ENTOMOPHAGY POP-UP

2017

Clients: Royal College of Art, Kahaila Cafe

Responsibilities: Creative Direction, 360° Branding, Food Design, Short-Film and Photography Direction

Collaborators: Chef Margaux Step and Photographer Jonathan C.L. Chan

“Disgust when used in art has led to the disqualification of the emotion in the sphere of aesthetics”

- Savouring Disgust: The Foul and the Fair in Aesthetics by Carolyn Korsmeyer

Context:

Insects are a sustainable source of protein but considered disgusting to eat in Western culture. For example, crickets take up 2000x less water and land to farm to produce the same amount of protein as beef. Beyond their environmental benefits, insects are also healthy to eat - packed with iron and vitamin B12. It’s no wonder that Insects such as grasshoppers and ants form regular nutritious and nutty delicacies in countries such as Mexico, Colombia and Thailand.

In collaboration with the Royal College of Art and Kahaila Cafe, London’s first Entomophagy Dining Exhibition explored how design could convert insect eating - a culturally unfamiliar and “disgusting” practice in the UK - into an attractive and pleasurable experience.

Challenge:

How to combine storytelling, captivating visuals and an exhibition atmosphere to encourage guests to not only try insect based foods, but enjoy them.

Opportunity:

The evening involved a combination of artistic elements and ambiguous food forms to create an “edible art” exhibition experience. Elements included environmentally conscious branding, info-graphics, carefully designed food, video installations, apparel and hand-made dish platters that celebrated the human senses. Each output positioned insect eating as desirable and environmentally friendly action to take towards food sustainability.

The dishes consisted of:

Squid Ink Tapioca crackers with cricket powder mayonnaise
Gold-leaf Chilli and Lime cricket sushi
Diamond chocolates with crickets and mealworms

The results were phenomenal. Despite initial hesitation, the food platters were left empty. The evening provided a great example of the power of branding, art and design for behavioural change - converting a typically disgusting notion of insect eating, into an enjoyable experience. Scroll down for short videos of the evening and the campaign.