Google "Small World"
an NYC pop-up restaurant serving up language & culture
THE EXPERIENCE–
4 head chefs. 5 nights. 1 restaurant. 30 menus in 6 languages. 490 guests. 21 minutes for reservations to bookout.
(oh and 36,000+ DoughDonuts for passerby's.)
Whether they begin with "bon appétit," "dobrou chuť” or "itadakimasu," it's over meals that we build community and connect. It's primal–ingrained like the ability for a campfire to evoke stories–we connect as people through a shared meal. Food like language builds bridges between people. It's a universal language in its own right.
To explore this intersection of food and language, both of which are fundamental drivers of culture, we opened a multicultural pop-up restaurant in New York City for Google Translate. And so we took 490 diners on a journey through the lens of food — perhaps our only true universal language.
For 5 nights only in New York's Lower East Side, an event space at 168 Bowery was transformed to become our "Small World." Guests were invited to participate in a multilingual dining experience, using the Translate app to unlock diverse meals created and prepared by 18 renowned chefs representing cultures the world over. Danny Bowien (Mission Chinese), Einat Admony (Balaboosta, Taïm), Gerardo Gonzalez (El Rey), and JJ Johnson (The Cecil) brought their diverse culinary perspectives to play with three supporting sub-chefs each night. Reservations for the 9 seatings went in just 21 minutes.
From the exterior of the building, to coat check tags, to the menus, to the interior decor, to the language the servers spoke upon seating guests, the entire "Small World" hinged on use of the Google Translate app. While phone use and fine dining are typically like oil and water, technology was thoughtfully interwoven in an inclusive way to immerse the diner in the larger experience. A dash culinary experience, a pinch cultural immersion, and splash of performance art.
Using Word lens thru Translate transformed culturally-relevant messages on art prints adorning the interior walls. (One even affording the discoverer instructions for how to order an off-menu Champagne cocktail.) A food cart of DoughDonuts supplied 36,000 donuts to passerbys wondering what the space, vacant only days before, had become. Language, as it is to culture, was the heart of the experience.
Ultimately, it was a fleeting experiment in communication, food and cultural understanding: what happens when we use many languages in an effort to speak as one?
#EveryoneSpeaksFood
MY ROLE–
Brand Marketing Manager / Creative Activation Lead. Creative Strategy + Creative Execution + Agency Management
the posters–
the experience–
“this event was one of the most special things i’ve ever attended. and i work in events! this space looks amazing. i had so much fun exploring all of the easter eggs.””
