The Ghanaian Dining Table and Plate
︎Istanbul, Turkey and Accra, Ghana
︎2019-2022
︎Collaborators: Selassie Atadika (Midunu), Gustavo Crembil
Much like many other parts of the world, trade liberalization and its ushering in of imported commodities for Ghanaian consumers, worked its way into the Ghanaian home changing the materials it was built with, introducing shiny, display kitchens and changing forever what was put on the plate. Today, the amount of locally-sourced components of contemporary Ghanaian cuisine is shrinking, alongside a knowledge ecosystem around the diverse inventory and processing of local food resources and their fascinating use of by-products from the food value chain.
In 2019, Palaver + Palaver began as a workshop at the Istanbul Design Biennial focused on the development of kitchen and dishes, led by a interdisciplinary collaboration between Chef Selassie Atadika and architect Gustavo Crembil in response to the intersecting drivers of food, food waste and human food rituals.
Between 2020-2022, in collaboration with Chef Selassie Atadika, Willow worked on the development of “New African Cuisine” dishes promoting the use and flavors of local coconut and rice that educate and support sustainable farming practices and indigenous crops.