EATING OUR WORDS — EXPERIENTIAL DISH

Spherical pâte sucrée shell filled with fresh mochi and a ginger pear granita covered in a burnt sugar syrup and served on a mended plate.

SEPT 2021

Feelings and taste are both physical sensations — I’m interested in using food as a medium for processing or explaining complicated personal feelings and experiences. This dish reflects on my feelings before, during and after a difficult conversation.

Inspired by descriptions of eating ortolan bunting, it’s meant to be eaten in one large, uncomfortable bite that barely fits in your mouth. It starts bitter and burnt and sticky. As you start to chew, the pâte sucrée shell breaks into shards, giving way to the soft mochi within. The cold, acidic granita in the center finally washes over your tongue and cuts through the sweetness.

I had imagined my feelings leading up to the conversation as a wad of black tar sitting in my chest, sticky and catching the edges of every word. The conversation and the words felt overwhelming and hard to get out, so I wanted the pastry to fill your mouth, forcing you to chew as a metaphor for talking and working through it. And the relief from the center represents the release of being able to forgive myself and the other person for what had happened between us.

I originally shared this in a Culinary Physics class taught by Stefani Bardin at NYU, and describing both my trauma along with the ensuing conversation with near strangers was helped along with the pastry in that I could point to the textures, flavors and temperatures that they were physically experiencing as they ate to help them understand my emotional experience and the decisions I made.

I consider this a first draft and would love to continue exploring this space.

PROCESS AND PROTOTYPES