Hungry for Design: design and gastronomy

Dutch Design Week (DDW) could no longer take place physically and the restaurants had to close its doors again. For these reasons, the city of Eindhoven launched a new online series during DDW: 'Hungry for Design'. What happens when you bring the worlds of design and gastronomy together?

New format

In the six-part series 'Hungry for Design' top chefs are linked to local designers, in which the chefs are challenged to develop a dish based on the work of the designer. Among the chefs are well-known names such as Dick Middelweerd, Naresh Ramdjas, and Cas Pikaar. The participating designers are all young, talented designers with different backgrounds: from a social designer to an architect and from a sound designer to a material researcher. The concept and videos are in collaboration with Blickfänger. The episodes were recorded in Phood Kitchen, at Campina and are hosted by moderator and food designer Annelies Hermsen.

In addition to the online series, the recipes of the six dishes can be found online, so that the viewer can try to cook the dishes at home. The six episodes are now available online on ThisisEindhoven.com and the YouTube channel of @Eindhovencity.

Episode 1: Raoul Vleugels & Mark Leenders

Mark Leenders
Mark Leenders is chef at Pullman Eindhoven Cocagne Vestdijk 47. He graduated from Rooi Pannen in Eindhoven and then went on to work and learn at several restaurants. Mark likes to use pure flavors, and bases his modern creations on classic French cuisine, with a preference for local products.

Raoul Vleugels
Raoul Vleugels graduated as an architect from Eindhoven University of Technology in 2011. In 2014 he and Niels Groeneveld started Werkstatt, an architectural firm with a diverse portfolio in sustainable building.

Episode 2: Lotte de Raadt & Dick Middelweerd

Lotte de Raadt
Lotte de Raadt is a designer and ceramist. She graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2010 and has her own studio and ceramics workshop, where she aspires to create public awareness on issues surrounding the usage of water.

Dick Middelweerd
Dick Middelweerd is head chef and owner of two-star restaurant De Treeswijkhoeve in Waalre. After studying in Utrecht and completing military service, he obtained the title SVH Meesterkok in 1990. The kitchen of Middelweerd can be described as classic on a traditional basis with many local products and various international influences.

Episode 3: Renee Scheepers & Taks Yuen

Renee Scheepers
Renee Scheepers graduated from the Man & Well-Being department of Design Academy Eindhoven in 2013. Immediately after, she started design collective NUL ZES with a couple of peers. With her own studio, Renee, as a design researcher, tries to find answers to social issues.

Taks Yuen
Taks Yuen is the owner of Chinese restaurant Mei Wah in Eindhoven. Together with his wife and mother, he is now the third generation to run the restaurant, which offers a mix of centuries-old family recipes and contemporary creations. Last year Mei Wah was named Asian Restaurant of the Year by GaultMillau.

Episode 4: Ricky van Broekhoven & Eveline Wu

Ricky van Broekhoven
Ricky van Broekhoven is a designer, researcher, and musician. He graduated in 2012 with a master's degree in Interior Architecture. Ricky has a fascination for phenomena that are usually hidden but can be experienced under the right circumstances. With his spatial interventions, he tries to make sound visible.

Eveline Wu
Eveline Wu is an entrepreneur and owner of several hospitality concepts, including four MOOD restaurants. She grew up in a small village near Shanghai, with a Chinese chef as a father. Once in the Netherlands, she started working in the hospitality industry herself and in 2016 she became world champion Chinese Kitchens.

Episode 5: Lonny van Ryswyck & Cas Pikaar

Lonny van Ryswyck
Lonny van Ryswyck graduated from Design Academy Eindhoven and founded Atelier NL 14 years ago, together with Nadine Sterk. Through local sourcing, Atelier NL develops everyday objects that show the richness of the earth and its raw materials, such as sand and clay.

Cas Pikaar
Cas Pikaar is the chef of restaurant Doyy in Eindhoven. During his education at the Rooi Pannen, he worked at several top restaurants such as Wiesen, Wollerich, and Tribeca. Cas cooks classic French with influences from Asian and Middle Eastern cuisine. In January 2020 he won the Michelin Young Chef Award.

Episode 6: Sanne Schuurman & Naresh Ramdjas

Sanne Schuurman
Sanne Schuurman is a designer, art director, and one of the co-founders of Envisions. Envisions is a collective, consisting of 23 designers, with a shared fascination for material research. The goal of the collective is to offer the industry new perspectives on materials, techniques, and production facilities.

Naresh Ramdjas
Naresh Ramdjas is a chef, food stylist, finalist of MasterChef Holland, and designer. During his studies at the Design Academy Eindhoven, he noticed that edible materials are much easier to design with than let's say wood or metal. Nowadays he is a curator and chef of Creative Food Studio and pop-up initiative Nareshtaurant.