Rizal Cutlery:

For Fusion Restaurants

Abstract It is the investigation of this paper to uncover the design processes that were used to explore how cutlery can be used to enhance customer service in a fusion restaurant and provide an identity that could include

emotional connection to the restaurant through cutlery product design. Keywords

fusion, co-design, participatory design, product design,

dining, cutlery, restaurant

Copyright is held by the author/owner(s).

Joss Rectitud

Emily Carr University

1399 Johnston St

Vancouver, B.C

jossrectitud@gmail.com

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Introduction

Triple R is a fairly new restaurant that serves fusion

Oriental and Western inspired dishes. They mix and

match Asian flavors along with Western Style

ingredients and presentation. Like most restaurants,

RRR ‘s priority is to provide new ways of enhancing

their customer experience whether it’s dine in or take

out. This was an opportunity to redefine their service,

customer experience, and set an example for the future

of Vancouver’s multicultural restaurants towards a

more responsible and inspiring take on customer

service.

In the book “The Language of Things”, Deyan Sudjic

states that we often desire objects that have played

and inspired even just the slightest moment in our

time.

It is my sole interest to design objects that would

perform a certain tasks as its core criteria, from

ideation to end product form. In this project, I would

like to be able to tell a story of cutleries and dishware

while at the same time developing it in a new form,

use, and meaning. A simple object put through rigorous

process. I believe that small steps in social change

(awareness, development of small products) are one of

the core foundations towards a sustainable culture.

With the fast-paced life we are experiencing, users are

forgetting and losing their relationship with the

products they buy and own. Maybe later on, everything

will be disposable.

Making the Ordinary Special

Senses

Dining is mostly an experience that’s associated with

taste. By tapping into all 5 senses might benefit the

overall dining experience. The 5 senses are touch,

taste, sight, smell and sight.

On Form

As soon as an object is able to command or

communicate with us through its design, then it is

enough to evoke an emotional connection to the users

and have them take notice of the product and of your

service. Being able to dictate users with the objects’

function and form at the slightest amount of design is

the goal I am aiming for as this will yield to simpler

manufacturing process and produce a more economical

results.

Fig. 1.0 – Assorted disposable plastic items found around Belcarra

Beach in Coquitlam on the summer of 2013.

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Materiality and Green Design

I was inspired by this project as I observed plastic

cutleries littering the shores of Belcarra. I do not blame

the plastic cutleries for harming the environment nor

the users who have disposed of them. The current

design of disposable cutleries lack emotional connection

with its users, a very utilitarian engineered feature) and

the improper use of the material – plastic – which we

often discriminate as a material causing ill effects.

Fusion

Fusion food is a term that we are hearing more and

more nowadays. Is it here to stay or just a passing fad.

Is it a ploy to pass of mediocre food with no specific

style of cooking by classifying it under this broad and

trendy eclectic term? Is it a cook’s way of throwing

different items into the pot and hoping out pops a

fantastic creation that resembles something exotic

called ‘fusion’. It is controversial and some people think

that ingredients from different parts of the world,

should not meet on the same plate.

However, fusion food has been widely popular in its

own way that people want to experience a different

environment that can offer to stimulate their senses –

from environment, taste and experience. Nowadays,

diner’s palates and taste-buds are changing rapidly.

People get out more, travel more and as a result, there

is no going back to the old, boring foods. There is now

the exotic, the weird, the unimaginable. What is taboo

in one person’s country for example, is regular fodder

in another. Globally, there are still many food experts

who are divided over fusion food, though it is getting

more acceptable these days. An aspect of fusion dining

that has not been explored is its cutlery. Fusion

restaurants thrive in their eclectic take on their

environment, music, ambience and most importantly

food. This is an opportunity to explore what the

possibilities could be for utensils that are being used in

fusion restaurants. In the West Coast, fusion

restaurants thrive by combining the flavors of the Asian

cultures that exists around Vancouver with the Western

and European influence that had existed here in

Vancouver.

Trials

Testing Goals

The products that will be tested are a series of cutlery

iterations to gouge the comfort, ergonomics, and

functionality as well as to test the relationship of its

aesthetic design that is appropriate for the business.

To determine potential design and usability

problems with the current reference design and

iterations.

To design a product that would automatically

inform the user of the product’s function.

Apply a set of scenarios to determine possible

conditions in which the product might face.

Discover what appropriate materials that could

apply towards the final design.

See how people connect and interact with

cutlery when presented to them.

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“We often desire

objects that have played and

inspired us even at just the

slightest moment in our time.

This then can spark an

inspiration towards a forward

thinking society.”

-Deyan Sudjic

The Language of Things

Structure of Methodologies

Types of Food

The first activity, the participants were instructed to try

various prototypes for use in certain items off the menu

of RRR. The following lists certain items from each of

RRR’s menu category.

Appetizer: mini rice balls, shredded spicy squid

Entrée: loose rice, salmon cutlet, vegetables, noodle

Dessert: diced fruits, kropkakka style dumplings

Fig. 2.1 – salmon meat Fig. 2.2 – shred squid

Fig. 2.3 – leafy vegetables Fig. 2.2 – loose rice

“The beauty of using the

chopsticks is that it allows

you to consume food in a

patient manner.”

