Dinner through the eyes of a photographer and a chef.
March 29, 2017 2:45 PM   Subscribe

MENU — Dinner through the eyes of a photographer and a chef: Eating at a restaurant isn't about the sustenance. It's about the experience. A good menu is a story, with its own narrative arc. Tension is built and released, emotions are evoked and questions are raised. We want to create a visual exploration of this story. To keep it personal, we decided to use a very personal canvas. This is why our menu is not served on a plate, but on a face. And to capture the love and attention that goes into creating a good menu, we avoided any digital intervention. Every ingredient has been attached manually, no photoshop, handcrafted with every attention to detail. Just like in a good kitchen. posted by Room 641-A (18 comments total) 10 users marked this as a favorite
 
This is how Hannibal sees people.
posted by Going To Maine at 2:56 PM on March 29, 2017 [5 favorites]


These are utterly creepy.
posted by hepta at 2:57 PM on March 29, 2017 [4 favorites]


I am against this.
posted by sandettie light vessel automatic at 3:04 PM on March 29, 2017 [6 favorites]


Ew.
posted by Splunge at 3:08 PM on March 29, 2017 [2 favorites]


let's grab a cenobite to eat
posted by prize bull octorok at 3:15 PM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


Arcimboldo, party of one?
posted by zamboni at 3:20 PM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


I clicked, I started to scroll, I literally said "No!" out loud to my computer, I bailed. That is horrific.
posted by current resident at 3:33 PM on March 29, 2017 [3 favorites]


A good menu is a story, with its own narrative arc.
True pretentiousness is a walrus, with long tusks and big hairy balls.
posted by w0mbat at 3:38 PM on March 29, 2017 [13 favorites]


They should have started with a small intriguing amuse-bouche to pull you in, before hitting you with the full horror.
posted by Kabanos at 3:53 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


Perhaps an eyeball wrapped in bacon?
posted by Splunge at 4:17 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


Intriguing concept. Weird result.
posted by kinnakeet at 5:05 PM on March 29, 2017


I do not like this.

On a less glib note, I don't understand why they chose to mimic violence with so many of the images. I guess just for the shock value. It's like the "menu creation" concept was just an afterthought.
posted by sevenofspades at 5:11 PM on March 29, 2017


I looked at all of them and yeah, creepy but the menu as story thing rings at least partly true to me. I focus more on the FOH aspect and there the brief narrative becomes a dialog. I'm assuming the spice mix goes on the starch (in the photo essay) otherwise superbland, and I might just nibble on the seafood course, but I'd really dig that dessert with a port or maybe an ouzo. So, sound menu fundamentals. The images are hard to get into but are hypnotic, challenging, discomforting... perhaps not for everyone.
posted by vrakatar at 5:35 PM on March 29, 2017


When I first read "To keep it personal, we decided to use a very personal canvas," I thought this was going to be related to this article I saw recently. I was sadly mistaken as I read on and then scrolled down.

>I do not like this.

I don't get this, and I'm all for the artsy food-as-a-story schtick.
posted by noneuclidean at 5:47 PM on March 29, 2017


I think the photographer was trying to solve the problem of how to use the human head and/or face as the plate, so to speak. So we are expected to dehumanize the face-but we can see it is the same face. Can we see the story, or the food, or both, without seeing the face? Can we imagine the flavors from the notes and the images? I don't know a lot about art but I know I like art that freaks me out a little.
posted by vrakatar at 6:00 PM on March 29, 2017


A good menu is a story, with its own narrative arc.

Then can anyone point me to a "good" menu? Half dozen generic appetizers with clever names, 2-3 meat, 2-3 fish, 1-2 veg, 2 soups; a chocolate, fruit, pudding or cheesecake desert; all bound up with phrases that are kinda-ethnic or cool urbanish. There's a story but it's generically-post-mall-pathetic in theme. Oh and a story about the chef pulling up by bootstraps.

Now I remember that I saw a pizza made up as a face in my childhood and asked and asked but no one else could remember it and never really saw one again. Need face pizzas.
posted by sammyo at 6:23 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


Yeah, I think the first issue is, the analogy fails. Then, the product doesn't seem to match the analogy.
posted by Miko at 8:07 PM on March 29, 2017


This is weird. I approve.
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 9:28 PM on March 29, 2017 [1 favorite]


« Older A Serb makes a good wife: she can pull the cart...   |   A beautiful work of art, a labor of love... Newer »


This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments