beautiful photographs as well as descriptions of the different varieties of coffee in Italy. Rosso writes that coffee has achieved iconic stature in Italy, part and parcel of Italian identity. She also includes a pronunciation guide, tips for understanding the coffee bar culture in Italy, as well as instructions for how to make coffee at home like one of the locals.

Rosso’s book provides a much needed escape from the land of calorie-packed and artificially-sweetened frappucinos. Starbuck’s itself, has taken note of this new trend and has launched a series of espresso tastings in Paris. Slow-drip coffee, indeed!
Ever curious about the future of food and drink, Trend Tablet caught up with Sara Rosso for an exclusive interview. Join us in discovering what makes Sara tick and what to expect next from world of coffee! Text by Beth Lauck.
What inspired you to move to Italy and to write about your adventures with coffee?

Here's a little confession: when I moved to Italy 9 years ago, I wasn't a coffee drinker at all, neither espresso nor American coffee.But coffee is a very social thing in Italy and I found myself getting the occasional cappuccino with friends and colleagues, and it took a few years before I started drinking coffee every day. It's the cornerstone to my morning now.

Before moving to Italy, you lived in the United States. What can we expect from Italian coffee that we wont find stateside?

That's exactly why I wrote the book, How to Order an Italian Coffee in Italy. I think coffee culture in America has its own flavor, but in Italy, the great thing about it is it's pretty consistent everywhere you go. That's what traditional means, really: that there are certain expectations, rituals, and guidelines which are followed. There's some innovation in coffee culture in Italy but you won't find people walking around with a thermos full of coffee drinks that are supposed to last all morning. The only time you'll see a coffee to-go is when someone is delivering that coffee to someone to be consumed immediately.

Are there different kinds of coffees for different times of the day in Italy?

It depends on the drinker, but most Italians prefer to drink milk in their coffee mainly in the mornings. They order a cappuccino or make caffè latte (milk and coffee) at home, and will drink an espresso mid-morning and/or directly following lunch. You'll never see an Italian drinking coffee during a meal that isn't breakfast.

What is your favorite type of Italian coffee and why?

I started with the marocchino (sometimes called espressino) which is like a little cappuccino (espresso + foamed milk) served in a glass cup with a little cacao powder. Now I drink a simple espresso in the morning, every morning. If you want to really know if coffee is good, try drinking it black. Sugar and milk often hide the imperfections of an average or bad coffee. If you can drink coffee with no decoration, you'll know if it's a good blend or not. Also, since the espresso is supposed to be consumed immediately upon serving, it shouldn't be too hot, either.

How do you see the future of coffee unfolding?

I think the progression will move from those who have been handed an experience (in Italy, in a coffee shop) to experimenting themselves and trying to own more of the experience from start to finish. People will start making more and more coffee at home which will be close to bar quality, whether it's hand pressed or actually investing in the expensive equipment. I still get my coffee in a bar every day because I like the ritual and the social experience. There's something about depending on a person to deliver the kickstart to your morning, and I
share that waking moment with the people around me. Walking into the fresh air for a few moments afterward also helps compound that post-coffee high.

The slow food movement has been gaining momentum for the last two decades. Is there such a thing as “slow coffee,” and where are we most likely to find it?

The Slow Food movement was actually born in Italy, so it's not surprising to think that coffee would also have a similar movement here. But I think the Slow Coffee movement is actually the reverse - it's moving away from these giant milky sugary drinks and stripping coffee down to its traditional (in this case, Italian) simplicity. It takes less than half a minute from ordering to delivering the espresso so you can drink it. Many Italians like to go to torrefazioni, coffee shops which roast and grind their own coffee beans, which I think is a step closer to knowing where your beans come from.

Buy your copy of «How to Order an Italian Coffee»

Sara's food & travel site

James Victore is a New York-based art director who says he “strives to make work that is sexy, strong and memorable”. His freestyle graphics and evocative designs inspire honest and immediate reactions from his audience, expanding the perception of what good graphic design has the power to achieve. Interested in engaging both the public and his peers with his work, Victore has started a unique experience for a small group of guests in his Dinner Series. Through the federating power of good food and creative conversation, these intimate events open up dialogue between groups of people who may not otherwise have met.

“Last year I started a workshop called the Dinner Series. My goal was to invite a small group of curious and energetic designers, writers, ad and creative-types to give them a total immersion into the way we in my studio work and think— about life, work, family, and creativity. We worked this brave group hard, this was the formula: 5 days in my Brooklyn studio with me, 5 evenings at a private restaurant in TriBeCa with a private chef and a special guest luminary designer, artist or film maker.

