Gastronomista: #Sweet - by Gastronomista

This Friday, April 29th, we participated in the first of a series called SOMETHING I ATE, curated by Kat Popiel of On Plate, Still Hungry and Sam Kim of SkimKim Foods. The show was a creative venture pairing art with a specifically curated menu of food and drink.

The brief asked all of the artists to document what they ate for a week, and then make a piece to culminating their dietary choices. Nevermind what we ate that week, we wanted to create something edible, interactive, portable, and sweet. Handmade lollipops came immediately to mind as a small, easily shareable object, often a conversation starter, much like a tweet.

On Twitter, the #sweet hashtag is used to describe any number of feelings, from realizing there is a 3-day weekend ahead (excitement) to falling on one’s face (sarcastic) to the taste of a rubicon mango (actually sweet.) We wanted to choose a raw material that was just as versatile - Root Liquor, an artisanal product, seemed like a perfect fit.

#sweet - before the show

Root - a nostalgic liquor that is made organically from the 1700’s recipe for “Root Tea” (what later became Root Beer thanks to prohibition) - is a product that we think is very sweet. It’s awesomeness lies in concept and execution - it is a unique and delicious liquor that can be used in cocktails, savory dishes, and in this case, sweet candy.

All of the candy is made from Root Liquor into 3 distinct flavors - Root Float, Maple Root with Sea Salt, and Chili Root.

Miss Gemma Gray Assembling the Lollies

Additionally, by referencing the language of Twitter, it winks at the contemporary food trend of photographing and tweeting throughout a meal. But much like a “conversation” of retweets on Twitter is no replacement for real conversation, no food photography can replace the physical experience of enjoying the food yourself.

Maple Root with Sea Salt Lollies

By inviting viewers to take lollipops with them, we make the digital, physical, the ethereal, concrete. It’s not just a hashtag floating around on the Internet, where the only physical connection to a thing is a click of the mouse (or touchscreen) - it’s a physical object that you can touch, taste, and take with you.

The event was a slammin' success - Sam Kim killed it with all of her delicious food. It was impressive how much food was served at this event: Sauteed Ramps and Mushrooms, Broccoli Raab with Chili de Arbol, Mixed Greens, Cumin Tamarind Carnitas Tacos, Smoky Grilled Garlic Chicken Wings, Red & White Quinoa, "Faux Gras" Banh Mi, Green Lentils with Parsley Pesto, Root Floats, and of course, our delicious Root lollies for dessert.