Food IS a creative process!

What can food experiences reveal about culture?

Our work at The Iconoclast Dinner inspired us to meditate on the connections between culture, creativity and food. An experience that immediately came to mind is one designed by the artist Theaster Gates. Soul Food Pavilion is a project that Gates conceived of around ten years ago for the University of Chicago’s exhibit Feast: Radical Hospitality in Contemporary Art. Although he is perhaps best known as a ceramicist, Gates’ practice is rooted in performance which, in our book, makes him a designer of experiences. 

Through collaborating with soul food expert Erika Dudley and chef Michael Kornick, as well as the music group The Black Monks of Mississippi, Gates created a series of five dinners centered around soul food, inviting carefully curated groups of people to dine, listen and converse with each other, revelling in the culture of soul. In a film documenting the experiences, Gates speaks about the importance of ‘leveraging ritual’ as a way to start difficult conversations. He explains that ritual gives people a way to feel safe, creating a space where participants might be more open and vulnerable than usual, precisely because they feel comfortable. It got us thinking—how might we create experiences where people feel that embedded familiar comfort?

We asked Apt-122 collaborator Jasmine Attikese, Director of Trade Marketing at Remy Martin if there’s a drink that incites that familiarity into her surroundings. For Attikese, cremas is an integral part of her upbringing. A creamy concoction of coconut, rum and condensed milk, it’s a staple of most Haitian households. 

And how can we see food for what it really is—a truly creative process, that facilitates immersive experiences? Attikese explains that it’s the presentation of a dish—whether plated, on a tray, or in a bowl, that is always the most creative part. “I’m always searching the internet for creative ways to serve my food—I love to see my friends’ and family’s reactions. It’s as if they’re eating with their eyes before they even taste it.”

We’ll see you later @WeAreApt122