Cocina Abierta

Cocina Abierta is an open kitchen and dining experience with the goal of bringing different cultures together through cooking, collaboration and conversation. It was developed as part of GoGlobal, a module in which students from the first year Innovation Design Engineering course at the Royal College of Art travel to a different country to partake in a three week design project. In 2017, the class traveled to Chile, where we focused on food and resilient systems. We worked closely with several universities and organizations within Chile and Santiago, as well as university students from Chile. 

Our group was tasked with looking at new hybrid food identities within the Chilean context. The cultural landscape of Chile has been changing dramatically due to the huge rise in immigration over the past three decades, primarily from neighboring South American countries. Some immigrants find it difficult to integrate into society and there are many social divides between cultures. However, embedded within these cultures lie unique cuisines which can be used to bridge these social divisions.

We took to the streets of Santiago, asking native Chileans and immigrants about their cultural identity, feelings on immigration, and food. We enacted social experiments in public areas, attempting to use food as a method of getting strangers from different backgrounds to talk to one another and develop relationships. We found that immigrants often had strong ties to their traditional cuisine and were eager to share that cuisine with others, while native Santiaguinos were interested in learning more about food from other cultures and participating in new food experiences. 

From this research we developed Cocina Abierta. Travelling to various neighbourhoods of Santiago, it provides an open space for both locals and immigrants to gather and cook a meal. Anyone can sign up to the event as either a Cocinero or an Ayudante. Cocineros lead the cooking of the meal, while Ayudantes join a meal to help with the preparation.The preparation of the meal acts as a conversation starter and an opportunity to share culinary and cultural knowledge. Subsequently, the sharing of the meal provides a horizontal platform for social interaction.  

Team Members

• Yang Gao
• Issis Poblete
• Ahlad Reddy
• Sarah Rodger
• Esteban Sandoval
• Francisco de Segovia
• Yikun Wang