The Alchemy of Food in Sharing Table

On creating sustainable food that opens hearts and unseals lips, while weaving flavors and textures into storytelling My Philosophy of Food

I see food as more than nourishment. It is connection, storytelling, and an extension of the natural rhythms of our world. I like to work with what is local and seasonal, not just for sustainability but because I believe that aligning with nature’s cycles keeps us connected to something bigger. The seasons inform the way we eat; cooking aligned with them is, for me, a way of tuning into our planet’s pulses.

From another point of view, sustainability for me is not just about individual choices but collective impact. It’s about participation. A single person consuming sustainably is not enough to shift the system, but many people making small changes can. Rather than strict dietary labels, I focus on expanding palates and introducing ingredients that might otherwise be overlooked. If just one person leaves the table inspired to incorporate a new vegetable into their cooking -one they had never considered before- that, to me, is a step toward change.

I also embrace a leaf-to-root philosophy, where every part of an ingredient is valued. Vegetable scraps become the base of a deep, flavorful stock that I use to cook grains. A fennel bulb might appear in one dish, while its stalk is fermented and used in another. If I can forage, I do. Foraged mushrooms and wild garlic have found their way into past Sharing Tables, or the herbs sprouted in my home kitchen. For me, reducing food waste isn’t just ethical, it’s creative. A challenge to honor every element of what nature provides.

Designing the Menu: Food as the Final Layer

Food is the last thing I design for the Sharing Table. Because it’s an extension of everything that comes before it. Each menu is shaped by the theme, the questions, and the journey I want people to take with me.

I began with the theme: this time, Inner Monsters. Then, I broke it down into sub-themes. From there, I crafted the questions. Only once these elements were in place did I turn to the food, asking, How can each dish serve as a vessel for these ideas?

Each plate was designed with a purpose in mind:Grounding – The first dish should root people in the space, creating a sense of stability before we dive deeper.Warming – The second dish invites reflection, recognizing the familiar patterns that shape our interactions with our Inner Monsters.Moving – The third dish asks participants to step into their monsters’ perspective, embodying their presence to understand them better.Dreaming – The final dish looks ahead, exploring how integration and transformation might feel.

Before designing the menu, I wanted to understand the relationship people already have with food. In the registration form, I asked participants what vegetables and fruits they enjoy this season in Germany. Many responses included ingredients like strawberries, eggplants, and tangerines - fruits and vegetables that aren’t naturally grown here and now. A reminder of how supermarkets make everything available year-round, blurring the connection between food and its natural cycle & land. This only strengthened my intention: to create a menu rooted in time, place, and appreciation for what grows around us. I decided on a plant-based menu for this gathering.

Once I had a sense of these ingredients, I turned back to Miro, listed what was locally available in February and began weaving the synergies between them. I grouped ingredients into five categories: stars, companions, sparks, finishers, and forms. Once I had structured the ingredients into these categories, I started imagining how each bite would feel and how flavors would unfold. From there, the menu took form.