You are invited to redefine dining!

Dining is an experience expressive of lifestyle, economics, ethnicity and heritage. It is imbued with meaning and ritual, as well as function. At its most basic, it nourishes the body; at its best it nourishes the spirit.

But how we eat, when we eat, what we eat, even where we eat: all have changed drastically in the past 100 years. Until the mid-20th century, it occurred mostly as a static social event, whether at a table or around a fire.

In contrast, today it can be a solitary activity, in a lounge chair on a balcony while Twittering or taken on the road driving from one soccer practice or business appointment to another. We eat on the patio and the beach, on stadium bleachers and at kitchen tables, in restaurants and at cocktail parties, and sometimes still around a communal fire.

Whatever the case, dining remains an opportunity for a meaningful experience, for sharing and connection through food.

Change is the fuel that design innovation thrives on. It inspires us by asking the question, “How can we make this experience better?”

I invite you to submit concepts that elevate the experience of serving, sharing and consuming food. Investigate how to contribute new aesthetic, functional and emotional dimensions, from sheer beauty and sensual pleasure to better ergonomics and thermal and mechanical performance. The entire “tablescape” is your palette and you decide your dining canvass. Consider today’s many lifestyles and the changing nature of dining across cultures and social groups.

Context

In 2009, World Kitchen held its first design competition, TEA-OFF!. The more than 240 entries attracted an impressive level of quality from around the globe. With three outstanding Award Winners and 25 Honorable Mentions, we celebrated design innovation at the International Home + Housewares Show in March and gave the press a good story.

This success prompted us to make our International Design Competition an annual event, carried under the flag of our “What’s Bubbling?” innovation project. We will now each year feature a new theme. But one principle does not change: participants retain ownership of designs, subject to World Kitchen’s right of first refusal. (One of the many points you will want to read up about in the Rules.)

You can rest assured that your work will be evaluated by a jury of highly credentialed designers who will select the winners based on how well they meet the competition’s criteria and mission. Should you be one of the three winners, you will receive a US$5000 award and expenses to attend the ceremonies during the International Home + Housewares Show March 14 - 16, 2010, Chicago, plus publicity with the press and on our web site.

On behalf of World Kitchen, I hope you will choose to submit. First, please carefully read our Rules and Overview sections as they explain what you must do to meet the competition requirements.

Then, join World Kitchen, LLC, in celebrating the changing landscape of dining!

Craig Sampson
Chief Innovation Officer

PS: This year’s entries will be made online at this web site and the deadline is 11 pm on January 6, 2010, Central Standard Time/USA.

We sincerely hope that you, as part of the world’s design community, will take a careful look at the changing phenomenon of how we dine, and contribute to the goal to Redefine Dining! The results will help illustrate the power of design—what it contributes and why it matters—to the broad community of consumers and industry leaders.

Sincerely,

Craig Sampson, Chief Innovation Officer

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