Bio-Bespoke
Culture Comforts
Investigating cultural norms and notions of comfort food
Client
Studio
Expertise
Concept Development
Creative Direction
Food & Drink Design
Event Design
Sector
Food & Drink
Year
2018
Exploring the concept of comfort food
It all started with discussions about comfort food. Where do these foods come from? How could they be translated across different cultures? And how could we challenge perception of a dish, and ingredients, to create a new experience?
1
Astoria, thought to be the first known mention of creature comforts
Image: Amazon
2
Go To Work on An Egg advert featuring Tony Hancock shown in 1950s Britain
Image: Sky News
3
The iconic ramen scene from comedy film Tampopo
Image: Medium
4
52 million year old tomatillo fossil found in Patagonia
Image: Smithsonian Magazine
5
Ya Kun’s story begins in 1944, when Loi Ah Koon first began selling kaya toast in Singapore
Image: The Peak
Blending the familiar and foreign
Inspired by tasting menus and travels, we wanted to bring references and flavours together in a way that would feel recognisable, but with a twist.
It was an opportunity to share historical and gastronomic research in an accessible manner whilst acknowledging the constant evolution of cultural norms.
A series of staples, starting with eggs
We created a five-course meal based on common ingredients and foods from around the world: eggs, sausages, skins, burgers and ramen noodles. A drink pairing was provided with each course.
The menu began by exploring our childhood memories of the classic breakfast staples – the humble eggs. Cantonese-style rice porridge is topped with a cured yolk instead of century egg, while kaya toast is merged with eggs and soldiers to create crispy beancurd sticks with kaya (a fragrant coconut egg jam) for dipping.
Eggs
Congee | China
Rice, tarragon broth, chive foam, cured egg yolk
Kaya Soldiers | United Kingdom & Singapore
Beetroot pickled eggs, spiced kaya, crispy beancurd soldiers
Paired with Keigetsu sake and/or
hibiscus flower tea
Tales of controversy
The next course was all about sausage. Sausage rolls are ubiquitous in the UK but their current form originated in France (a very controversial idea to many Brits) while the hot dog bun may have been created so that customers could hold freshly-cooked sausages without being burned.
Continuing our mixing of East and West, we added Asian influences throughout the dough and seasonings of this British classic.
Sausage
Sausage Roll | France
Sausage meat, pickled mustard greens, satay sauce, dried shrimp, Chinese chives
Hot Dog Bun | United States
Bratwurst, bao bun, ketchup, mustard, pickles, crispy onions
Paired with Brooklyn Old-Fashioned
Everywhere you go - there’s always a dumpling
The third course shines a spotlight on different types of wrappings and dumplings. Ubiquitous around the world and in various forms, we wanted to create tacos with Chinese flavours, and dumplings with Mexican-influenced fillings.
Skins
Taco | Mexico
Toasted rice flour tortilla, Szechuan peppercorn milk-poached fish, mango salsa, pickled onions
Dumplings | China
Black bean, chipotle, chocolate
soup dumpling
Tomato, pepper, aubergine,
sweet potato nightshade
crystal skin dumpling
Paired with a Yuzu Lagerita
An all-American meal reflecting changing demographics
Like most Western nations, the demographic make-up of America is changing. Our fourth item on the menu served a mini meal of burger, fries and soda – in classic aluminium trays with bright yellow napkins, but with distinct Asian flavours from China, Vietnam and Korea.
Burger & Fries
Burger | United States
Seared crispy hirata bun, char siu-style beef, pickled mooli, pak choi, mango ketchup
Fries | Belgium
Deep fried yam
Paired with a ‘Coke can’ cocktail
Rethinking ramen
The final chapter of the meal was ramen, during which we screened a short clip from the comedy film Tampopo. From noodles to toppings, we reimagined each element of ramen in dessert form, bringing it together in a petite bowl.
Skins
Tonkotsu | Japan
Mochiko noodles, matcha broth, bamboo tuile, milk jelly and saffron cream egg
Paired with Bodego Ochoa moscatel or Coedo Shikkoku black lager
A field study of food
In keeping with the theme of cultural exploration, menus were crafted to resemble investigation folders, as though a researcher had bundled their notes together.
Each contained a collection of images, notes and other clippings in various sizes, with colours inspired by notebooks and folders. These were customised for each guest depending on dietary requests, stitched together and placed in translucent envelopes.
A good start, more to come
We had a successful event with 8 guests – the feedback we received was encouraging and inspired us to think about other research themes and menus for the future.
Created with
Ben Pendlebury, Jewel Tai
Explore other Research projects:
Culinary CMF
Trehalose Artefacts