I thought this was a fun little idea—it turned out to be a huge life-changing idea. Not only did our family of participants gain new perspectives on concept, connecting with clients, and new tools for idea generation and expression, but they ALSO left with a completely renewed sense of self– a reclamation of their creativity, game-changing plans on how to balance work life and family, kickass ways to conquer fear and self-doubt, and a sense of empowerment and how to make a bigger difference in themselves and the world around them.

We realized that by creating this intimate little family, we were at the precipice of a burgeoning revolution. A new movement illuminating the individual.”

In 2012, James Victore is planning two sessions for the Dinner Series.

Find out more information 

www.jamesvictore.com

The future of food is complicated. And Conflict Kitchen is counting on it.

Based in Pittburgh, PA and open seven days a week, Conflict Kitchen is a take-out style restaurant that only serves food from countries in conflict with the United States. Its mission is to complicate pre-existing social relations between food and economic exchange; to engage the general public in discussions about countries, cultures, and people they may know little about; and to establish greater cultural diversity.

The Kitchen is currently serving Venezuelan cuisine. Developed in collaboration with the members of the Venezuelan community, food comes packaged in custom-designed wrappers that highlight interviews with Venezuelans both in Venezuela and the United States.

Issues discussed include the relationship between street food and popular culture as well as conversations about President Hugo Chavez and the geopolitical dynamics of the region.

Conflict Kitchen features a new country/cuisine every six months. In addition, each culinary iteration is complimented by events, performances, and discussions. Thus far, the Kitchen has hosted international Skype dinner parties between citizens of Pittsburgh and young professionals in Tehran, Iran; documentary filmmakers in Kabul, Afghanistan; and community radio activists in Caracas, Venezuela.

Upcoming cuisines/countries include Cuba and North Korea.

Subject & text by Beth Lauck.

www.conflictkitchen.org

My father Johan Björklund started his professional career as a  swedish chef in Paris, he then  feel for the wine industry and finally 3 years ago he opened his restaurant " Bistro de l'hôtel" that brings simple but excellent food and has an exquisite wine list.

The reason i wanted to share this restaurant with you is beacuse i truly feel that's what we are all aiming for, something cosy, good but simple.

Six years ago, Lidewij Edelkoort forecasted the We are Family trend, this one explained and showed that we would be closer to our friends, our family, our colleagues,  we would be less independent and work more as a team.

 The step towards this trend was probably food, it brought people together and made them share culture and variety.The Bistro de l'hôtel is a restaurant in Burgundy that we believe represents what consumers appreciates and wants today.

Enjoy !

Text by Charlotte Bjorklund

www.lhoteldebeaune.com

 As one of New York City’s most diverse boroughs, Brooklyn is recognized both as a cultural melting pot and as an emblem for the arts. Most recently however, its artistic and entrepreneurial spirit has given rise to a culinary-minded generation.

Preferring pop-up vendors, local markets and cooking classes to chain stores and unimaginative snack bars, Brooklynites are reigniting a passion for food and a passion for people. It is a community devoted to the simple, the local, the individual and the sustainable.

From homemade syrups and hand-crafted knives to biodynamic breweries and old-fashioned recipes for grandma’s relish, Brooklyn is quickly becoming a hub for people who crave “the real.”

The short film series, Made by Hand, (also based in Brooklyn) has set out to chronicle the innovative spirit that has taken hold. Each video pays tribute to the lives and livelihoods that are at the heart of the handmade movement, here and elsewhere.

 Both artistic and informative, this inspirational endeavor discloses the untold stories that are revolutionizing our relationship to food, to craft and to the collective voice that carries us forward — one individual at a time. Text Beth Lauck

www.morriskitchen.com

www.mastbrotherschocolate.com

www.marlowanddaughters.com

www.mcclurespickles.com

www.brkgin.com

To our delight, a long-term trend that has arisen in our lives is the blurring of borders between disciplines .

In Paris, a vibrant demonstration of this fundamental trend happened during three days ( January 22-24, 2012). At "Paris des Chefs" gastronomy was flirting with art . Architects, designers, actors, photographers and musicians performed on stage with International Chefs.

Here are five trends to highlight :

Synesthesia. Of all the duos "food + design" organized on stage, I will long remember the most moving: Wynton Marsalis on trumpet and David Kinch, the Chef from San Francisco for a moment of sublime and unique harmony.

Monochrome Many chefs create dishes based on the use of a single colour : 3-stars chef Alain Passard of "Arpege" with "L'assiette jaune" composed of golden ball turnip, yellow carrots, onions and lemon wedges dusted with a cloud of Parmesan. David Toutain, the passionate young chef of "Agapé Substance" has created a white plate full of nuances.

