Salad Party, 2013
Three guests were invited to participate in The Salad Party, a planned event to celebrate lettuce that I planted and grew from seed. The lettuce was harvested minutes before the meal it was served with fresh warm goat cheese, market roasted beets and a homemade dressing. An herbal tea was offered to the guests with herbs I grew, dried and prepared into tea. The meal was served on dishes specifically designed for the harvested lettuce.
The Salad Party was a meal focused solely on lettuce that I had grown from seed to harvest. The slow process of tending to the plants gave me the opportunity to consider the roll and importance of the lettuce. The taste was oddly unrecognizable and the lettuce was delicate, crisp, and melted in my mouth. After this experience, I was confronted with questions about the quality and realness of food, as it exists at the grocery store.
This experience led me to create a food specific dish set to celebrate and share a meal of freshly cut lettuce. I made plates to gently hold the lettuce in its natural state after it was cut from the root and cups that made the hand aware of each groove in the surface with a small lump outward that allowed the thumb to rest. The table was set with a centerpiece of living lettuce to connect the food back to the plant as its source. Exposure to the living plants while eating forced the participant to see the plant in a whole form, not only as food, and to consider its origins as something that was once living. The party was an event used to share the lettuce, bring awareness to the meal, and promote conversation around food and vessel. The Salad Party was a response against the prevalence of processed foods. It provided the opportunity to slow down and eat with purpose and consideration.
The Salad Party was a meal focused solely on lettuce that I had grown from seed to harvest. The slow process of tending to the plants gave me the opportunity to consider the roll and importance of the lettuce. The taste was oddly unrecognizable and the lettuce was delicate, crisp, and melted in my mouth. After this experience, I was confronted with questions about the quality and realness of food, as it exists at the grocery store.
This experience led me to create a food specific dish set to celebrate and share a meal of freshly cut lettuce. I made plates to gently hold the lettuce in its natural state after it was cut from the root and cups that made the hand aware of each groove in the surface with a small lump outward that allowed the thumb to rest. The table was set with a centerpiece of living lettuce to connect the food back to the plant as its source. Exposure to the living plants while eating forced the participant to see the plant in a whole form, not only as food, and to consider its origins as something that was once living. The party was an event used to share the lettuce, bring awareness to the meal, and promote conversation around food and vessel. The Salad Party was a response against the prevalence of processed foods. It provided the opportunity to slow down and eat with purpose and consideration.
