‘Eat Love Budapest’ was a multisensory experience bringing together two strangers for the intimate act of sharing food and being fed. The project emphasized the individuality and beauty inherent in the life of each person, including the nameless ones we may pass each day and those we might group together as being all alike, based on their nationality or appearance, as Roma people have historically suffered in Hungary and elsewhere.  

During a four-day performance in Budapest, ten Roma women anonymously shared their story with one stranger at a time, each feeding her guest with her own hands, foods that have personal meaning to her, and recounting memories, songs, and stories, as they sat together. They could not see each other. 

Marije Vogelzang: ‘The visitors cannot see her face or see her eyes. This is essential. They need to feel like there are no social codes or rules they need to follow. She will show them the dishes that have memories for her. She will feed them with her food while talking about her life. She is in control but in such a kind and loving way that they feel they can relax and absorb the story, the food. The gentle touch.’ 

Eating designer Marije Vogelzang is the founder of her eponymous Dutch design studio.

Marije Vogelzang has pioneered a design-led approach to food since graduating from Design Academy Eindhoven in 2000. She opened the experimental restaurant Proef in 2004, which she ran until 2011. Vogelzang set up her own design studio to work on multidisciplinary projects involving food, including recently installing a secret vending machine.

Vogelzang has worked with numerous world-renowned brands including Lego and Vitra. She has been exhibited worldwide at museums and design fairs including the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum, Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, the Van Gogh Museum, Dutch Design Week and Designhuis. The recent Seeds installation at IDS Toronto, in collaboration with Caesarstone, aimed to create a sensorial experience by stimulating all five of the visitors’ senses.

In 2016, Vogelzang founded the Dutch Institute of Food and Design and created the Future Food Design Awards. The designer has been acknowledged worldwide and has appeared on the GOOD100 list by Good Magazine, the Top 100 Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company and Top 100 Talents by Icon Magazine.