The right recipe always comes from a mixture of experience and instinct; in fact, this is where our research starts. Virtual+Food is an experiment that through the Metaverse acts as a stimulus toward the rediscovery of our ancient survival instinct, which is expressed in the act of eating.
We admit, it is very difficult to bring the concept of tradition closer to that of change; however, we think we have found in virtual reality a viable path, that of mixed reality. We have been discussing this issue for years among professionals from even very distant fields, and from these discussions technology and cooking have emerged as the coordinates of our experiment. Having sought common paths between these two disciplines has allowed us to understand how, by changing perspectives, this combination is possible.
Of course, juxtaposing the Metaverse with food is not a trivial matter, yet how many times have we wondered what it would be like to eat virtual food? If there are already those who sell it, there are bound to be those who buy it; so we rediscovered recipes, explored 360-degree digital worlds. We then made cabbage and carrots in 3D and ate them to come to a concrete experimentation, with real results, where our guideline was: a tasting of real food but with virtual reality.
And we succeeded: we made a metaphysical experience empirical, enhanced a dinner in a rustic villa in Bergamo. Through a technological tool we tricked the senses, or rather, augmented them. In the concrete we pursued the opportunity to understand more deeply the power that technology can have on our everyday life. We understood that thanks to digital, we became more aware of our real sensations.
It was amazing to observe how taste perception and imaginary landscape perception produced sensations we had never experienced before. Apricots and goat cheese brought us back to a childhood memory, but the emotional-sensory potentials are truly endless: imagine, for example, savoring a cut of beef in a redwood forest. Thanks to the alliance of the real and the digital, everything suddenly becomes possible.
If one does not superficially attend only to the first feelings of pleasure, amazement or slight confusion, one realizes how much the experiences viewed by our guests immersed them in a more receptive state and helped them mentally prepare for tasting. This aroused, as you can imagine, enthusiasm and much curiosity.
Imagine walking through a forest, where the magical world of mushrooms fills the air around you; now imagine at the same time enjoying a fragrant risotto made from those same mushrooms, harvested that morning. What would it be like to eat your favorite dish, but this time on the highest mountain on Mars?
We aim to blend tradition and technology; we have realized that the Metaverse is a tool that allows us to experience new sensations that can make us feel better, lead us to grow, think and think socially on different dimensional planes. We see a very near future in which cooking classes with incredible chefs will be within everyone’s reach, and the quest for taste enhancement will open the door to a genuine revolution. It’s time to get infected by creative professionals!
