ilan sinai: sensuous tableware

israeli designer ilan sinai explores tableware as more than just a platform for food to be served in. through his ‘sensual tableware’ collection, sinai includes tableware a part of the sensory experience of eating and enjoying a meal, by making it ‘active’. the project offers a menu of three families entitled: ‘senses’, ’20-40-10 (%)’ and ‘channels and drainages’ which are each completed by a first course, main course and dessert plate.

‘senses’ – sense isolation ‘senses’

first course – the sense of hearing here, sinai has developed tableware in the form of earphones, causing the diner to be isolated from his/her surroundings allowing them to concentrate on the small differences in the audio of the food.

‘senses’ – first course

main course – the sense of smell an olfactory forming nozzle add curiosity, as the the diner smells the dish just before exposure.

‘senses’ – main course

dessert – the sense of touch a teaspoon that causes a smooth texture of chocolate to become grainy and crunchy, caused by manipulation of the utensil’s 3D shape.

‘senses’ – dessert

‘senses’ sketches

’20-40-10 (%)’ – the degree of the diner’s activity with the tableware ’20-40-10 (%)’

first course – 20 %this involves an unstable soup bowl that requires the diner to hold and shake it in order to mix the additions.

’20-40-10 (%)’ – first course

main course – 40 % a plate of pasta which has sides that give support as replacement for a spoon. a special fork highlights the axis of the diner’s fork rotation to collect the pasta.

’20-40-10 (%)’ – main course

dessert – 10% a plate represented as a canvas that allows the diner to mix his / her dessert and leave their ‘artistic mark’ by applying what is left of the dessert onto the plate.

’20-40-10 (%)’ – dessert

’20-40-10 (%)’ models

‘channels and drainages’ – mixing flavors and combinations ‘channels and drainages’

first course – a bowl of soup in two flavors this bowl has two additions on a ‘bridge’ that is built-in. the first addition is added at the beginning. when the soup level reaches the height of the bridge, the second addition is added, create a new flavor to the soup.

‘channels and drainages’ – first course

main course – steak with two additions of puree, the center of this plate is raised to emphasize the natural liquids released by the steak.

‘channels and drainages’ – main course

dessert – sorbet / ice cream in six flavors with piece of tableware has a slope running from each channel center, from two balls of sorbet or ice cream. the slope allows flavors to mix from the melted desert, presenting an array of three vivid flavors and three mixed flavors.

‘channels and drainages’ – dessert