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Haute cuisine
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Food is a metaphor that reflects society, say the writers of the book , `Food Design'
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FOODIES Martin Hablesreiter and Sonja
The young authors, Sonja Stummerer and Martin Hablesreiter, of German book, `Food Design,' that won a `Special Award of the Jury' at the Gourmand awards last year are on a mission to make people really look at what is on their plates. The two are architects and talk
. of how architecture inspired them to study food more closely. "We started getting interested in food. In shapes," says Sonja. "In Japan, food is very unique and traditional. The sweets that accompany the tea ceremony, for example, are all 200 to 300 years old." Martin adds, "And they have the most incredibly poetic names. Like `The Cherry blossom branches touching the surface of the water'."
"Food for us is a metaphor that reflects society," states Martin. "It's very personal. When you criticise how a person eats, then that's a very personal criticism. Because you express yourself by the way you eat: your education, culture, the house of your parents... "
They talk of how important historical events were prompted by food, because it's the most basic human need: Columbus discovering America in his search for spices, the Boston tea party to protest taxes on tea, the salt march. "Once you know the stories and the history of food, the way you look at it is completely different," says Martin.
The pair study "food form: the point of product design," looking at food as an object. "We ask who decides what food should look like — the form, colour, consistency, smell, sound — and why?" Companies spend huge amounts of money on product design, in the hope of discovering a new food that will touch a chord with consumers. "Big firms like Kraft and Nestle even have sound designers who use special machines to design the sound of crackers, ice cream or breakfast cereal," says Sonja.
"There's nothing in life people are more conservative about than food. Companies are constantly struggling with new products," says Sonja. In fact a quick look at figures on the Internet show that failure rates for food products are higher than those for industrial products, and just two of every ten succeed. Outstanding flops include `Crystal Pepsi,' a colourless, caffeine-free soft drink, which sank like a stone and can be found only in places like E Bay now (where a can is going for 20 dollars) and `Funky Fries' by Heinz, chocolate flavoured and blue. They inspired no more than a shudder from customers.
Fiddling with tradition can mean disaster, like the Garlic Cake made by Gunderson & Rosario back in 1989, which baffled customers. But if it works, it can mean celebrity status, as in the case of the Michelin starred Chefs Heston Blumenthal of The Fat Duck restaurant in the UK, and Ferran Adriΰ Acosta of El bulli in Spain. Blumenthal serves bacon-and-egg ice cream, and snail porridge, and uses gadgets like personal sound amplification systems to enhance crunches. Adria lists foamed espresso, foamed mushroom and foamed beet among his triumphs. Both consistently break the rules.
Yet, Martin insists that a traditional meal on a street corner can be just as sophisticated, and alluring. "Everything is designed in keeping with the way a culture works," says Martin. A naan, for instance, is designed for a specific way of eating — to mop up curry. Think of stuffed kulcha, samosas... they're perfect for food on the run. It's just that people never stop and think about it."
"Just like we should learn some history, and read some literature, be aware of great paintings and have an idea about our culture, we do need to understand food," says Sonja. Martin agrees. "Unfortunately, food is not appreciated enough as a cultural phenomenon. People study music and dancing, and underestimate food. But that's the most primary need."
SHONALI MUTHALALY
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