In the modern West, we have created a lot of barriers between our sensory perception and the world around us. Contatto is a new culinary culture that advocates a change in the current culture of food, challenging the existing one, which neglects essential sensorial experiences. Aiming to get to the essence of the human-food relationship in its most genuine level, Contatto removes unnecessary media
ting components: the objects that create a distance between the body and food such as cutlery and plates. Instead, preparation and consumption focus on the hand, extending taste to the realm of touch. Contatto is a new way of eating that gives a tactile understanding of the ingredients placed on the hands, feeling them on the skin and becoming a sensorial celebration of food. The hand is the real protagonist, guiding the creative process. Contatto becomes a unique experience and cuisine based on the hand. Using the hand as a surface where food is placed, the ‘touches’ (the way the courses are called) are built on this surface of our body, generating choreography and new gestures. Contatto pushes the boundaries by asking us to take a step backwards, to remember what it was like eating with our own hands many generations ago, but with integrating contemporary design features with that experience. Instead of designing fancy instruments and plates to eat from, Contatto eschews these for subtle experiences of food eaten from the hand in a collective choreography of the bodies. Contatto is not just an eating experience: it involves an intimate rediscovery of our senses and tactility, becoming a sensorial celebration of food and the action of eating. I truly hope you will be touched by Contatto.
