Design for the gastronomic experience

Creating an experience. It's the word on every gastronomic chef's lips. And to achieve this, they spare no expense, as everything contributes to making the meal an exceptional moment, including inviting other disciplines to the table.

Sylvie Berkowicz Published on 11/25/24 at 9:59 AM

Last October, Dom Pérignon offered gourmets immersive dinners, aimed at interacting its universe with that of gastronomy - a not-so-new idea - while integrating a third artistic field: culinary design. Julie Rothhahn, casting her designer eye over the edible, collaborated closely with chef Amaury Bouhours(Le Meurice) and cellar master Vincent Chaperon. Together, they added a visual and sensory dimension to these dinners, designed to accompany the release of Dom Pérignon Vintage 2015.

Under the gilding of a Le Meurice room, a long table framed by screens hosted these meals, mixing gastronomic and artistic surprises in a harmonious fusion of complementary disciplines. A more modest version of the experience continues until the end of December at La Table du Chef.

Interview with Julie Rothhahn, who works both for events and with chefs, helping them to build a coherent "experience" in their own homes, while also giving it meaning.

What was the brief for this project?

Julie Rothhahn: I responded to a call for tenders issued by the agency in charge of the project. The idea was to establish a link between plastic creation and the production of a wine: champagne. I'd already explored a number of avenues that seemed extremely interesting, the first being the question of plasticity and form, followed by an exploration of the notion of deconstruction. In other words, when you create a work of art, you have a canvas, pigments and brushes. When you create a champagne, you have a terroir, a subsoil, grape varieties, a climate... all elements that combine to create the wine. Then there's the mystery of what happens when a creative mind puts its hand to it. He does it in a controlled way, but with a certain element of chance. This is also what happens when grapes are allowed to ferment. It's a process that we try to control, but we can't totally control it either. There's a mystery here that becomes something beautiful when it's successful. Finally, there's the notion of assemblage, where you are truly in control of your medium, composing from what nature has given you.

So, is your job as a designer to give shape to all these notions?

Yes, but first to think them. And then to surround myself with other talents such as graphic designer Adrien Cuingnet from studio Plastac and Arsène Lefrançois, sound designer from studio 31DB, my creative companions. Because it's not all about materiality. I'm more interested in a materiality of the senses, a synesthesia, where we have image, touch, sound and the palpable all at once. It's a question of highlighting all the senses and adding meaning to the senses we're going to use.

How did you go about working with Amaury Bouhours?

I came up with storytelling: the relationship between plasticity and champagne production. Then we exchanged ideas, bouncing off each other's ideas. For example, he expressed on the plate this notion of deconstruction I mentioned, by proposing an ingredient broken down in different ways to gain a different perception of it. That's what we did with spider crab, which he made liquid, soft and unctuous, whereas it's fibrous when it's in the leg. Our interpretation is as complete as possible, but also very dreamlike. It's been a real pleasure to work with you!

How has the discipline of culinary design evolved over the last 15 or 20 years?

In my opinion, it has taken on a really important dimension, because chefs have stopped being afraid of what we can offer them, without entering into competition with them.

They're much more open to in-depth work on the message they want to convey, on their DNA, which as designers we help to define and work on.

this gives them a certain perspective, and helps them to understand the aspects of their cuisine that are worth highlighting. Then we generate a coherent thread running through everything they produce: the dining room, the service, the gastronomy, the materials, the colors, the sound. A tasting can change so much depending on its context. a drink you're going to taste at sunset in Bali will have a particular taste, which won't be at all the same in Paris on a rainy day! so it's really important to intervene in all the elements. i also feel that brands have understood that combining gastronomy and design can be an ultra-powerful tool for thought and transmission. You really touch people's intimacy, you make them taste things, but you also make them hear and see things. When you know how to handle these elements, you touch them strongly, and that's very interesting for delivering a message.