taste the future is concerned with a sustainable food culture and takes up the challenge of combining culinary enjoyment, tradition and sustainability. The focus is on – especially rural – gastronomy, as it plays an important role in our society and therefore has the potential to help shape a healthy and sustainable food culture.
The objective of the work is to shape together a food culture for a viable planet, with the necessary sustainable change in gastronomy and a healthy and responsible society.
I aim to answer the following research question with my project: How can we raise awareness in rural areas about the problems of our current eating habits in relation to the environment and help consumers to rethink and implement them?
Course
Master Thesis
Technologies
Figma
Miro
Adobe Illustrator
InDesign
Research
During the research phase, I focused intensively on what constitutes a sustainable diet, what our current food system looks like, and in what direction it would have to change in order to be able to provide the world’s population of the future with enough food for a healthy diet.
Healthy and future-oriented nutrition
There is a clear connection between our diet, human health and the ecological state of the planet. With the right diet, both our own health and that of the planet could be improved. However, our current food system in Germany is doing the opposite, as it is responsible for exceeding numerous planetary boundaries.
Planetary Health Diet
Studies such as Planetary Health show that healthy and forward-looking diets are mutually supportive and can be implemented using specific diets, such as the Planetary Health Diet, according to current scientific knowledge.
The future of gastronomy
Plant-based dishes will be an integral part of every good restaurant. They give chefs the chance to convince with new, tasty creations and to support consumers where they themselves still find it difficult: namely, in changing their eating habits.
Where in big cities with a large share of young population the offer of plant-based dishes is partly already there due to the demand, I still see great potential for change especially in rural areas and traditional restaurants.
Focus
In order to narrow down the subject area of this master’s thesis, the focus is on the consumer and his or her individual nutritional behavior. For all ideas and approaches developed in this thesis, I am guided by the reference diet „Planetary Health Diet“ recommended by scientists.
User-centered design
Social Experiment - Dinner Event
taste the future – Was essen wir morgen?
As part of my master’s thesis, I conducted a social experiment in the form of an event, the „taste the future“ event, to test my findings from the research and analysis phase on a real project. The focus of the event was on various topics related to future-oriented, sustainable cuisine. The goal was to use the composition of the individual dishes as a means of communication and to inspire and convince the participants how enjoyable a plant-based cuisine can be. The experiment was intended to focus on both the conscious consumption of food and thus also the appreciation of food and its producers, as well as to interpret classic dishes in a new and, above all, environmentally friendly way.
Program of the Dinner Event
- Opening speech and presentation about future-oriented and plant-based nutrition by me
- 4 plant-based courses
- 2 inspiring talks about sustainable agriculture and handmade production of regional cider
- Feedback cards to the event, which may be filled in by each person
Dinner Event
Used medium: website
In order to give the project a suitable framework and to present all the insights as well as ideas or concepts generated during the last months and thus reach the end user, I decided to present the content on a website. I see great potential in this to reach as many people as possible and directly reach the target group I want to address and support and inspire with knowledge input or creative concepts.
Strategy
The strategy developed can be understood as a modular system or guideline for restaurateurs. It consists of five potential fields that are an integral part of a restaurant and offer room for change. The path to a delicious dish goes through several phases: starting with the menu and the choice of products, through purchasing and processing to actual consumption and beyond.
- menu
- grocery shopping
- cooking and eating consciously
- using leftovers
- sustainable materials
The event format is only one of many possible concepts that can be developed independently with the help of the modular system.
Manifest
The manifesto summarizes the principles of a sustainable food culture and includes the most important key insights from the research. It aims to highlight all the main aspects that I believe are necessary for a sustainable food culture.
Each of the six beliefs begins with, „I believe that …“ because this is my own opinion and I am merely making assumptions based on my research, which are not scientifically proven.
For example: „I believe that chefs can contribute with their creativity to pave the way for an environmentally aware, progressive and respectful cuisine of the future that prioritizes enjoyment and conscious consumption and preserves the joy of the past.“
Presentation
Name and claim
„taste the future“ is composed of four core values: future-proof, creative, conscious and emotional. „taste the future“ is future-proof because it acts with foresight and sustainability. It is creative because it inspires with new solutions and ideas and activates participation and involvement. By dealing intensively with the topic, „taste the future“ shows its appreciation, acts in a thoughtful way and creates more awareness. In addition, „taste the future“ as a brand is emotional in that it is enjoyable, lively and passionate.
Final result
A website provides restaurateurs with an overview of how they can adapt their restaurant to the new needs and requirements of both their guests and the environment, what they need to pay attention to and where they can start. A selection of creative concepts and ideas offers inspiration and motivation for the first step towards sustainability. Field reports and interviews provide an exciting insight into different fields of activity related to the topic of nutrition.