Dish the Dirt is a sensory tasting experience connecting the food we eat to the land it is grown in.
Diners taste foods grown in different places and through sound, storytelling, taste and scent, are emotionally connected to the soil.
This is about subtle learning through the engagement of the senses.
What if we connected the food we eat to the soil it is grown in?
Dining with the Soil
This experience was designed following research both for this project and my dissertation. This showed that most people do not understand the complexity of the food system and how this relates to human and environmental health. I also realised people don't want to feel bad when learning about these issues. We need new ways to provoke change and engagement through experience design.
The Dish the Dirt experience is about showing food and soil side-by-side in a completely innovative way. It uses bespoke hand-made earth derived ceramics to change the way we eat and brings together producers, consumers, farmers and citizens to have conversations around the table.
Why is Dish the Dirt needed; we are losing our soils at an alarming rate, and our soils are nutrient deficient and depleted. This project aims to change the value of food and land to make people more aware of the need to protect them.
Impact
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"I cannot explain how this event has changed my view on the food system and the way we engage with food. This was a profound immersive experience for me and I have decided to change the way I eat and cook because of it" -
Thea - Participant
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“I came thinking this would be a good night out with some friends, I left thinking about how I needed to change the food I eat. Those carrots will stay with me for such a long time. What a brilliant experience!
Jenny - Participant
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"I never considered food before this event, I’m a soil scientist and I never connected food and soil. This event, this experience has made me connect with this concept in a way I never thought I would. Such a briliant idea, such a brilliant experience"
James - Participant