Symphony of the Hidden Feast 

A Conceptual Dinner Experiment

2024 | Conceptual Dinner Course under the guidance and inspiration of eating designer Marije Vogelzang

 

What if food could sing?

What if, instead of choosing our meals based on appearance, smell, or taste, we relied solely on sound? Symphony of the Hidden Feast is a conceptual food experiment that explores the auditory dimension of eating, questioning how sound influences our perception of desirability, nourishment, and decay.

Concept & Inspiration:

Developed as part of Marije Vogelzang’s Conceptual Dinner course, this project was an intensive 10-day exploration into food as a multisensory experience and storytelling medium. My focus was sound—an often-overlooked yet deeply embedded aspect of how we interact with food. By creating a scenario where food was hidden and could only be judged by its "melody", I sought to challenge assumptions about how we assign value, meaning, and desirability to what we eat.

This led to anthropological questions about associative sound perception—how do we instinctively categorize certain sounds as fresh, appetizing, or nutritious while others signal rotting, artificiality, or danger? The initial assumptions and sound choices were critically discussed, revealing a deeper awareness of how auditory cues shape our relationship with food.

Process & Experimentation:

  • Designing the Hidden Sound Experience:

    • I created a two-box serving structure:

      • The inner box concealed a small speaker, acting as a support for the bowl holding the actual food.

      • A larger outer box covered the entire meal, forcing participants to bend over and listen closely to the sounds before seeing or tasting their food.

    • This gesture of leaning in, listening, and engaging with food through sound created an intimate, almost ritualistic interaction, highlighting the unusual proximity between ear and meal—a dynamic we rarely experience when eating.

  • Soundscapes & Sensory Cues:

    • The sounds were carefully curated to evoke various natural landscapes, animals, and weather phenomena—some serene, some wild—guiding participants' emotional and perceptual responses.

    • The choice of sounds influenced expectations, leading to discussions about how we associate auditory cues with food’s perceived quality, origin, and state of freshness or decay.

  • Food Selection: The Cycle of Life in Taste:

    • The food items were chosen to represent different stages of the life cycle, showcasing ingredients in both their fresh and transformed/aged states—where bacteria and fermentation had completed their process.

    • Cheese: A fresh mozzarella ball versus a pungent, aged Camembert wheel.

    • Cabbage: A crisp, dressed cabbage salad versus fermented sauerkraut.

    • The juxtaposition of fresh vs. aged/fermented states, combined with the layered nature-inspired soundscapes, led to unexpected interpretations, assumptions, and discussions about food aging, transformation, and perception.

Outcome & Reflection:

Symphony of the Hidden Feast was an imperfect but thought-provoking first prototype—a step toward deeper exploration of sound as a primary sensory tool in food perception. It raised more questions than answers, sparking curiosity about how sound-based food experiences could shape the way we eat in the future.

This project reaffirmed my passion for pushing the boundaries of food design, inspiring me to refine and expand on the concept. I look forward to further experimenting with the interplay of sound, taste, and expectation—because food is never just about eating; it’s about sensing, imagining, and rethinking how we experience the world.