-Kyohei Baba

CEO Hasami

Monocle

Issue 56, Vol. 32

Scenario

Scenarios are used to determine potential problems

that can be addressed in the current service of RRR.

Scenario 1

A customer walks in the restaurant for a lunch break

and decides to order a take-out item to eat at their

office. RRR hastily fulfills the order and issues their

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regular plastic spoon, fork and chopstick. This customer

is new to RRR and orders based on the images off the

menu. The customer decides to order salmon cutlet on

rice spicy risotto. Upon arriving back at the workplace,

the person realizes that there is not enough time to

finish her lunch. The worker in RRR had only issued

chopstick forgetting to hand out spoon and fork. The

person couldn’t finish her lunch because chopsticks’

inability to assist in consuming rice combined with a

heavy sauce.

Scenario 2

A customer had forgotten to make their lunchbox the

night before and decided to head to RRR to order take-

out. The customer then decides to keep the plastic

cutlery and wooden chopstick issued by RRR and keep

it for later use for their usual routine of packed lunch.

Fig. 3.0 – A customer being served a take-out order.

Observational Notes

During a weekend observation, between 12PM-

4PM, 20 out of 22 customers were of non-

Oriental descent.

During the above observation, 18 out of the 20

prefer the use of spoon and fork as seen by

their preference in the self-serve cutlery

station.

At one point, we have switched from providing

cutlery with dine-in orders to self-serve-grab-

your-own spoon, fork or chopstick and found

that most diners prefer to grab spoon and fork

compared to chopsticks.

Consuming vermicelli takes a bit more skill

when it comes to being used with chopsticks

especially those that are from non-Oriental

culture.

Wood performs the worst when put onto a

reusable situation. Plastic can last a longer

lifecycle and metal provides the longest

lifecycle.

RRR does not issue knives – most large items

(cutlets, schnitzel) are already cut by the chef

during preparation.

During a weekend observation, between 12PM-

4PM, 20 out of 22 customers were of non-

Oriental descent.

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A majority of customers fiddle with their

phones while waiting for their food. They also

take pictures of the food that has been served.

Surveys

17 out of 26 people decide to keep wooden

chopsticks issued along with take-out orders in

their kitchen for later use. 3 people would

request the establishment not to issue it as

they prefer to just use their own cutlery at

home.

Opportunity: This is an opportunity to place a

product by the restaurant within their

customer’s home and differentiate themselves

to the regular wooden chopstick issued by

other establishments.

17 out of 26 people take menu pamphlets from

restaurants during take outs. 11 take

pamphlets upon first visit, 10 people take it

during second or more visits, 5 people search it

online.

Opportunity: With most customers already

being online, RRR can cut costs on printing

pamphlets and instead use their cutlery as a

branding vessel of information. This could

potentially prompt the customer to keep at

least a pair of cutlery in their kitchen.

People who have difficulty of using chopsticks

stated that the most difficult food item to use

them with are rice with heavy sauce and

slippery noodles.

People revert back to using spoon and fork

when having a difficult time using chopstick.

Fig. 3.0 – In an LCA system analysis, a wooden spoon scores

the least amount of points on environmental impact compared to

other materials. Although sustainable, it does not allow for use as a

reusable.

12 out of 26 people dislike the use of plastic

chopsticks in dine-in situations. 4 people prefer

metal. 7 people prefer wooden chopstick. 3

people have no preference.

Opportunity: Wood material is comes out on top

as a material desired when dining in the

restaurant, although this would have to be

disposable and could cause economic tradeoff

24 out of 26 people find it inconvenient and

“odd” if a discounted incentive was given if

cutleries issued on take-outs was returned for

recycling. This was based on the card stamp

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incentive seen on many Asian dining

establishments.

Questionnaires were given at willing participants while

waiting for their food to be served.

What is the reason you dine in at a fusion restaurant?

What do you find the most important when dining in a

restaurant?

When eating fusion food, what type of cutlery set do

you prefer to use?

What do you like about this establishment?

How do you compare this establishment to others?

Fig. 4.0 – One of the concept iterations for a

removable spoon head model.

Related Articles

7 Ways That Utensils Can Affect Your Food

Source: Fast Company

http://www.fastcodesign.com/1672981/7-ways-the-

utensils-you-use-change-the-taste-of-food

Cutlery Can Influence Food Taste

Source: Focus: Science and Technology

http://sciencefocus.com/news/does-cutlery-affect-

taste-food

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Materials and Protoypes

Several rapid protoyping were explored to mimic

injection molding and validate thicknesses required for

a cutlery to perform with the foods listed above.

Plaster Casting

Epoxy Casting

3D Printing

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Wood Steam Bending

Prototypes Tested

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CAD Explorations

Fig. 5.0 – One of the CAD exercises and shown to colleagues to

determine existing designed objects and its aesthetic proximity to a

different product – in this case, a spoon to celebrate Eames’ LCW.

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User Actions

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Citations

[1] Monocle Magazine

[2] Hasami Housewares

[3] Fastco Design

[4] The Language of Things by Deyan Sudjic

[5] Evocative Objects by Sherry Turkle

[6] David Mellor Cutlery