Taste Buds: Food Design Thinking
What’s Happening in the Picture?
WHAT:
Students researched, found, and adapted recipes of ‘sustainable foods’, prepared the meals for a series of judges, and justified why this meal should be served at the cafeteria as a means of improving the well-being of SFS community members. The chosen meals were indeed served to the entire Elementary School, Middle School, and British School staff and student population as a menu option in the J&J Cafeteria.
WHY:
Food Design Thinking is the process that triggers creativity and leads to innovative, meaningful, and sustainable propositions for new dishes, food products, food events, food services, food systems, and anything in between. Here, students utilized the MYP and Empathy to Impact design approaches with food, setting forth a process to help generate ideas and final food concepts that are grounded in their research, futures thinking, and application of sustainable practices.
The influence of the decisions taken at the design stage radiates throughout the whole food system, from farmers to consumers. If we want to achieve a circular economy for food, design is a key element. Read more here to see how learners can be inspired: Food design: the secret ingredient of a circular economy.
HOW:
By launching a provocation linked to the potential for food to create “more inclusive and healthy communities,” students began exploring how food can positively affect its consumers, the planet, and approaches to learning, while learning the basics of cooking.
Students then outlined first versions of their own recipes, cross-referencing ingredients with sustainable food sourcing methods, ways to reduce food waste, bodily nutritional requirements, and the financial costs, accessibility, and environmental impacts.
From there, students adapted recipes, and also began to justify why it might be suitable for a school cafeteria. Did it taste good? Would students choose to eat this meal? How might it be marketed?
They applied their cooking skills to prepare the meal and they served the meal to a series of judges, one being the head chef and manager of J & J Catering. While students prepared their meals they justified the impact that it would have on the community and explained why it was a sustainable choice for our more inclusive community that plans to offer more and more diverse dishes.
After much deliberation, judges selected the meals and the winners worked with the cafeteria to serve their meal to the school community as a menu option. Many students captured their work and process in webpages like this example that centered on a Poke bowl.
Future food design challenges and food media productions will be featured in partnership with Taste Buds from Inspire Citizens Futures Media.