When talking about food, it’s love at first bite – not sight – with Marije Vogelzang, a Dutch designer and foodie, whom I met a few months ago in her wonderful Amsterdam studio.

Food is not just about talking of what’s in your plate, Marije made me realize. For one, there might not even be a plate. In one event she recently organized, plates were made of sugar, in another of bread ... both edible.

Rather, it’s about everything relating to it ... mainly a message that stays in the mind and heart and not just the belly!

Next time you talk about food, why not take into account things like the atmosphere, the ambient sounds, the company, the story behind the ingredients, the preparation, the eater, the service, the taste and texture but also the scent, color and sound of the food itself.

Marije’s approach to food is about looking at the effect ingredients have on the body and the road an ingredient takes from the seed to the toilet!

But let’s backtrack a bit, and let me tell you who this young Dutch lady by the name of Marije Vogelzang is.

Marije Vogelzang graduated from the famous Eindhoven Design Academy in Holland and branched out into something very novel: designing “food concepts” and in the process, rethinking the way we think about food and design.

The verb “to eat” is the base of her work – a crossover between pure food and food design. She prefers to call her work “eating design” and not “food design” – as she is definitely not doing “designed” wedding cakes or buffets!

“For me, design is a way to communicate an idea to people. In my work, I use food and design to relate a story. For example, I use design to show obese children that food is more than just fat and calories. I want to make them enjoy food again, make them see that there are fun aspects to healthy food, through the use of different colors for instance.  I’m not a cook. I attended the Eindhoven Design Academy and so I approach food as a designer would.

Having said that, I don’t really care too much about whether or not people perceive it as design. At the end of the day, it’s also just food – food that is meant to be eaten and enjoyed”.

Marije and I met last September in her amazing working space, an old 19th century gas factory on the outskirts of Amsterdam ... it was love at first bite, and that’s where the seeds for the “Taste of Beirut” project saw the day.

The rest of the story materialized last month. First, Marije gave us presentation of her different projects in our Beirut kitchen (Studio Beirut), then there was a workshop in the Batroun kitchen studio and finally, an event at Souk el Tayeb in Saifi, which we titled, “Khobz w Melh on the Green Line” – green bread bowls containing food stories and memories!

The end result of a week’s common work with farmers, producers, foodies and curious passers-by was that precious food memories are mostly related to family and childhood (and war).

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On her last day in Lebanon, Marije and I talked under the Batroun sun,  facing the blue sea and the endless sky.


How  did you accept an invitation to Beirut so easily?

I read the article about Souk el Tayeb in Delicious (a Dutch food magazine) that Merijn Tol had written and I was intrigued by that interesting project, and then we met and I thought that what you all do at Souk el Tayeb is so inspiring ... so of course I wanted to come.

On the other hand, it was also about coming to this country, which I had heard about since I was a child, as of war – so I was curious to meet people here and to find out how they deal with that and I think food is a very good way to get in contact with people, to interact and to communicate. Everywhere I go, I get in contact with people through food – it’s a low key subject that everybody relates to.

How do you think a project like Taste of Beirut helped people in Lebanon communicate with each other?

Food is a good way to communicate. Most of the projects I have done are on a main theme and not as wide as what we did in Beirut. Taste of Beirut was quite a unique project. I also didn’t want to say “this is how it must be done” before coming here for myself. I did create special forms though for people to fill in and get a sense of things – it was a participative approach. First we collect information, then speak to people and shape the project.

It was an innovative approach as I worked on concepts and projects that had no link with the country, its soil and its history. This project was much more in the heart of people – memories of food, family stories, war ...

What about the city and the country ?

First, a tourist discovers a very nice country with great food. And then I do see the bullet holes, which mean nothing for me, as I never lived in a war situation. So I force myself to understand that all this had happened, but it is strange because I don’t physically feel it.

What is really precious too, is that people are open in talking about the war and sharing their experiences. But I was shocked when people kept on saying that war will never end, but nevertheless had a strong spirit, doing wonderful things and living life more intensely than somewhere else. That was something that really impressed me.

I felt like a spoilt woman, coming from a rich and peaceful country where everybody just nags about the weather…

How was the food?

I love it for the taste and also for the abundance of vegetables. Lebanon doesn’t have a pretentious cuisine, it uses simple and intelligent produce such as grains, beans, vegetables and bread. That’s perfect design! The bread which is made here – is fast to make, economical, healthy and easy to keep – you shouldn’t change a thing!

Are you leaving with something new?

New tastes like zaatar and sumac, new ways of combining flavors and a new technical appreciation, such as with the bakery or the sweet – baklawa – factory. I was impressed by the craftsmanship and I really hope it will remain – seeing the 20 layers of baklawa dough being flattened is incredible! The guy really knew what he was doing. With such food, people not only express their craftsmanship but also their love and  their personality.

What inspired me on a personal level too, is the personal stories. It’s nice to see that food is really a universal thing, which is close to everybody and can be used as unifying point.


More specifically, what did you get out of the project?

I was happy to share the presentation with so many people.
I was a bit nervous in the workshop as I normally do this kind of workshop with design students, not in an open workshop. But people who came really wanted to come, and they were so different, with such different stories, and compared to students, they had richer stories, as they have lived and seen more.

It was a very special day for me. The final event in Souk el Tayeb wasn’t really the final outcome – it was more so during the workshop on Friday.

The end result ?

All the bowls for the project have been made from the same material, the same dough and from it everybody did a different bowl. It was unique, like a translation of us as people: we are all made the same and are still unique. It was great that visitors understood that message directly. People were also very proud of their achievements.

For more info:
Log on to Marije Vogelzang and Souk el Tayeb's website.