This Amsterdam-based design studio is reimagining dinner with weird and wonderful accessories

Amsterdam-based design studio Steinbeisser is taking dinnertime to the next level with their experimental cutlery — the knife, fork and spoon have all been given a makeover. These innovative designs include pliers, shovel plates, and a scissor-spoon hybrid, all meant to slow down the eating process so that food can be enjoyed properly.

A thoughtful approach to dining

Steinbeisser’s unique cutlery aims for a thoughtful approach to dining, encouraging users to reconsider what kind of experience they expect to have when they sit down at the table to enjoy a meal.

Experimental Gastronomy: a movement toward slow dining

In 2012, Steinbeisser launched the Experimental Gastronomy initiative, bringing together renowned chefs and international artists to produce unique creative experiences through gastronomic encounters.

Designed as an alternative to “effective and functional” tableware, each piece was created to slow the time spent at the dinner table. Indeed, these accessories force guests to eat more slowly and take their time to savour each bite, which alters the tasting experience. The chefs also adapt their dishes to reduce salt and sugar content.

Founded in 2009 by Jouw Wijnsma and Martin Kullik, Steinbeisser aims to stimulate interdisciplinary thinking and to connect areas such as contemporary jewellery, design, gastronomy, fashion and dance.

“We want to do something sensible and necessarily contribute our previous experiences in design, fashion, jewellery and other artistic areas. This gave rise to the idea of Experimental Gastronomy and to challenge the contemporary food culture,” Kullik explains.

Experience Experimental Gastronomy around the world

Steinbeisser’s Experimental Gastronomy takes place three times a year and has been hosted in cities such as San Francisco, Basel, Amsterdam, Berlin, and Frankfurt. These avant-garde culinary evenings invite diners to enjoy an exclusive 5-course vegan menu, with ingredients sourced from local organic farms. Dishes are served with extravagant cutlery and tableware created by designers out of materials like ceramics, clay, glass, seeds, metal, stone and wood — resulting in a thought-provoking dining experience. For the 2015 event in Berlin, designer Nils Hint made a stunning series of hybrid cutlery using recycled utensils and tools from the former Soviet Union.

Steinbeisser’s online store, Jouw, features innovative tableware created by more than 25 artists for Experimental Gastronomy events around the world. These pieces, priced between $50 to $1,900, are more than just striking art objects — they represent a challenge to the traditional culinary experience by upending preconceptions about the relationship between diner and tableware.