What:  I helped the MIT Media Lab produce a gathering in preparation for the ReThinkFood conference to be held in November  2014 in Napa Valley at the CIA (Culinary Institute of America). 

Who: A curious crowd of neuroscientists, behavioral scientists, food anthropologists, planetary futurists, food editors, investors, food entrepreneurs,designers, artists...

Why: To "ReThinkFood" and find the intersections between mind, culture and technology around the experience of food.

Design Process: 

• defined themes: sensory science, ritual, food systems innovation 

• culinary research (trip to oaxaca, mexico)

• event planning aligned with conference themes

• menu design + invitation design

• guest curation + hosting 

• interactive art installation

Insights: The dinner menu and decoration reflected a blend of ancient and modern ways of experiencing food. The objective was to create a sensory journey to engage people’s ideas and make them experience the conference major themes: ritual, behavior, food science and systems innovation.

Menu design: We traveled to Oaxaca Mexico to source our ingredients (see our travel journal) and offered a traditional mezcal tasting, ate ceviche with chopsticks, chapulines ~grasshoppers tostadas~ to show alternative sources of protein, mole negro, raw cacao dessert & algae-based ice cream.

Venue installation: We projected a 3D point cloud that allowed guests to see themselves from every angle while they ate. Part of our strategy to create new perspectives of the timeless 'experience of eating'. 

See the travel journal of our visit to OAXACA