GOUT DE TERROIR

– an urban tasting menu, in 4 courses –

A M  U  S  E    B  O  U  C  H  E

Butter-poached lobster on bed of crispy taro root and yellow nasturtium with cauliflower puree sauce dots
dried orange peel, tile netting and fallen mulberry leaf, body lotion

A  P  P  E  T  I  Z  E  R

Kumamoto oyster on a half shell with mustard blossoms and Thai chili
empty oyster with bubble wrap and shampoo, yellow wildflowers, red pouch netting

E  N  T  R  E  E

Char siu bison with a dollop of horseradish topped with Lychee gele, served with a coconut milk and sake shooter
rubber and rope planter filling, body lotion with glass shard, aloe lotion in plastic cup

D  E  S  S  E  R  T

White chocolate bark topped with a dark and white chocolate lattice, blueberry and oreo crumble, and goat’s milk custard
dried highway tunnel paint, tile netting, wild berries and street gravel, body lotion

It has been said that place makes unique tastes. 

Could it be the actual physical environment which creates the distinctive taste of local food sourcing? French culinary culture seems to nod in agreement. They created the term Goût de terroir, which literally means "taste of the earth." 

And so I present to you, my project to bring forth the taste of the city. With rubber gloves on and my imagination wild and ready, I foraged around the streets and lakeside of Chicago... and then curated my findings on a plate in the tradition of fine dining. You read that correctly: this is all trash.

By visualizing urban waste as edible arrangements, I wanted to directly address the notion of local sourcing in American cities. Where have all our gardens gone? As we build up, we simultaneously push out. If we are living in a city, how far is the farm that sourced the fruit on our table?