FOODLABEXPLORING CONNECTIONS AND

INTERACTIONS BETWEEN FOOD AND PEOPLE.

UnBox celebrates interdisciplinary collaborations at the intersection of design, social innovation, culture, technology, art and enterprise. The central manifest is a festival that brings together emerging and disruptive ideas from those who are pushing the boundaries of their own practice.

Over the past four years, the festival has grown into a widely recognized platform for inspiration, dialogue and hands-on action.

FoodLAB started in the first edition of UnBox in 2011 as a way to explore meaningful interactions and whimsical connections between food, its preparation, the act of enjoying it and the people who consume it.

The experiments undertaken by the Lab manifest as workshops, talks and thematic experiences at different venues in New Delhi.

Participants out in the market as part of the Food

Memory workshop with Marije Vogelzang at UnBox

2012

FOODLAB OVER THE YEARS

Every year, FoodLab brings together a motley crew of chefs, designers and local makers, with the aim of curating experiments and experiences that attempt to hypothesize the future of emotive, meaningful and sustainable food-scapes.

The following slides showcase some projects from the past years.

PROJECT 1 FOOD LABYRINTH

Food Labyrinth was a modern day ritual feast, created primarily with repurposed materials found in Delhi. A playground of whimsical adventures, it presented local food in a multi-sensorial environment for 200 guests of The UnBox Festival in 2012.

Venue : Goethe Institut, Max Mueller Bhawan, New DelhiPartners & Collaborators : Anagram Architects, CELL DSGN, Getafix and Grey Garden

One of the unique features was a molecular gastronomy bar that fused chemistry and mixology. Changing the texture and molecular structure of cocktails resulted in some intriguing creations - betel leaf liqueur caviar, tobacco infused rum and other twists on traditional flavors.

Video for the Food Labyrinth : https://vimeo.com/38835019

PROJECT 2 INFUSION BAR

PROJECT 2 INFUSION BAR

The Artisanal Infusion Bar was a series of experiential and playful DIY mixology experiments for Absolut, where participants could create their own unique vodka infusions. A series of interactive master-classes on maceration and infusion techniques from mixologist Arijit Bose, culminated into an installation of numerous bespoke flavors that were exhibited at The UnBox Festival, 2013.

Venue : PCO, Vasant Kunj and Zorba, Sultanpur, New DelhiPartners & Collaborators : Getafix and ABSOLUT

Participants played ‘mad scientist’, with a varied assortment of ingredients, bottling their personal concoctions and doodling their unique infusion recipes on postcards.

Video of the infusion bar : https://vimeo.com/59057734

The vodka blends were finally exhibited as a part an installation at UnBox Festival, where participants could finally sample their infusions and create drinks based on their flavors.

Video of the infusion bar : https://vimeo.com/59057734

PROJECT 3 SUPPER CLUB

The Grey Garden restaurant was a concept space for artistic experimentation. Built on the principle of slow food, patrons were encouraged to eat, indulge and enjoy the food in a casual and communal manner; breaking down barriers and traditional norms set by more formal spaces.

Venue : The Grey Garden, Hauz Khas Village, New DelhiPartners & Collaborators : CELL DSGN and Grey Garden

The Grey Garden was also home to India’s first Supper Club - a concept that involved the curation and realization of elaborate culinary experiences for small groups of food lovers and enthusiasts.

PROJECT 4SAUDADE SUPPERS

Saudade Suppers are communal meals centered around simple, nostalgia-evoking food, made with local homemakers using traditional techniques and ingredients, to showcase food rituals that are slowly fading away.

Venue : New Delhi

Discovering interesting local ingredients and flavors from Nagaland. Meals inspired by interesting flavors found in

old Delhi.

PROJECT 5 LIQUIDLAB

LiquidLAB is a series of installations created with the mandate of experimenting with alcoholic spirits. Done in association with the Pernod-Ricard portfolio, each experiment resulted in innovative concoctions and experiences that encouraged participants to learn more about the inner world of brewing and mixing.

Venue : New DelhiPartners & Collaborators : Getafix, Dspace

LiquidLAB is a series of installations created with the mandate of experimenting with alcoholic spirits. Done in association with the Pernod-Ricard portfolio, each experiment resulted in innovative concoctions and experiences that encouraged participants to learn more about the inner world of brewing and mixing.

VenuePartners & Collaborators :

The Bora Bora Tiki Bar was a playful take on the Polynesian island bar format, by Daniel Dala Pola - one of the worlds leading tiki bar specialists.

The Jameson Cinema Bar celebrated Hollywood classics with signature cocktails inspired by them.

The Shapeshifter bar married experimental audio visual performances and bar installations.

Avinash, a recognized digital artist andcurator for emerging visual and performingarts, is also the co-director of the UnBoxFestival. He believes in multi disciplinaryexpression, & brings this passion to BLOT -an audio visual electronic act.

Rikta is an industrial designer turned designresearcher. She loves to discover new places and cultures through the exploration of culinary traditions and social rituals around eating. She is interested in creating experiential formats to raise larger social and technological issues around our relationship with food.

Dennis spends his time shuttling between theworlds of fashion and cuisine. He is passionate about creating culinary experiences that are holistic and conceptual, with a focus on baking and confectionary-making. A fashion designer from NIFT, he curates gustatory experiences and events for the the indie fashion label bhane.

One of India’s premier mixologists and bar enthusiasts, Arijit has immense experience consulting for some of the world’s leading liquor brands like Diageo, Sab Miller, Bacardi Martini India Ltd. & United Spirits Ltd. to name a few. He currently heads the bar at the critically acclaimed Singapore institution 28 HKS.

Vandana is a culture, food and lifestyle writer. As Food Editor at Time Out Delhi magazine, she witnessed the explosion of the Indian cultural scene first hand. She is the editor-in-chief at Motherland magazine and the travel site The India tube. She also runs an eclectic personal blog on food and travel called singforyoursupper.in

Gresham is largely responsible for theavant-garde movement in food in India inrecent years. His innovations in gastronomyand collaborative projects with designersand artists make him a rare presence on theIndian scene. He recently completed a stint at the critically acclaimed Danish restaurant Noma.

COLLABORATORS AND PARTNERS OVER THE YEARS

COLLABORATORS AND PARTNERS OVER THE YEARS

Madhav is one half of Anangram architects - aspatial design studio with a commitmenttowards delivering innovative, context-specificdesigns that encourage sustainable lifestyles.His team overlooks design and fabrication ofinstallations and structures for FoodLAB.

An architect, designer and dancer, Virkein is interested in the intersection of these diverse yet uniquely related fields and spends her time between these disciplines. She assists with design of spaces and installations for FoodLAB.

Kriti is a typographer, illustrator and graphic designer based in Delhi. She lends her flair forplayful, experimental typography and illustrations and creates engaging artworks for some of the FoodLAB events.

Founders of Grey Garden’ and 11.11, CELLDSN is always on a constant journey in search of instinctive connections between nature, material, knowledge, craftsmanship and context. Their work exists at the junction of art, fashion, food and interiors.

Clayton is a mixologist and the creative force of Behind Bars, a bar concept and design practice in Delhi. He is obsessed with exploring new ideas, techniques and creating progressive experiences around drinking and appreciation of spirits.

Fin’

March 2015