Cooking in Dialogue
An artwork became a starter. A dish turned into an image. And somewhere in between, meanings shifted, translated, and took new forms. Between courses, hands moved across paper — drawing, layering, adding colour. What started as a simple panel grew into a collective piece, shaped by everyone in the room. A pause, a palate cleanser, a moment to connect. New faces met, conversations sparked, and the table became a space of exchange — not just between food and art, but between people.
EVENTS!
2/28/2026
Cooking in Dialogue — a shared table in motion
Cooking in Dialogue took shape around a table that slowly transformed into a space of exchange — between food and art, but also between people.
The evening began with a guided visit to the exhibition Embrace Your Inner Brussels Sprout, creating a shared ground of images, textures and impressions that carried into the dinner.
The dialogue unfolded course by course.
For the starter, I responded to Rika Maja Duevel’s The Internal and the External Fight with That Grey Day. A deep blue cabbage cream set the base, paired with beetroot carpaccio and oven-baked beetroot chips. A grey sunflower seed hummus with activated charcoal and sesame seeds echoed the tension and contrast of the painting — earthy, vibrant, and slightly unsettling.
With the main course, the direction reversed. Inspired by the idea of Becoming Your Own Lighthouse, I created a dish centered on warmth and grounding: a soft polenta base holding a rich red vegetable and tomato stew. Crispy strings of parsnip, carrot and banana added height and light — a structure emerging from within, a quiet sense of guidance.
Between courses, the table opened up to collective action. Guests were invited to contribute to a shared visual panel through drawing, colour and collage. What began as a simple sketch evolved into a layered, living composition — a moment of pause, exchange and connection that gently dissolved the distance between strangers.
For the final chapter, Rika introduced two wearable artworks, Climb Through the Moment and I Am but a Tree. Drawing from these pieces, as well as from the collective marks left on the panel, I created a dessert conceived as a palette — a composition of sweets and fruits designed to be explored and assembled by the guests themselves. The act of composing continued on the plate, extending the dialogue into a final, playful gesture.
Cooking in Dialogue was not only about the relationship between food and art, but about the space created in between — where people meet, share, and co-create.
Thank you to everyone who joined, contributed and made this evening possible.
And to Rika Maja Duevel, for the trust, the exchange, and this dialogue in motion.
