Year 9’s 3D Edible Art
This week, Ms Jalili’s Year 9 Food Design students used their creativity and design skills to make an incredibly sculptural silicone cake mould, inspired by leading pastry chef, Dinara Kasko.
Food Design is new to the ×îÐÂÂ鶹ÊÓƵ curriculum and forms part of the Technology and Applied Studies (TAS) umbrella. The subject aims to increase students’ knowledge about food, nutrition and the design process, enabling them to develop and produce high quality food products.
Dinara Kasko started out as a design architect in her native Ukraine but quickly swapped the building site for the kitchen. Since then, she has gained a global reputation for her highly experimental edible objects, which are quite unlike any cakes we’ve seen before.
Uninspired by the square, round or rectangular cake moulds on the market, Kasko drew on her architectural knowledge to create her own designs, making clever use of 3D printing technology – which up to that point, had been something of a rarity in the world of gastronomy - to bring her visions to life. Today, she is celebrated for her geometric designs, as well as her passion for patisserie and beautiful aesthetics, often using ‘biomimicry’ to express the beauty she finds in nature.
Ms Jalili’s students were further inspired by the work of futuristic architecture, Zaha Hadid – all curving facades and sharp angles – and the bold, postmodern shapes and unusual fabrications of architect Frank Gehry of Guggenheim fame.
This term, the students have been using Fusion 360 to create computer models for their cake moulds, playing with algorithms and geometry to devise their own radically different designs.
In their class this week, they made their own silicone mould – drawing on their mathematical knowledge to work out the right amount of food-grade silicone to mix with water.
After learning more about the mathematics, geometry, and technology behind Dinara Kasko’s cakes, the students then had an opportunity to sample Ms Jalili’s work – a stunningly spherical creation of almond mousse with a chocolate fudge centre. Everyone agreed that it was delicious!
3D printing for food manufacturing is rapidly evolving, leading to innovative new approaches by gourmet chefs, including customised shapes, colours, flavours, textures, and even nutrition.
With the help of design software, 3D printing technology, and their imaginations, our students are learning how to become architectural cake designers. They can’t wait for the new building to open so that they can put their baking skills to the test in the new kitchen space there. And neither can we!