Italian Lake Poké: the Italian way of reinventing food traditions, through contamination and design thinking.

Abstract

Tradition has always played an important part in reflecting the ecosystems of which food cultures form part, giving values to the connection between local food and socio-cultural background. Even if defenders of tradition use ancestral wisdom as the only possible solution to keep identities unique and unchangeable, food proves to be the field of study where knowledge cannot be seen as fragmented, and cultures cannot be presented as pure and uncontaminated. Therefore, food design allows to see the world through integrated and shared views, aiming at offering reality as a social construction, which is then fertile space for new ways of thinking food cultures and traditions as global ecosystems of which contamination is part.

To prove that, the case study of “Italian Lake Poké”, designed by Erminio Maggia catering school, will be hereinafter described, leaving space for further studies and visual presentation of the way in which food is felt, thought, designed. Starting from the Hawaian poké, which its originally recipe consists of slices of raw fish, mixed with seaweed and sprinkled with local nuts, the Lake version is the perfect Italian way design. 

On a bed of rice from Vercelli, layers of local Lake Maggiore whitefish: cut, cooked, marinated. Then the Ossola Valley saffron, representing climate changes, to give fish colour and flavour. Mountain corn, traditionally used to make polenta, turned into pop corns, sprinkled all over with Piedmont Langhe nuts. The shape of the dish, which represents designed contamination, is thought to contain the balanced portion of each ingredient and it is meant to be sustainable in terms of food and packaging waste.