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Working with software designers and visual artists, chefs around the world are using augmented and virtual reality to bring digital dining into the mainstream. The result is a new form of experiential eating that stimulates all five senses. Could the computer desktop be the next kitchen counter?
In New York City, Bareburger and Magnolia Bakery invite customers to visually try before they buy, using augmented reality (AR) food models generated by digital company QReal. The technology isn¡¯t new ¨C see the Pok¨¦mon Go app ¨C but its presence on the plate is. It allows customers to simply point a smartphone or tablet camera at a surface to see a 3D version of a dish appear on the screen before they order it, and has the functionality to zoom in and view the plate from all angles.
The idea for QReal came about when co-founder Alper Guler was in a Turkish restaurant, struggling to describe unfamiliar items on the menu to his friends. Guler realised that AR could bridge that communication gap globally and change the way people eat, particularly when travelling. Meanwhile, in Asia, French chef Paul Pairet¡¯s radical Shanghai restaurant Ultraviolet uses projections, lighting, scent and sound to transform its single-table space into a virtual world where supper is a cinematic, multi-sensory adventure.
Unsurprisingly, Tokyo leads the way in hi-tech projection mapping at Tree by Naked. During the immersive installation, headed up by multimedia artist Ryotaro Muramatsu, eight courses including ochazuke and wagyu beef are served while inanimate objects such as branches and petals appear to move and grow, depicting a tree¡¯s cycle of life. Elsewhere, next-gen collective Skullmapping conjures Le Petit Chef, a tiny tabletop animation of a Frenchman in chef whites who prepares a virtual version of guests¡¯ dishes while they wait for the real thing. The plate becomes his steak grill or gas hob; the table turns into a seabed of fresh lobster, into which he dives head-first (try not to flinch at the splash). Find him at restaurants across the world such as Shoreditch restaurant TT Liquor in London, Park Hyatt Bangkok and Skullmapping¡¯s Dinner Time Story pop-up (pictured), in Dubai.
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