Elixir by Studio Appetit: tasting history

Tuesday 17 December 2013

Roseito Tudor-inspired Elixir by Studio Appetit


Food designers Studio Appetit invited visitors at this month's DesignMiami/ to taste the foods and flavours of five historical eras, including prehistoric times, Tudor Britain and Ancient Egypt.

Prehistoric Elixir by Studio Appetit


Presented on a timeline of human history, the Elixirs each use ingredients or processes specific to that era. Roseito, a cocktail inspired by Britain's Tudor dynasty (1485-1603), is made of Ron Barceló rum with rose syrup,  gold berry confiture and apple, served with crushed rose petals.

The prehistoric Elixir, dated to 4000 BC, is based around the first recorded spice: mustard leaves. Served directly on the table for visitors to 'gather' from, the arrangement included collard mustard, nuts, baby sprouts and seeds, served with brown mustard vinaigrette.

Ancient Egyptian Elixir by Studio Appetit


Ancient Egypt's Elixir (1557 BC) consisted of okra two ways: an okra-tomato stew with Biblical roots, grilled okra, and a drop of yogurt with a bitter paste based on wild watercress.

Dating to 630 AD, the Mayan Elixir is based on a Mayan aphrodisiac, avocado, and is made of avocado paste topped with roasted sweet potato cubes, pine nuts, jalapeno and wild onion fries.

Mayan Elixir by Studio Appetit


A three-layered cake brought several eras together, with a Tudor top layer of white chocolate, fruit and nuts; a middle layer of Mayan dark chocolate, chilli and vanilla; and an Egyptian bottom layer of milk chocolate, cardamom, black pepper and cinnamon.

This project links into the ideas introduced in our macro trends Modern Myth, which explores a multi-ethnic world filled with infinite stories, and History 2.0, which sees the past brought back to life.

Three-layered cake