'Disturb the brain' with these sensually crafted dishes at Level: 0

A new dining experience at Level: 0 restaurant in Seoul combines taste with other senses to bring about a feeling of synesthesia. Creative director Jeon Jin-hyun explores this phenomenon through artistic designs of spoons.

A special dish at Level: 0, intended to trigger various senses and "disturb the brain." It is comprised of a slice of beef steak, a scallop, a mushroom dumpling, vegetable pâté and a butter ball. The twist here is that a bumpy silicon flap is placed on the back of one’s hand. It is sprinkled with a seasoned powder, which guests are instructed to suck on as a palate cleanser. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Eating is oftentimes only associated with the flavor and smell of the food, but what if you could also see, hear and touch the taste?

A recent exhibition masked as a seven-course dinner at the avant-garde fine dining restaurant Level: 0 in Yongsan District, central Seoul, is opening up an entirely new eating experience that utilizes the five human senses to their maximum potential to unravel a sixth sense: synesthesia.

Defined as a rare neurological condition in which senses can cross with one other, synesthesia allows those with it to “see” sounds, “taste” words and more. For instance, a synesthete may taste lemons upon the word “spring” or see red when hearing the sound of a truck. Only about one in 2,000 people is said to have this condition, according to the American Psychological Association.

Raspberry kombucha jelly topped with mint foam is served on studio Stimuli creative director Jeon Jin-hyun's spoon. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Jeon Jin-hyun, creative director of the design studio Stimuli, became fascinated by the topic as she herself is also "sensitive to such stimulants." She explores the perceptual phenomenon through artistic designs, or, more specifically, designs of spoons.

"I wanted to present the most difficult subject using the easiest form of utensil, which I believe is the spoon, in terms of biting or slurping food," Jeon told the Korea JoongAng Daily at Level: 0 last month.

Level: 0's executive chef Denny Han, left, and design studio Stimuli's creative director Jeon Jin-hyun serve dishes under their special collaboration menu dubbed "Sensory Manipulation," on Sept. 22. [PARK SANG-MOON]

Unlike other craftspeople or designers, who usually specialize in one particular material or technique, Jeon’s spectrum is vast. She experiments with different materials, shapes, textures, weights and temperatures of spoons in order to trigger specific tastes or feelings that “disturb the brain.”

Her sensory utensils were previously exhibited all over the globe, including the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, the Smithsonian Design Museum in New York City, the Trapholt Museum of Art & Design in Denmark and the Museum of Decorative Arts in Paris.

“I believe that the taste of foods can differ depending on how our brains are stimulated, like the music we are exposed to while eating or what kind of chair we are sitting on during a meal,” Jeon said.

This bumpy waterdrop-shaped spoon gives a massaging effect on the tongue and lips. [JEON JIN-HYUN]

She has been working with Level: 0’s executive chef, Denny Han, since the restaurant opened last year. Han worked in Australia's fine dining scene, including the prestigious Attica in Melbourne, for some 10 years before opening Level: 0. The restaurant is known for its innovative dishes served under themes personal to Han while also striving for zero-waste cooking. The restaurant is listed on Michelin Guide Seoul.

In light of the capital city’s Taste of Seoul week, which ran from Sept. 16 to 22, Han and Jeon jointly showcased a special menu dubbed "Sensory Manipulation" (for 100,000 won, or $70) which mainly focused on triggering synesthetic senses through Jeon’s various kitchenware and Han’s food. Regular dinners at Level: 0, priced at 250,000 won, also incorporate Jeon’s pieces, but the focus is much more directed toward Han’s gourmet dishes.

“The collaboration menu intends to offer a new gastro experience through which people can enjoy food, not through taste necessarily, but through senses like texture, sound and temperature,” Han said. “This kind of food is not what is normally served at Level: 0, but I do always strive to offer a unique experience as a chef. I believe every dish should have meaning and character.”

Guests take part in the Taste of Seoul week dinner at Level: 0 in Yongsan District, central Seoul. [PARK SANG-MOON]

The special menu isn’t a meal in the traditional sense. The varying food textures and otherworldly kitchenware make it more of a feast for the eyes and ears instead of the stomach, and the less-than-practical utensils require an open mind and willingness to get a bit down and dirty.

