Can Guzzini Re-invent the Relationship Between Italian Tableware Design and Food?

Can Guzzini re-invent the relationship between Italian tableware design and food?

Throughout the twentieth century, Guzzini products led the way in household design and as we enter the twenty-first century, we see the launch of a new design concept from the super trendy Italians; Foodesign Guzzini.

The objective of Foodesign is to connect two different, yet inextricably linked and similarly creative worlds: the sphere of the product designers as well as that of the food experts. Driven in part by the cultural significance of food in Italy, this new partnership sees a sharing of knowledge between designers, chefs, and food and lifestyle experts with the intention of approaching the design process for home wares from a fresh direction. This new method sees ideas born not from how well objects work with décor or occasion but instead how they work with the food being prepared and consumed.

This is a concept being taken up by other chefs and designers, notably by Massimiliano Alajmo for Rosenthal’s in.gredienti range. To recruit a chef rather than a designer is new logic for Rosenthal, yet one could argue that as the youngest chef to be awarded 3 Michelin stars, Alajmo knows a thing or two about food. An example of this concept that perfectly illustrates the link between food consumption and tableware design are the in.gredienti pasta plates designed by Alajmo for Rosenthal, a large dish with a perfectly sculpted hollow shaped for twisting pasta with a fork. You can see his functional yet aesthetically dramatic designs for the in.gredienti range on the Rosenthal page of the Cooks and Kitchens website.

In order for the relationship between the two fields of product design and culinary design to be a fruitful one, there must be communication between experts from both disciplines. This is something Fratelli Guzzini are aware of in their recruitment of some 88 of the top names from both sides of the coin including Ron Arad, Ettore Sottsass, Karim Rachid and Tom Dixon. The Guzzini commitment to the Foodesign concept is evident from the level of research and development that has gone into this project with regular meetings between experts

What Guzzini have initiated with their Foodesign concept is a platform for the re-interpretation of the relationship between shape and function, between food rituals and contemporary society. And as has been the case throughout decades of design, where Guzzini lead, others will follow.

Guzzini at Cooks and Kitchens
The Guzzini range available at Cooks and Kitchens Direct