De culinaire werkplaats is a unique eating initiative, and the brainchild of Marjolein Wintjes (designer, visual artist and action researcher) and Eric Meursing (designer and chef). The ambition of the initatiors is to shake up people’s culinary lifestyle by offering a fresh and inspiring approach to what is happening on the dinnerplate of the future. De culinaire werkplaats is both design studio and restaurant for contemporary food and eating concepts at the cutting edge of food, eating and art. it is located in amsterdam opposite culturepark Westergasfabriek.
De culinaire werkplaats creates dishes, bites, delicatessen, new foods and sometimes even new ways of eating. You can enjoy socalled eat’inspirations in the restaurant section of the studio. In the second part of 2011 you can also visit their showroom situated adjacent to the studio where you can buy delicatessen from the various eat. Collections created by de culinaire werkplaats, and where Marjolein and Eric will showcase their most eyecatching food and eating concepts.
The couple is often invited/commissioned to create conceptual installations, adventurous catering or food concepts at the intersection of food, eating and art for specific events, for example dutch design week (deli.wear), inside design amsterdam (fresh colours), food valley conference 2010, business events, product launches.
In a very playful way de culinaire werkplaats inspires to more awareness about food, sustainability and health. Food and art are the communication trigger to tell stories, and...... above all at de culinaire werkplaats you can enjoy very tasty food.
Signatures
• Black, is the first inspirational theme which Marjolein and Eric presented to the public about 3 years ago. since then the couple is still collecting natural black vegetal ingredients. Until now they collected about 74. In every eat’inspiration guests will find some black ingredients. Black is also their connection with the fashion, design and art scene.
• Fruit/vegetable paper used in both applied and conceptual work. Applied: the couple introduced for instance a new approach on pastry with the pastry line fresh colours. an example of their conceptual work with fruit and vegetable paper is taste the unwearables, a conceptual line of edible clothing and accessories especially designed for Amsterdam internatonal fashion week july 2009 which was ranging from necklaces made from blackberry paper to a rhubarb paper wedding dress.
• Motto "food equals fashion". This motto connects the couple and their work to the fashion industry. Therefore de culinaire werkplaats is twice a year downtown location during Amsterdam fashion week with a conceptual menu inspired by food = fashion and some conceptual installations that reflects the designer couple’s views on sustainable fashion. Most of their food = fashion projects question the temporality of fashion and clothing, and alluding to the fragility of the ecosystem.
• Emotionbread is a contemporary re-interpretation of the concept of celebration breads.
Eat’inspirations
In the restaurant of de culinaire werkplaats guests can enjoy so-called eat’inspirations. An eat’inspiration consists always of 5 dishes: it starts with an eat.cocktail, and is followed by 2 savourish and 2 sweetish dishes, and is always preceded by a sneak preview (a flatbread with a topping that tells something about the eatinspiration). The creative perspective of the couple is guided by inspirational concepts on food, eating and art, such as black, emotions, water, honesty, or memories. Every 4-5 weeks the menu changes and another inspirational theme will be translated into 5 dishes. The theme always reflects in several layers: in the choice of ingredients, shape, colours, taste, etc, and sometimes even in the way of eating.
