Sweet Dreamy Flavours

On 12 May 2022, Wageningen University & Research’s Division of Human Nutrition and Health hosted a farewell symposium for the retirement of prof. dr. ir. Kees de Graaf. Studio Katja Gruijters was asked to provide a food experience. Sweet Dreamy Flavours took those present into the dreamlike world of Kees’ career in Sensory Nutrition.

For many years and in many ways, Kees contributed greatly to the development of knowledge about eating behaviour. The festivities took place at the splendid new Omnia building at Wageningen Campus where Kees held his farewell address ‘Eating Behaviour: Sweet Dreams and Broken Promises’.

To coincide with this theme, Kees had asked Katja Gruijters to develop a concept around the topic of ‘sweet dreams’. Studio Katja Gruijters developed a festive taste exploration consisting of 7 islands. A sensory experience in which we played with colours, shapes, textures, and flavours.

And the guests? They had to guess the flavours of the presented bites. With a map of flavours, they explored the different islands by colour and shared their taste experience with their neighbours. Using the flyer’s security seal, they could then find out if what they tasted matched the menu.

Kees has played an important role in several Feed Your Mind Foundation projects as the foundation’s chair. His way of working and thinking was inspiring to our team. Fortunately, his farewell to the university is not a complete farewell to Feed Your Mind yet. We wish Kees a very happy retirement!