The dinner, however nominal, begins with a light appetizer dubbed Welcome Chupa Chups. The jellied sikhye (traditional sweet rice beverage) with finger lime served frozen on Jeon’s spoon resembling a spherical lollipop is intended to be eaten with hot sungnyung (broth from crispy, overcooked rice) with nurungji (crispy cooked rice) puree, served inside Jeon’s “tulip cup” that sits like a roly-poly toy.

It is purposefully a disconcerting experience. The sharply contrasting temperatures and the kinky kitchenware very quickly establish a sense of uneasiness about the meal’s unpredictable nature.

The appetizer Welcome Chupa Chups is jellied sikhye (traditional sweet rice beverage) with finger lime, served frozen on Jeon’s spoon resembling a spherical lollipop. It is intended to be eaten with hot sungnyung (broth from crispy, overcooked rice) with nurungji (crunchy cooked rice) puree and served inside Jeon’s “tulip cup” that sits like a roly-poly toy. [PARK SANG-MOON]

The second course, titled Acoustical Seasoning, is comprised of five bite-sized foods with assorted textures — konjac, fried rice, beef tartare, pickled vegetables and rice cake ssam (wrap). Guests are provided with a pair of earplugs and are instructed to use them while eating to focus on the sound of the food and rediscover familiar ingredients.

Nothing is seasoned heavily, highlighting each ingredient’s natural flavors, which are likely familiar to many. It’s served on a narrow, horizontal plate, also crafted by Jeon. “I wanted the physical movements and the sound [of the food] to all flow naturally,” she said.

In this meditative process of eating, flavors that aren't as apparent, like the sweetness in the konjac or acidity in the beef tartare, become more distinct when relying on one’s ears, palate and sensation on the tongue.

The Acoustical Seasoning dish is comprised of five bite-sized foods with assorted textures — konjac, fried rice, beef tartare, pickled vegetables and rice cake ssam (wrap). Guests are provided with a pair of earplugs and are instructed to put them in while eating to focus on the sound of the food and rediscover familiar ingredients. [PARK SANG-MOON]

The fifth dish, which combines audio, is arguably the most intriguing in theory. It consists of warm tofu and soy pulp topped with saffron, served with one hot spoon and another cold spoon. As customers begin eating the soft tofu, the sound of a person biting into something crunchy, like an apple, starts booming through the restaurant’s speakers. Jeon, who designed the sound herself, calls it the dish's “auditory seasoning.”

The mismatch between the actual food being consumed versus the sound playing overhead has the effect of throwing off all the senses, in what can only be described as an incredibly befuddling experience. One can nearly feel the brain pulsing to make sense of it.

Warm tofu and soy pulp topped with saffron served with one hot spoon and another cold spoon. As customers begin eating the soft tofu, an audio of a person biting into something crunchy, like an apple, starts booming through the restaurant’s speakers. Jeon, who designed the sound herself, calls it the dish's “auditory seasoning.” [SHIN MIN-HEE]

The main dish is another textural bonanza, with a plate filled with a slice of beef steak, a scallop, a mushroom dumpling, vegetable pâté and a butter ball. The twist here is that a bumpy silicon flap is placed on the back of one’s hand. It is sprinkled with seasoned powder, which guests are instructed to use as a palate cleanser.

Finishing off the dinner is an interactive dessert course called Bouba and Kiki. Guests are presented with a picture of two different, arbitrary shapes and are asked to name each one either Bouba or Kiki. They are then presented with an array of spoons and asked again to pick ones that look like Bouba or Kiki.

There is no right answer, per se, but people tend to give the same names to the random shapes. Called the Bouba-Kiki effect, the phenomenon refers to the mental association people make with the sounds of words and images. In most instances, people tend to link pointier or rougher objects with Kiki, and rounder objects with Bouba.

This spoon has a symmetrical voluminous round head to stimulate sweetness to the tongue and lips. [JEON JIN-HYUN]

Han’s dessert embodies this effect by incorporating soft and sweet flavors like fruit jelly, ganache and sponge cake to represent Bouba, in contrast to the brighter flavors and textures to represent Kiki such as a yogurt sorbet, fried brioche crisps and shards of meringue.

Not everyone may be able to comprehend or even experience the synesthetic senses behind Jeon’s works, but it is never her central goal to force people into feeling and seeing the world as she does.

“Not everyone may understand my intentions behind these dishes, but I don’t see that as the point of this project,” Jeon said. “What I do hope with my work is for people to use this time to solely focus on themselves and their senses to discover something new.”

BY LEE JIAN, SHIN MIN-HEE [lee.jian@joongang.co.kr]