Moholy-Nagy University of Art and Design

Dorottya Vértessy – Mignon

ONYX Műhely x MOME I ‘Gerbeaud legacy’ project
Project overview
Degree level
Year of project
2022
The project is a collaboration between the MOME Object Design programme and ONYX Műhely. The goal of ONYX Műhely is to present a progressive Hungarian cuisine offering a fusion of art, science and gastronomy. The design course for ceramic design students of the MOME Object Design programme was led by Art Director of the ONYX Műhely’s Creative Community Angéla Góg DLA, and ceramist and MOME teacher Edit Kondor. Assisted by the Műhely's creative pastry chef Zsuzsanna Borsos, students were tasked with designing dessert serving items for ONYX Műhely by exploring contemporary dessert culture and the related serving techniques and drawing on Gerbeaud's legacy.
I explored the Mignon cake originating from 18th and 19th century French confectionery, known in Hungary as Kugler mignon. These are mini cakes with buttercream filling and colourful sugar glazing. My goal was to completely change the form of this dessert as known to everyone and make it more lovable. For this purpose, I transformed the cake into a cold dessert, an ice cream, while trying to preserve its main characteristics and essential vibe through a design that would be functionally suited for serving cold desserts.
The bottom part of the ice cream bowl has double walls insulating properties, while the style is reminiscent of the ruffled mignon paper. The top is a brightly coloured dome that evokes the colourful icing on the cake. My main goal was to create an element of surprise. What is inside the ceramic object remains a mystery to the customer until the moment the dome is lifted, just like you can only guess, rather than know for certain, the flavour of the cake before you cut into it. Photo: Rebeka Szomor
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