What do you do when you’re stuck in a remote village during a global lockdown?
You host a dinner party, virtually. And you invite the world.
Eatable Editions AKA Virtual Dinner Party was born at the intersection of isolation, cultural curiosity, and a deeply personal relationship with food. As part of my final thesis at UAL during the first wave of COVID-19, I set out to explore how food could continue to bring people together, even when borders were closed and dining tables were scattered across the globe.
The intent was to design a space thoughtfully and intentionally, for food to become a bridge between people, systems, and stories. From my parent’s home in Dongaon, a small village in southwestern India, I crafted a digital event series that would later influence everything from my design practice to the birth of my own food venture, Dongaon Local.
(01) The Challenge
How do we meaningfully engage in cross-cultural food dialogue with participants all over the globe when we can’t even physically sit at the same table? With lockdowns in full swing, physical distance became a new norm. I wanted to create a relatable, relevant space where people could bring their meals, stories, and real selves. It had to be open, culturally inclusive, and most of all, intimate.
What I Did!
A lot of scheduling across time zones and obsessing over digital dinner etiquette.
But also,
- Curated and hosted
over 30+ global virtual dinner gatherings across 2+ years, each with a £5 ticket - designed to spark meaningful cross-cultural dialogue around food
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Connected
various stakeholders in global food systems, right from farmers, producers, distributors, anthropologists, food researchers, designers, innovators, chefs, food critics and more from India, the UK, China, Netherlands, Japan, Germany, Norway and the US
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Crafted
a warm and welcoming design language for communication, from event visuals to onboarding content, and social media collaterals
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Built
engagement strategies using Instagram, Eventbrite, and good ol' DMs
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Facilitated
conversations about ingredients, food systems, cultures, rituals, food memories, and our collective futures
Ground rules were key: Participants were encouraged to bring food that reflected their native cultures, to share ingredient stories, and to show up just as they were, whether with messy hair or a fancy table setting. Everyone was welcome, no judgement served.
(02) My Role
This project was my playground for communication design, facilitation, and research-led experimentation. I worked across:
Design Research - Studied global food systems, cultural ingredients, and virtual dining behaviours. Synthesising insights from each event to evolve Dongaon Local and inform the broader Shifting Food Cultures project.
Visual Communication
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Crafting the branding, communication assets, and visual identity for the event series
Community Building
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Hosting and moderating conversations with a focus on storytelling, empathy, and systems thinking
(03) Learnings
This project taught me how to design for nuance. How to hold the digital space, for multiple truths. And how to translate cultural research into a meaningful, shared experience.
It was also the seed that eventually sprouted into Dongaon Local—my ongoing love letter to rural food systems and the women who sustain them.
