A true 3D food printing roadtrip through California would NOT be complete without going to the3D Systems Culinary Lab in LA.; it was really something months in the making and a dream come true!
We took a TON of pics and that is mainly what I’d like to share so you can get feel for just how awesome the space that Kyle and the team have there. So in preperation, go get a rag to clean up the drool your about to spill on your keyboard and enjoy all the sweet 3D food printing goodness!
If you’re not familiar with the 3DSystems Culinary Lab, go ahead and check out their spring 2015 vid I’ve embeded below before proceeding so you can get a feel of what your getting into…
Entrance and Entry to the Culinary Lab
Firstly the building has an auora about it even when you see it that something special is going on inside. Once you decide to go from creeping through the huge open windows and step inside the 3D food printing 3D Systems Culinary Lab in the world you realize that you really underestimated just how special this place was going to be.
When you walk in you blasted by some more glass a few meters in front of you, this time walls that encase the ChefJet(s), a staircase that looks like it belongs in the Lourve to your left and to the right is a beautiful display area and fully furnished kitchen. There are mind-blowing 3D printed pieces all evolved from ideas around food, the eating/dining experience and just beauty well. Of course every piece was exciting to see and feel and if I could recommend something that I was drawn to were the knife and the platter.
You will recognize some of the prints from the collaboration with Modernist Cuisine for the event with Ferran Adrià (I’ve included the vid so you can see those if you haven’t already)
Upstairs Office & ChefJet Area
The upstairs of the Culinary Lab is where you might say the real magic happens… by some real wizards and a secret weapon! Some of the stuff they are working on is really forward thinking, but what is really cool is that they are really working with top chefs and exploring the techology with others, which is why we are so fond of them.. we want to help people explore it and learn more and come up with their own ideas of what 3D food printing can become. Once upstairs you can dig into the staircase and you notice that the railing is also a seating area and is made up of multiple materials with a very modern architecture touch.
You can go right up to the glass housing of the area where the ChefJets are and monitor evertything, or just stare at them for a while as you day dream. Everything in this whole place is meticulously thought out.. every detail. Also upstairs are early sketches of some of the display prints as well.
Once you get your chance to go near the ChefJets, hold back the urge to pull up the truck and load one up as I did.. You aren’t going to get your hands on one any time soon… They are also super detailed just like everything else, down to the way the binder is displayed on the machines (the differnet colored liquid you see sticking up out the back of the ChefJets. There was some of the Wasabi Eggs from the opening event of the Culinary Lab and also some of the famous Raspberry geometry treats that Luis and I were able to taste on our 2nd 3D Printed Food tasting vid (you can watch it at the end of the post).
The 3D Systems Culinary Lab X Hershey’s CocoJetCollab also makes a cameo appearance as well inside the glass house. The feeling in this place isn’t like just hammering out your next 3DFP ideas in your sketchbook (more about sketchbooks later) while on the train or in your workspace in your basement.. It is a total inviting area that inspires you to do something.. do it well.. and do it like it hasn’t been done before. Because chances are it hasn’t!
Thank you to Kyle and the Culinary Lab!
This really wouldn’t have happened if Kyle and Liz wouldn’t have been so cool from the beginning. We’d been anticipating the opening of the Culinary Lab for months and it was a very special couple hours for us to spend with him; just being in the building that will have a big impact on the future of what we do at 3DIGITALCOOKS would’ve been enough but talking with Kyle and the “secret weapon” was so inspiring and helpful for us that it was a really memorable moment for us. If you get a chance to get a viewing, or can attend on of the Culinary Lab events, do it!
Hope you enjoyed this e-tour of the Culinary Lab; heres the 3D Printed Food tasting #2 from inside I mentioned earlier in the post.
Wanna check out more like this?
We’ve got some more coverage of our 3D food printing roadtrip coming up soon.. Sign up to our newsletter to join our community and we’ll let you know when we have another mega post like this about our journey through 3DFP!