Adobe Goes High Tech for Immersive “Asian in America” Multimedia Dining Experience
- by Guest
Adobe guests put on Oculus Go VR headsets to watch artist’s renderings before each course
The Bon Appétit culinary team at Adobe in San Jose, CA, served up a special treat to Adobe employees with “Asian in America,” the award-nominated multimedia dining experience from Studio ATAO.
Adobe’s Asian Employee Network and VR Club copresented the first event, which was open to all Adobe employees. This cutting-edge dining experience included virtual reality headsets along with multiple courses and cocktails, each one featuring symbolic ingredients and preparation methods. Illuminating and highly interactive, the experience used food as a “way in” to inspire conversation about some challenging topics — questions of identity, race, representation, and stereotypes. Conversations were broached and new connections made over a delicious and thought-provoking meal. Diners donned Oculus Go headsets to watch brushstroke-by-brushstroke artist’s renderings of the course they were about to eat, paired with spoken-word narrative by Studio ATAO Founder and Creative Director Jenny Dorsey (who also served as executive chef) about her experience as a woman of Chinese heritage in the United States; other courses were accompanied by a poetry card.
The event encouraged guests to engage all their senses while eating
The menu included “Stereotypes” – Naem beef short ribs with Japanese yam purée, fermented plum, pea vines, nigella seed caviar, and Bún Mắm (a fermented Vietnamese noodle soup); and “Fancy Because It’s French” — an oolong cookie with red bean mousse and salted turkey egg custard, served with fresh soymilk. Assisting Jenny to produce the meal were Bon Appétit Catering Sous Chef Geovanny Gil, Executive Pastry Chef Cynthia Leung, and Catering Supervisor Mark McCandless.
A second event, a private gathering for 25, brought together members of the Adobe Culinary Team, Workplace Experience, and Digital Workplace Experience teams at Palettes in San Jose for a similar experience.
Everyone left inspired by the possibilities of an emerging technology and energized to collaborate on more cutting-edge, multidisciplinary experiences in the future.
Submitted by Sydney Clark, Marketing Specialist