Altar-ed States
Focus & Development
The residency centred on developing fermented recipes designed to support organic vegetable growers in the city’s historic chinampas of Xochimilco. By extending the lifespan of fresh produce through fermentation, the project offered farmers the possibility of creating longer-shelf-life products that could reduce waste and diversify their offerings.
Community Engagement
These recipes also informed the creation of a garden-inspired menu for the on-site café. Wilder Kitchen collaborated with café staff, sharing knowledge about both cultivated and wild plants available in the gardens, as well as seasonal produce from the weekly Wednesday farmers’ market.
Research
Alongside the practical work, the residency involved deep research into two interwoven themes:
- The transformation of vegetables through fermentation, exploring altered states of matter and flavour.
- The cultural reverence for food in Mexico, examined through the lens of Mayan history, colonisation, religious shifts, and the idea of nature and the body as “living altars.”
The project culminated in the creation of a living altar of food, built around two sacred ingredients in Mexican culture: corn and cacao. This altar was also a celebration of the land’s abundance—fruits, vegetables, and foraged plants. Guests were invited to interact with it by eating from the altar itself, embodying the concept as the food was transformed within their own bodies.
February 2025