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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
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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