In the second half of last year, based on our vision, we started looking for people outside our field who share our ambition and passion to perform at the highest level. We made a selection from the applications and will be working with these people in the coming period to achieve the maximum together. We will support them in various ways in achieving their goals. An important factor is support from our SUPlabs, where we will work together to develop cases that will lead to new insights, better performance, and surprising projects through innovation (and SAP)!
Two weeks ago, we introduced Isabelle Hanssen, and today it's Jasper Udink ten Cate's turn, also known as Creative Chef.
Creative Chef
Sometimes in a restaurant, you are served a dish that is almost too beautiful to eat. Art on a plate, but ultimately meant to be eaten. Jasper Udink ten Cate, the "Creative Chef," takes this a few steps further.
He focuses on art and design objects that relate to food and everything surrounding it. Through Creative Chef, he collaborates with a collective of designers, illustrators, photographers, artists, and architects to come up with surprising concepts.
The first thing he wants to achieve is to organize a solo show in Rotterdam and Amsterdam. A culmination of art, design, and restaurant experience in one. Ultimately, his big dream is to have an edible exhibition in a museum, preferably MoMA New York.
Together, we will look for opportunities to use IT/SAP to come up with innovative concepts and, of course, to realize his dream.
iamSUPERP
We have already described a few things above, but tell us briefly: Who is Jasper Udink ten Cate and what does an average week in your life look like?
Haha, well, my life is great! I get up and, together with my lovely wife Annelien, we make sure the children get to school. Then I drive to my studio, where I spend the whole week writing a cookbook, making prototypes, designing experiences, and creating works of art.
On Tuesdays, I always play music with my band and I still perform regularly. Then, halfway through the week, I arrange all the logistics for the upcoming exhibitions and towards the weekend I often have paid catering jobs, which I can use to invest in new works of art!
In the summer, you can find me at the Smaakmuseum in Odijk, my own summer restaurant, and I think I have about 100 hobbies! Art, cooking, making music, reading, writing, visiting museums, etc. And my favorite activity is, of course, enjoying good food with my family and friends.
Furthermore;
I live in Soest and work wherever you want me to, which is great since Creative Chef is now going all over the world!
My favorite dish: The bouillabaisse I ate in the South of France when I proposed to my wife!
Idol: Frank Zappa
Guilty pleasure: Curry sausage from Germany
You previously worked as a chef but felt it lacked creativity. Where does your passion for art come from and when did it merge with cooking?
Art is in my DNA. When I was little, I tried to copy The Night Watch. My favorite TV show was and still is Tussen Kunst en Kitch. I was always in bands, and I remember my vacations by the dishes I ate in the restaurants we visited.
When I went to college, I tried my hand at art history while running my own cooking business. I always continued to paint and sold my first work while I was still a student. My focus eventually shifted to cooking. I literally read hundreds of cookbooks over a period of 10 years, every night. And now everything comes together in Creative Chef. Art, music, food, and entrepreneurship.
Looking at your work, we often see combinations of illustrations, paintings, design, architecture, and, of course, food. Which parts do you do yourself, and for which do you have partners?
I actually only use partners to develop my ideas. Think of the graphic design of a book,
for example
. I do the pictures myself, but I have someone else do the beautiful layout of the book. The same goes for my tableware. I make prototypes out of clay and, together with a ceramist
,
we work it out to achieve the desired result. Other than that
,
I do most of it myself.
You've published a book, Creative Chef. Why? And what can someone who doesn't know you or the book yet expect from it?
An explosion of creative ideas around the experience of food. A book that you read and leaves a smile on your face. Unlike any other cookbook. In fact, it may not really be a cookbook. The book was Creative Chef's first success and is available worldwide
! How cool is that? I've heard that it was on sale in the MOMA New York and Tate Gallery shops. How cool!
Are there people with a similar passion that you follow, or people who inspire you a lot?
Yes, I do have some idols. My biggest one is Frank Zappa. Not only because of his music, but because of the way he managed to create a total concept with music, design, theater, film, and actually became a kind of myth. Much of what he did is reflected in my work.
I'm also a very passionate jazz drummer. Art Blakey, a well-known jazz drummer, is also a hero of mine. Creating something instantly, on the spot, with others on stage is something you'll find in my way of working. I think that comes from my jazz background.
