Meet the speaker - Marije Vogelzang

Marije Vogelzang, an 'eating designer' from the Netherlands, speaks at events around the world about our changing relationship with food – including various topics surrounding food waste, the lack of biodiversity, food allergies and obesity. Ahead of her session in the Organic Theatre, Marije discusses her unique approach to food design in this Q&A.

What inspired you to start working with food and why?  

When I was a student there was no such thing as designing with food. I studied design at the design academy in Eindhoven and I tried to find the material that I could express myself in best. Eventually I started working with food because it's nice you can eat it. And it's fascinating that it's ephemeral, and that I make a design that will consequently be put in your body. I did a white funeral meal as my first project and then it took me some time to fully understand the potential of combining design and eating. Now I see that food is connected to everything in the world. That the world is shaped according to what we choose to eat every day; that food is connected to emotions and memories; that food can glue people together, but it can also make a separation. Food gives us meaning and nourishment, but it can also make us ill. All these things (And many more) are things that inspire me to work with food. It is the richest, and most important material in the world.

We see many different designers working with food, do you see a growing interest in food design?

Yes, absolutely and It's a very good thing! We need more creative minds working on food related issues. Designers working with food bring more respect for food, and hopefully will help solve the bigger problems considering biodiversity, safe water, clean and lively oceans, food waste, food education, packaging etc. So many things need attention!

How do you see the future of food and design?

I think within the design world food needs to be an integral part of design. Designers make everything for humans, but the very thing that humans need to live is food. Next to graphic, urban, interior, fashion, etc. We need a stable place for eating and design!

Who or what do you look to for inspiration?

I like to be inspired by very normal, daily things. I do also have a kind of philosophy which is 7 points of inspiration. It's not really to use for myself, but more for others to use as a tool to combine eating with design.

How would you explain the difference between what you do and what a trained chef does?

Well, first of all I'm not a chef. I collaborate with chefs but I take the profession of being a chef far too serious to cook professionally myself. Also, I think food is not only happening in restaurants. As a designer, I like to work with farmers, I like to work with mothers on how to get your kids eating vegetables, I work with hospitals and I like to look at food memories for example. All of these things are outside of the field of the chef. For ages designers didn't have a serious role in the food chain. Perhaps only as packaging designers or designers for plates and cutlery. But designers weren't part of the actual process of getting food produced, transported and eaten. This has always been the role of farmers, transporters, (super)markets and politicians. We can now see that the way that food is dealt with in this conventional way is harmful to the world. We need creative thinkers that can do 'design thinking' and apply that to food and eating. There are so many issues going on in the world of food today, that we need to start making changes in ways we never thought about before. Designers can be the bridge between scientists, farmers, mothers and markets. That's what I think eating design should be. It should help innovate in a positive way.

What is the biggest challenge when it comes to eating design?

Firstly it is showing that it goes beyond just giving a shape to food. Secondly it is dealing with food which is a sensitive material.

Do you have any favourite markets/or stores?

I like Souk el Tayeb in Beirut, Lebanon. I like Whole foods in the UK and US and the Union square organic market in New York. I like the Noordermarkt in Amsterdam and the Culimarkt in Dordrecht. I like Marqt in Amsterdam and I like Tokyo Hands in Tokyo.

How would you define organic/or premium food based on your experience?

I think, since the industrial revolution made food cheaper and accessible for everyone (which of course is a good thing in itself), we have lived in a time of abundance. We have never lived in abundance before and now we do and we take it for granted. Especially in the West, we think it’s very normal that we always can get everything we want for a very low price. I think we need to understand that ‘we’ (Our bodies and entities) are made from the food we eat and that we need to appreciate food again, and understand the value of food and understand the amount of work it takes to make and grow the food we eat every day. We eat like kings and queens on a daily basis, but I still think we are emotionally very poor. Poor in the sense that we eat alone many times - we eat things of poor quality. We eat things we don’t know who made it or what is in it, and we just eat a very small variety of all the food available etc.

Do you agree that designers have a sense of social responsibility? If so, when did you have this sense?

I think creatives need to use at least a part of their creativity for the social good. But I think a lot of designers are just making more and more waste material in various shapes. I think I started to realise that when I started Proef (the restaurant) in 2004. I needed to decide the concept and I decided to use only organic, homemade, seasonable and slow food. I think the place has set the standard for many other places to come after that in Rotterdam. Proef was the fist initiative that chooses in an outstanding way for local, seasonable, and organic. After that I did many projects that I hope will add something to the world. I hope to inspire other (young) designers to start working with food and to start working on the urgent issues surrounding food

What is your message, mission?

I would like to show designers that food needs creative attention. We live in a schizophrene world when it comes to food. We need creative people to work on the alarming issues that are occurring nowadays. Also, I would like to show everybody that we need to value our food, and that we can use food to connect with others. I would like people to think of food in a different way and use creativity to celebrate food more.

What can visitors expect from your session?

I will be sharing my philosophy. I'm giving tools to use this kind of thinking in your own practice, and I will be showing examples of work to inspire. In general, I can say that the audience is always left with a smile, a tear and a head full of inspiration.

MARIJE VOGELZANG WILL BE SPEAKING IN THE ORGANIC THEATRE ON 15 NOVEMBER (1:00PM - 1:45PM). SHE’LL ALSO BE HOSTING HER DESIGNS AND CONCEPTS TO VISITORS ON THE DUTCH PAVILION DURING THE SHOW.

NORDIC ORGANIC FOOD FAIR WILL RETURN TO MALMÖ, SWEDEN, ON 15-16 NOVEMBER. FOR MORE INFORMATION AND TO REGISTER FOR A FREE TRADE TICKET, PLEASE VISIT WWW.NATURALPRODUCTSSCANDINAVIA.COM OR WWW.NORDICORGANICFOODFAIR.COM AND QUOTE PRIORITY CODE NPUK322 (DIRECT LINK: HTTPS://REGISTRATION.N200.COM/SURVEY/0R4PTKA5ARIL2?ACTIONCODE=NPUK322).