A Trace of Dinner started with my interest in understanding where the materials that I use in my pottery practice come from. After gleaning my own clay from Wageningen ‘beach’ and from Tegelen at the Maas River, I became interested in glazes. Having conducted extensive research on the origin of glaze ingredients. Learning that their transportation requires a lot of energy consumption, I began looking for an alternative. As a food lover, I understood one evening after a dinner with friends that all I really need to create a glaze is whatever is left on the table. And that’s where this journey began: reaching out to dozens of local restaurants, chefs, food suppliers, local vendors, potters, and designers; collecting and processing waste; and researching materials. I created an archive of materials ready to use in glazing.
I wanted the materials to return to the restaurant environment, to take on a new life there. Together with Restaurant Callao, Flora Cafe, and Bistro Goeswijn, we sought ways to create menus attuned to the possibilities for glazing, consuming as little energy as possible. The aim was to create a dinner that was as zero-waste as possible, on the other hand, the ceramics function as storytellers about the way we consume our materials, our food, our ingredients, and our tableware.
As it turned out, the majority of A Trace of Dinner was about creating collaboration. This local network of people from restaurants, ceramics, and design industries, working as active participants engaged in a circular system, gradually emerged as the scaffolding for my work. Their active involvement in the project became an important aspect of the project, and I am very grateful for their collaboration and trust in me.
Circularity was revealed as a question of social relations as much as a way of understanding how the waste of one industry can be a treasure for another.
The “dinner” event is part of my project “a trace of dinner” in which I collaborated with local restaurants in The Hague and Leiden to collect waste such as bones, eggshells, oyster shells, wine bottles, charcoal, etc.
I honored to collaborate with chef Julio and sous chef Roberto from Callao Restaurant, The Hague. The aim was to create a dinner that was as zero-waste as possible. We invited our guests from the Academy to participate in this process by brain storming and write on the table cloth their ideas on how we can make local sourcing more accessible as an academy.
The “egg-cellent dinner” event is part of my project “a trace of dinner” in which I collaborated with local restaurants in The Hague and Leiden to collect waste such as bones, eggshells, oyster shells, wine bottles, charcoal, etc.
I was honored to work with chefs Lou and Marlous from Bistro Goeswijn. During the dinner we invited our guests to participate in this process by helping to collect the eggshells, which I took back to my workshop at the end of the dinner.
That being said, the purpose of these ceramics is to tell a story about the way we consume while accompany the chefs’ creations.
The “dinner Zizi x Flora” event is part of my project “a trace of dinner” in which I collaborated with local restaurants in The Hague and Leiden to collect waste such as bones, eggshells, oyster shells, wine bottles, charcoal, etc.
I was honored, then, that Sijb from Flora Restaurant was among the chefs who believed in me and wanted to make this a joint effort for intersecting industries. During the dinner we hosted, we invited our guests from ceramic, restaurant and design industry to connect with each other & create the begging of these local network.
