The design collaboration Design Marketo, currently curating their first corner shop at the Barbican Art Gallery in London, hosted a design dinner in the Barbican’s Garden room. Based on the theme Spring and Sprouts, this one-off meal gave diners the chance to see and experience their new selection of design products, crafted and commissioned for the evening, along with a few edible design elements.
To begin, guests were greeted at tables set with Refurbished Cutlery and Glass by use.dev.org. Unwanted, mismatched cutlery and glassware are coated with a layer of thin rubber to create a matching set.
Amandine Allessandra created in Rainbow Veritas, a tablecloth printed with floral patterns that are revealed when something is spilled on it. We had fun trying...
Peter Marigold’s Swede Lights used vegetables as a base for votive candles and bulbs held high by upcycled forks. Other vegetables were carved for the occasion to hold candles. Handmade Glass Knuckle jugs by Nicola Zocca were filled with fresh, chilled water.
Some of the food was designed for the evening as well. Notable were the Bang ! bread volcanos by Olivia Decaris. These experimental treats are the result of a careful calibration of different types of bread dough, resulting in a thick, crusty volcano with soft, flavoured bread lava that expands from the crater during baking.
To start, a sprout and shoot salad served with spring greens and grapefruit was followed by a stoplight of three different vegetable soups. Smoked haddock and spinach in broth made up the main course, followed by a pannacotta and rhubarb dessert. This part of the menu was created by Quentin Fitch of the Barbican’s Searcys restaurant.
To finish the meal, tea and coffee were served with the In Between saucers by Hina Thibaud. Double sided, one is a smaller saucer to hold espresso cups and the other is large enough to hold a mug of tea. Often created from shortbread, this evening the saucers were moulded in sweet sesame brittle, and guests were happy to nibble these little pedestals into oblivion.
Design Marketo is a platform to help young designers reach a wider audience. Their Food Marketo installation, cooking courses and pop-up shop created in conjunction with Apartamento magazine were a hit in Milan in 2010. We are looking forward to the next course in the Marketo menu...
