Future

My Final Master Project has demonstrated the potential of Food Experience Design to contribute in a meaningful and innovative way to the field of gastronomy. It highlighted how design can be combined with storytelling, inspiration, and differentiation in the evolving and highly competitive fine dining landscape. Moreover, as product knowledge under consumers continues to decline and behavioural patterns surrounding food evolve a disconnection between humans and their food is increasing (Sloan, 2004; DiPietro et al., 2017). This presents a growing societal challenge that gives me motivation to search for solutions.

By focusing on the design of memorable and meaningful dining experiences in high-end restaurants, I would like to bridge the gap between humans and their food. While looking at my past projects, I believe that the field of Food Experience Design has the potential not only to enhance dining environments but also to address pressing issues of sustainability, food overproduction and disconnection from food origins. These drivers strengthen my motivation to continue working within this domain to create impact.

To continue the development of my professional identity as a Food Experience Designer, my next steps include gaining deeper insights in the gastronomic industry by collaborating with a variety of Michelin-starred restaurants. This will allow me to explore and compare diverse visions, values, narratives, and internal processes, while building a network of chefs, designers, and food innovators. Expanding my knowledge of organizational structures, decision-making, and stakeholder roles within restaurants is highly needed for navigating through this complex industry and positioning myself as a Food Experience design professional with strategic value.

When entered the master’s program with only a general curiosity about food design, I now leave with a clear and refined direction in where I would like to go. Through hands-on experience, iterative prototyping, co-creation, and strategic collaboration, I discovered my passion for identifying and amplifying the strengths of restaurants. My approach includes guiding creative development processes, designing and conducting participatory design sessions and developing customized tools to support innovation in fine dining environments.

The method that I developed during my Final Master Project, the Restaurant Identity Frame, helped to analyse and visualize the vision, strengths and distinguishing elements of (fine dining) restaurants. I plan to further develop this method into a professional framework that can be used in the industry to map identity, track development and compare establishments across the gastronomy sector. I also intend to submit my master’s thesis for publication in a relevant design or gastronomy journal to share my findings and contribute to academic discourse in the Food Design field.

For an exciting next step, I am considering starting a part-time business in food experience design with a fellow student where we could apply our combined expertise in food design and experience innovation. Concurrently, I am seeking opportunities as a Service Designer or Experience Designer within the food and hospitality sector, where I can continue to explore and implement human-centred design in culinary contexts.

Through the master Industrial Design, I have shaped my identity as a Food Experience Designer with strengths in, developing the Restaurant Identification Frame,  material and sensory exploration, experience prototyping, storytelling, stakeholder management and professional co-creating. Which build a strong foundation of knowledge, creative drive and a growing network in the gastronomic field, I am committed to advancing this emerging design domain and contributing to more connected, thoughtful, tangible and innovative food experiences.

(Picture; Final Touch. with left Chef Franke Osinga, middle Food Experience designer Kamilla and right Chef Patrick van Hogeloon)

DiPietro, R. B., Cao, Y., Partlow, C., & Ashton, A. S. (2017). Restaurant and foodservice research: A critical reflection behind and an optimistic look ahead. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316497867 Sloan, A. E. (2004). The evolving food consumer: Trends and behavioural change. Journal of Foodservice Business Research, 4(3), 89–101. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1300/J061v04n03_03