Single product 3 stars chef Anne Sophie Pic cooked, assisted by the winemaker and actress Carole Bouquet, a starter  tribute to all kind of beets: red, yellow, marbled raw and cooked ... a visual delight!

Sustainable During the festival, all Chefs spoke on the importance of vegetables and they paid tribute to the gardeners who grow them. Compliance with the seasons is essential for all.

Interactive On the first floor one could discover cooking classes, wines tasting,  demonstrations, allowing visitors to become involved.Text by Cécile Poignant.

www.parisdeschefs.com

www.agapesubstance.com

The restaurant is located on Strandgate 5 in Copenhagen.

It looks as simple as a restaurant can be, but isn’t simplicity today the key to happiness ?Everything is very well-thought, from the outfit that the employees are wearing to the disposition of the restaurant… simplicity is definitely the key word here.

After having taste 14 appetizers for the introduction part and 7 meals accompanied by a very nice and interesting wine list, we understood why it’s rated as the number one restaurant in the world.

It’s an experience which makes you forget everything else but the moment and allows you to completely enjoy the present.

The evening started with a glass of bubbling wine and ended with a smile on our face and the thought that we will be definitely back.

Text by Charlotte Bjorklund.

www.noma.dk

Natura Morta — curated by Studio Toogood for Milan Design Week 2001 — is an exhibition that celebrates the darker side of the natural world. Natura Morta, literally translated as “dead nature,” features four outsized, provocative still-lifes composed of abstract and found objects.

The installment was also home to a series of “Midnight Dinners”, curated in the exclusive Era Studio Apartment Gallery. With the creative direction of Faye Toogood and abstract food styling of Francesca Sarti, the dinners were prepared by Italian food designers Arabeschi di Latte under the heading, the Underkitchen.

Guests were invited to sample simple, but intriguing ingredients including eggs dyed in tea and spices, black rocks formed out of cheese and rolled in coal, and rustic desserts consisting of black bread soaked in water and dark sugar.

Interestingly enough, black colored foods are a signal of health in some parts of the world; most notably, Japan. Black foods are high in phyto-nutrients and have been found to assist metabolism, stimulate the endocrine system, improve digestion, and slow the aging process

www.studiotoogood.com

The Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant is an environmental and gastronomic art project as well as a gourmet eatery. Built around a solar kitchen, food is cooked solely by the energy of the sun, producing a delightfully different taste experience.

Exemplifying the principles of flexibility and immediacy, menus are prepared according to the weather. Guests may be treated to a solar bbq, meals prepared at lower temperatures, or salads. If it rains, reservations are simply rearranged or rescheduled. Instead of manipulating the environment, Lapin’s solar kitchen reminds us not to take the weather — or the world — for granted.

Joined by world-renowned Catalan designer, Marî Guixé; and Finnish food visionary, Antto Melasniemi, the Lapin Solar Kitchen will celebrate the sun, gourmet cooking, Lapin Kulta beer, art and life on its trail towards the perennial sunshine of the Artic Circle.

www.lapinkultasolarkitchenrestaurant.com

www.guixe.com

www.kuurna.fi

Marije Vogelzang is a pioneer of “eating design”. She is a graduate of the Design Academy in Eindhoven and owner of Proef — a restaurant, gallery and studio rolled into one. She is also storyteller; a kind of gastronomical genealogist, if you will. She examines the psychological, sociological and environmental ramifications of how we eat, with whom we break bread, where our food comes from and how it affects the environment.

Vogelzang’s edible architecture is not only sustainable, it is also performative. Each exhibition is meant to awaken the sense and stir the soul. She seeks to situate food within the greater context of our lives; as  ritual, as nourishment, as memory and as a gateway to a delectable future.

www.marijevogelzang.nl

Spain is one of the most logical country when one want  to speak of food and of design. Last month Barcelona was the place to be to discover  a very special event."oh!BCN" is an independent project under the framework of the Barcelona Design Festival. The speakers and all the participants came from gastronomy, design and glass crafts, arts background and trend research.This experience was made of surprising conferences, creative workshops, exhibitions and gastronomic tours.This "happening" was based around the unusual association of food and glass….

The right intersection : there are a lot of similarities between glass and sugar , and this is were it got interesting. Albert Adria (brother of Ferran) showed new products for the new Adrià's restaurant in Barcelona. The pastry chef Crhistian  Escrobà made fascinating demonstrations. Teams were build up and they developed concepts and  products…

A special thank to Mayi Pazos who provided us this information

www.vidrioh.com

www.ohbcn.es