We use food, particularly vegetables and the vegan diet, as a tool, working around themes of creativity, waste, and health. This page archives some of the projects we’ve worked on and created, their concepts, outcomes and lessons.
If you'd like to talk more about a project we've done or about a custom food project we can do together get in touch with Hannah and Ross on info@notasausage.co.uk
Leek Dog (Condimentum I)Experimental Dinner and publishing event
Condimentum is an experimental movement, a plate full of possibilities, a spoon for stirring up the norms and a fork to orchestrate fabulous events, evenings, performances and eating.
Leek dog was the first concept, with an aim to dispel, and dispose of, the unhealthy obsession with over-processed fast food favourite: the Hot Dog. For this we played on the food fandom and oversaturated language that surrounds them, but instead gave the stage to the most natural forms we could, whole vegetables in their true form. We created three fun and healthy alternatives to rival this brown finger: the carrot dog, the courgette dog, and of course, the leek dog. Dressed up in home-made condiments, our guests weren’t immediately aware of the switch, but soon realised on taking their first bites the delightful, varied fillings, that spilled down their faces as they ate to add to the performance.
Sandwich STORIESPart of Invisible Spaces for parenthood at SHOWROOM gallery
ISP researched into the childcare provision in the Church Street area. Andrea Francke, mother and artist, invited practitioners to host workshops, and discussions to collect and share knowledge.
We developed a creative sandwich making workshop that was undertaken by parents and children, bringing creativity into the sometimes mundane, reduced to habit, act of making sandwiches for lunch. Adopting new thinking for how we see food is important in getting us to relax, and understand more about our diets and intakes.
Inspired by the 70s cookery book 'Fun to make, fun to eat'
SEA SHELL tea ceremonyCarried out at Margate’s Walpole Hotel
The performance of the host is anticipated in every object. Collected shells from a walk between Margate and Broadstairs. Complementary tea from the room with a hotel kettle. Anywhere can become a space for ritual and ceremony. The seaside is particularly ritualistic in the minds and bodies of the pilgrims who habitually visit.
SAUSAGESVarious events, meals, and celebrations.
We created a plant based sausage to shake up the plate, throw the vegetable party everyone has been waiting for and crown the vegetable king. To bring healthy habits to body and planet. Further opening mouths and minds to the many faces of the vegetable.
Vegetables can be sausages too! Although our name may suggest the opposite, we truly believe in having fun, reimagining old ways and utilising great food forms. The sausage has to be the most popular vessel in all the land. But why when it comes to the veggies, is this relegated to soy emulsifiers, frozen seasonings and sad skins. Our vegan bangers are made with as much fresh veg and ingredients as we can fill them with. To bring the ritual to the cooking of vegetables that is at the core of the way people consume meat.
Rises Again (Condimentum II)Experimental dinner and publishing event
Condimentum II saw an alternative celebration of spring. Falling over the easter period, the egg was given space to be celebrated as the mighty life giver that it is, but remain un-eaten in the process. We experimented with different layers: whole beetroots or roasted radishes coated in a saffron potato puree to take place of the yolk; bean meat two-ways for the whites; and polenta, legume juice and black and white seeds for the shells; all served on nests of salads and roasted vegetable twigs.
A different look on the religious celebrations around this time was taken also, with guests invited to bring games and readings to offer up. This was the theme taken into the second Condimentum food zine.
LAO BBQPop up outdoor participative restaurant
Inspired by the communal focus of every meal prepared in Laos, LAO BBQ is an experience in cooking as a social event, outdoors, over an open fire. With the use of a metal dome to grill, surrounded by a moat of broth, all the guests sat round one of the custom-made tables create the meal together, eating becomes mutual.
The tables worked in a way that even if two people came along as friends, they would end up sitting opposite strangers who would imminently become their collaborators, and it proved to break down barriers and small talk we might usually have to overcome before inviting someone over for dinner.
https://www.instagram.com/lao_bbq/
VEGETABLE INKSCreative workshop as a part of Old Tidemill Wildlife Garden’s Open Saturdays and Whitechapel Artist’s Book Fair
This workshop in making vegetable inks was an exercise designed to explore the multiple uses of the humble vegetable and tackle waste, which is so often a problem in any production process.
Instructions for the inks:White onions - skins onlyRed onions - skins onlyBeetroot - peeled & choppedRed cabbage - chopped
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This was led step by step, with the children taking care to put to one side all the vegetable leftovers that then got turned into a french style onion (and beetroot) soup while they experimented with the different inks and painting equipment they’d just made.
A publication was made to accompany this, designed using entirely vegetable inks, printed in soy based inks with Hato Press, taking the reader through the process in the form of a story. This included the soup recipe, to be used for fun in the future.
Josey's DinerCreative workshop as a part of Old Tidemill Wildlife Garden’s Open Saturdays and Whitechapel Artist’s Book Fair
FOUR CANDLESExperimental series of dinner events
An advent(ure) into four themes for a scene. A nature table was naked and waiting. A set for us to dress differently each week. And share stories as we adorned. Some food and fire fuelling.
With the first of four candles came the theme of the stone. The pebble. The grain. The canyon. Guests brought along a "story" for us to digest as we dressed the table in rocks. There was gravel-esque Dukha to dip into and puddings were licked off of slate to the soundtrack of people playing with ornamental gems.
In the second event, the nature table now awaited, pebbles bared. With the second of four candles came the theme of the plant. The root. The bark. The leaf. This time recitals were made as we dressed the table in mulch-able matter. Gifts of chestnut humous made for starters and roots, bulbs and sprouts were eaten in parcels of cabbage. A performance of a vegetable carrot accompanied.
With the third of four candles came the theme of the creature. The animal. The you. The me. The nature table WAS nature now. Set. For what came next. To be animated. Dressed in things that moved freely. People helped themselves to flesh-like Panzanella in handfuls, and a blood red beetroot soup followed, while the Wild was listened to on vinyl.
The table for the last event, a world that sat/grew/moved/breathed, was ready, for what exists inbetween. We drew down from beyond, to adorn in the theme of Further. A thought, a destination, a time. Bowl, spoon and galaxy were one in a giant head of salad. And so marked the completion of our walk around the table.
EARTHLY DELIGHTSParty curation with edible scenery
Using Hieronymus Bosh’s Garden of Earthly Delights as a theme, a party was created in collaboration with Roxanne Farahmand and Lauren Doughty, where earthly delights were available in painterly strokes of multicoloured dips for guests to consume, with the knowledge that the evening would transcend through the scenes depicted in his three painted panels, from dawn, to day, into night…
The space itself was turned into a painting with a still life acting as backdrop to it all, also edible with a bit of experimentation as to what tastes good raw!
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PIZZzzAPortable pizza oven used at various events and celebrations
One of the core ingredients of cooking, fire or heat has a leading role in our relationship to food, and transformation. But also to the outdoors, risk and history. With each fire we make, we can be transported back to the very first fire, for the very first act of cooking that would have drawn together communities, friends, family and gifted food, warmth, and connection.
A pizza is such a shareable food item. Completely adaptable in it’s topping, it acts as it’s own plate bringing a depth of history and food craft with it over 1000 years old.
There are many parts to this play;
(1) To make the dough we need to let the first transformation take place.
(2) Preparing the toppings.
(3) Building the fire. We need alot of heat for the speedy cooking process required by the pizza. Creating the fire, using the right wood and giving that heat time to grow
(4) Trusting the food to the flame, for just the right amount of time, maintain focus and watch as the two elements interact and transmogrify.