This year at Salone del Mobile, brands will be collaborating with designers from across disciplines in order to launch new product lines and create memorable experiences for visitors. As brands strive to make every occasion “multisensory” or “immersive,” they engage a wider circle of collaborators.
Alex Wisnioski is the general manager for Americas of British design brand Tom Dixon. The brand has partnered up with food design studio Arabeschi di Latte and quartz manufacturer Caesarstone to create The Restaurant, which is a deconstructed dining experience.
The restaurant is made up of four kitchens that represent the four elements of earth, fire, and water. Each kitchen showcases a unique way of using quartz by Caesarstone. Products and lighting are by Tom Dixon. The food experience design is by Arabeschi di Latte.
Diana Rabba is a senior account executive for Caesarstone. She said, “This year, we wanted to demonstrate how the material (quartz) can be used to prepare food, cook food, and serve food–the entire dining experience.”
The Earth Kitchen was inspired by ancient Roman architecture, which is a concept that perfectly fits the location of La Rotonda della Besana – a historic monastic building. The Earth Kitchen serves root vegetables from the earth, prepared with an old European cooking method called the haybox.
The Fire Kitchen is inspired by charred wood. Caesarstone’s basalt tones and colors are paired with Tom Dixon’s dim lights in copper and gold that resemble a flame. The guests are served cheese and black flatbread.
The Ice Kitchen’s design is reminiscent of jagged blocks of ice, and chefs cook, prepare, and serve clear broth on Caesarstone. The Air Kitchen, on the other hand, uses raw concrete as both a surface and floating frames that make it appear to be “air.” This menu is shaped like a cloud and includes the lightest dessert, Meringue.
Tom Dixon said that the goal of the collaboration was “to inspire designers to use a radical interpretation of the different possibilities for food to interact with surfaces and to provide a dining environment that challenges all the senses while combining textures, materials, and light distribution.”
This partnership reinvents the kitchen counter, creating a space where guests can explore and dine.
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