Questlove, the drummer of The Roots, is also amazing. I always listened to him as a little boy. My book was reviewed in the USA together with his cookbook. When I read that, I jumped for joy!
In terms of art, I'm a fan of Frank Stella, and in terms of Dutch artists
,
Studio Drift is a good example.
Are there any people, besides SUPERP of course, that you would like to work with?
Yes, in the field of product design, I would like to do something for big brands like Alessi, and I would like to do something with a well-known musician/artist. Make an album together called Recipes For Life.
And most of all
,
I would love to work with the curators of the MOMA in New York
,
of course! Haha…
If you could choose one of your works as your favorite/the work you are most proud of, which one would it be and why?
I am proud of everything
,
but I think the first tableware I ever made and presented is the one that is most dear to me. That's because two years ago it was picked up by a well-known trend forecaster, Lidewij Edelkoort. When that happened
,
I got a boost of confidence and the doors to the international stage opened.
It is well known that art is something that is difficult to make a living from. Suppose you had the opportunity, would you give up catering completely and focus solely on art?
Yes, I would give up regular catering. I would then only do catering as an art performance. So
,
food experiences in a museum hall as an artist, and not as a caterer at an event.
What do you get the most satisfaction from in your "work" as a Creative Chef? Do you have a nice anecdote for us?
The best moment is when I create something that touches people and I get to experience that too. That could be during a performance, or when telling a story, or just cooking something for someone. Recently, I participated in the exhibition A Global Table at the Frans Hals Museum. I portrayed global citizens who had settled in Haarlem and asked them about their food memories. I recently received a message from them saying that they had gone out to eat together. So, in that project, I brought people together through art and food. That gives me goosebumps!
With iamSUPERP, we want to support people outside our field who share the same desire to always perform at their best, to be SUPERB, and to constantly develop and grow. Working together to achieve something beautiful. We also read about your collaborations with designers, architects, illustrators, etc. in several places. When is this collaboration successful for you?
The collaboration is successful when it is balanced. So, clear agreements with an ultimate goal. The journey towards that goal is the most enjoyable part, and when the project is finally realized and you're standing together having a drink and receiving pats on the back, then you've done well. Ultimately, the project is never completely finished, but I've let go of that perfectionism. For me, it's more about it being there and others being able to see or experience it. Striving for superb quality is the fuel, but what is superb for me and for someone else sometimes differs, which is why balance is important.
Your dream is an edible exhibition at MoMA. Why MoMA and how exactly do you envision this (without giving away your idea completely, of course)?
Because, for me, MoMA is the symbol of a successful artist and because then you are truly superb… And it's a nice ambitious dream, so more fun to achieve.
What would that look like?
I have several options, but I would prefer to set a gigantic table and invite people from all over the world to come and eat. A statement for world peace by sitting down at the table with the whole world! This is not easy, but I have already looked into it and the first step was the project I did for the Frans Hals Museum. If there are people who can help me with such a large-scale project, let us know!
Although art may be somewhat difficult to predict, realizing your dream will not depend on a stroke of luck. What still needs to be done to achieve this? How do you think you will end up in MoMA?
My art needs to reach the next level. And for that, I need money, more time, perhaps some staff, and a gallery owner with connections and status. Preferably in New York.
Imagine you have to describe the next five years. What will they look like? What milestones are on your timeline?
September 2018
Exhibition in China
October 2018
Realization of first solo show in the Netherlands with a special work of art in collaboration with SUPERP
2019
Performance in Philadelphia
Deal with major design label
Find a gallery owner
Entrance to Artbasel
New book
2020
First major work sold to a museum in the USA
MOMA
SUPERP and Creative Chef are building an SAP-driven traveling restaurant that takes you "to Jupiter."
An initial idea for a collaboration with SUPERP is a first project in which we will "measure" people's behavior during a walking dinner with sensors and then visualize it at, for example, Dutch Design Week. We can imagine that more ideas will emerge?
Certainly, but let's start with this
one first. Things always turn out differently, and that's fun!
Finally, what is your favorite dish? It can be a dish from your book, but also another one, of course!
Bouillabaisse, a French fish soup, and everything my mother makes!
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