Folklore Studio x OCF, The Artist Table for Into the Blue
Folklore Studio invited us to cook for the opening of its upcoming exhibition, Into the Blue. We built a fully custom 4-course menu around the featured artists of the exhibition, where each course and bite was paired with an artist's work.
Food designed around the art on the wall
Location
Folklore Studio, Laguna Beach
Date
October 16, 2026
Partners
The brief
Gallerist Kelly Dye and chef Helena Qin curated the evening together, and the brief was a dinner where the food is also art. We started with the work: its color, texture, material, and the concepts behind the artwork.
The food concept
We are observers and guests of the ocean. Diving is meditative. You focus on your breath and take in the water. We wanted the menu to feel like that: a journey through the waters, told in the colors and tastes of the ocean.
We wanted the courses to be visually inspired by each artist's work, and thoughtfully chose ingredients to be combined in creative ways. The flavors began light, with an apple, persimmon, golden beet tartare with a fennel and cucumber dashi as we entered the ocean, to a miso black cod entrée with citrus beurre blanc.
Our ethos stays the same on every menu. We start with organic produce from local farms and seafood from local fishermen. We support regenerative agriculture, for the health of our soil, our planet, and ourselves. The food is always delicious, and should spark conversation.
The artists and the food
The artists' work set the plates. We started with a glass beads canapé, inspired by the glass beads by Carmen Salazar. It's made using lemongrass and ginger infused coconut water and agar to create "glass beads".
Marleen Meyer's work became a tea smoked mushroom tartlet with a blue dashi veil.
Arline Mathieu's work was the inspiration for the apple, persimmon and golden beet tartare. We wanted this course to be fun and interactive, so guests poured the blue fennel and cucumber dashi tableside, and squeezed meyer lemon juice over to watch the color turn to purple from the acid.
Oriana Poindexter's cyanotype blues became the sauce for the main: miso black cod with blue spirulina in a citrus beurre blanc.
Sean Spellman's work inspired the last bite — a white chocolate blueberry bonbon.
The experience
Guests were able to dine inside the Folklore Studio gallery, immersed by the art. Many of the artists were also present, so people could learn more about their process. It was an art within art experience, as we created our food as art, inspired by the artists' work.
