Previously we shared how, Italo Calvino published a novel about many travelers who meet up in a castle. The characters tell their personal journeys through a deck of Tarot cards.  Flip by flip their individual stories unfold. Card by card their collective story became a single fabric.

The genius is that the characters are not limited because they do not have words. Communication can take alternative forms and still leave the audience mesmerized,  enriched and transformed.

So why not try this with dinner? Why not apply the narrative arc to a four-course tasting menu with wine? Well, we did just that.

At the Wizard Academy, 28 travelers met up on the first night of a 5 day seminar.  Each journeyed to expand their minds and open the possibilities for their business.  On the first night we gathered at Engelbrecht House for menu that had never been created before.  With dishes selected to augment the telling of the origin of The Moon as recorded by the Brothers Grimm.

This experiment aimed to prove that cuisine might illustrate a story.  Instead of brightly painted pictures, we had artfully designed dishes.  Guests were fed piece of the story with every course. Section by section, plate by plate, glass by glass we consumed the fairy tale together.  We became joined in the narrative through our shared experience.

Was this a success?  Ask the cognoscenti who happened upon this magical place.  Let them play back their own memories of the spoken word intertwined with the broken bread.

Grimm Fairy Tale Dinner

Sound interesting?  Drop a comment in the field below and let us know.