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I contacted over 30 designers via email explaining my desire to produce service pieces based on function as the priority as opposed to aesthetics. Pieces would be built around the food, supporting the dish based on its characteristics. Of the 30 designers I contacted only one replied, Martin Kastner of Crucial Detail. We bounced emails back and forth for a period of time, as we got to know each other’s desire to be involved in this collaboration the process developed into more than just a holder for a frozen sucker.
As you can see
Martin proposed several solutions before we settled on the final form. He suggested that the sphere of ice had enough strength to support three pivoting legs.
The legs would become the holder, and when squeezed they would collapse to form the utensil from which the pop would be eaten.
We realized that the service of food has remained basically the same for the last 200 years. Looking at how cuisine had developed in the last ten years it became obvious that the need to support the food functionally and emotionally was crucial to the success of the cuisine itself. The involvement of the serving pieces and actual eating utensils plays an enormous role in the emotions that guests can experience while dining. The pieces can add humor, surprise, intrigue, excitement and even a sense of intimidation to the meal. When these emotions are triggered, it leaves a very personal stamp on the experience based on the individual’s reactions. I realized the synergy of food and the serving pieces helps the chef convey the message to the guest. A personalized emotional experience is created, solidifying a meal into a form of art.
As food has advanced in technique it has at times become more difficult to serve. For example we wanted to create palate cleanser that was a single bite of intensely flavored ice. I wanted the food to quickly melt on the palate as opposed to the normal sorbet course. We created an ice chip the size of a half dollar and about 3 mm thick. This rapid dissolving is the essence of a palate cleanser…if its purpose is to refresh do you really want multiple bites? One bite…an intense clearing that lacks time and monotony is what we decided this course should be. The problem was finding something that we could serve this very thin ice chip on. This led to the creation of the eye.
Of course sight is essential to conveying emotion and in all of the pieces developed we look at the aesthetic value. But in some cases the final form is very dramatic. This is the case of the squid.
Upon the creation of the Tempura Shrimp cranberry, preserved lemon, vanilla fragrance we found it necessary to present the composition in an upright position. This would give the guest a visual cue as to how to eat the dish, lowering the end into their mouth while keeping the vanilla bean vertical. Since the dish was tempura fried it was necessary to provide air circulation to avoid steam from softening the exterior. All of these attributes lead to the design of a very dramatic piece that executes the function but also adds a high level of visual appeal.
During the course of developing these pieces we made conscious efforts to create pieces that would change the mechanics of eating. The repetition of lifting a piece of silverware to ones mouth seemed unnecessary in some cases, and this thought lead Martin to the antenna concept.
The goal was to eliminate the need for a plate and utensils with the exception of the skewer itself. It becomes the only vehicle in the process of preparation, serving, and consumption of the course. Additionally it controls the way the three different components of the dish hit the palate due to their position on the skewer.
This helps us achieve complexity in flavor and texture.
After several discussions about serving pieces and what we were trying to achieve, Martin approached me with a concept that involved hiding the food.
This had been done before; we have all experience the dramatic lifting of a cloche…revealing the food underneath. But what about taking that a step further? Hold the surprise of what was “underneath” until it was on the guest’s palate. We have been working on the pouch since March.
This service piece could help us provide a great sense of excitement and intrigue when a given course is served. This concept has not yet been completed. As you can see we started with a few approaches and it has evolved into something quite different.
The bow was designed specifically to hang foodstuffs that had characteristics of lightness, motion, and delicacy. Rather than lie a thinly sliced piece of cured duck breast or a piece of savory vegetable leather on a plate, we could give the food dimension.... and encourage movement by creating a piece that swayed slightly when transported and placed on the table.
It has become quite typical in high-end restaurants to serve small bites on spoons propped up on folded napkins. I wanted to create a plate that would support the spoon from the bowl not the handle. When Martin presented me with images of the antiplate I knew it was perfect. The simplicity and scale of the piece draws attention to the food and at the same time makes it very easy for the guest to pick up the utensil. I am going to hold this image back for a period, we will insert it later.
We have more pieces in development, as they mature I will add them to this thread.
