He was very interested in identifying the problems we faced in the current service lineup available to chefs, and to determine whether there were ways to find better solutions.”Īchatz emailed 43 designers that day Kastner was the only one to respond. Achatz, in his biography Life, on the Line, wrote of Kastner, “Martin’s response was cautious, deliberate, and inquisitive, completely in line with what I was to learn was his analytical personality. “I was bringing a conceptual arts point of view, while Grant was concerned with presenting dishes in ways that wouldn’t compromise the food’s properties, but would also be in line with what you expect of a four-star restaurant experience,” he says. The two started a conversation about the holistic nature of dining, and each artist contributed their own perspectives. “He said that he was opening a restaurant and looking for somebody to help him design new ways of serving food - which was super exciting for me because I had so much interest in the experiential dimension of eating,” says Kastner.
In the summer of 2003, Kastner received an email from a Chicago chef named Grant Achatz. While the restaurant world was deeply entrenched in the age of California cuisine - rustic, organic ingredients prepared to let nature shine through - Achatz and Kastner made food fun again. The Chicago culinary destination quickly gained international attention for taking the white tablecloth fine-dining experience and turning it on its head - thanks, in part, to the show-stopping service ware produced by Kastner and conceived of by the craftsman-chef duo. That was the very first collaborative design between chef Grant Achatz, then at Trio, and designer Martin Kastner, who would come to define the artistic style and innovation of the restaurant that would soon be called Alinea. Pick it up and collapse the legs together, and you’ve got more of a Popsicle-esque lollipop, the perfect palate cleanser in between courses. Well, technically, not on a plate - balancing on a four-inch tripod, not unlike what you’d find in a (albeit tiny) camera setup. Head on over to Kickstarter to learn more.Imagine sitting down to dinner and finding a lavender ice sphere on your plate. You will work the bar during service, learn recipes and techniques, and enjoy cocktails at the Aviary with the chefs." It's not quite like skydiving with Anthony Bourdain, but it'll do. A limited offer of $250 will get you a signed white Porthole with edition numbers.įor people looking for the whole experience, however, $5,000 will get you two signed black Portholes, "plus the opportunity to spend the day with chef Grant Achatz and Charles Joly at the Aviary.
To get in on the fundraising action, $95 will get you a black Porthole with a seasonal cocktail recipe from the Aviary (lower pledges are sold out). The Porthole will be available for $100 as a dishwasher safe product that holds 13 ounces of fluid. Kastner needed $ 28,500 to invest in molds, manufacturing, and other costs with 27 days left of fundraising, the campaign has raised $72,861. Designer Martin Kastner of Crucial Detail has launched a Kickstarter campaign, noting that "many Aviary guests have requested to purchase the vessel, including some who, when told they couldn't buy one, have taken it upon themselves to ‘liberate’ them from the lounge." Well, this centerpiece is apparently getting mass-produced. If you've been lucky enough to visit Grant Achatz's Aviary, you might have noticed a large, circular vessel they call the Porthole, where cocktails are infused with herbs and fruits.
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