In Vietnam, a jar of fish sauce or soy might bring relief through the lean season, but it also recalls childhood afternoons, the precision of a mother’s hand, or the sting of summer heat. In Greece, a pot of olives or bottle of wine holds within it the memory of laughter, of company, and of meals savoured in the shade.
From the ceramic jars lining countryside kitchens in Vietnam to the rows of brined olives along the Aegean coast, people have long used salt, yeast, and time to ferment not just food, but fragments of themselves. The “U” workshop captured this shared intuition, a moment where East and West meet through food, and where fermentation becomes a conversation about creativity, identity, and memory.
Dining and Cooking