Summer School - Marije Vogelzang

This is a Summer School — Create Your Own Conceptual Dinner

Starting June 16th 2026

When the days are lang and the world feels full of inspiration, it’s the perfect time to dive deep into imagination.

The Summer School is an intensive, hands-on program where you will create your own conceptual dinner from scratch. Over ten sessions (2 hours each, 17:00–19:00 CET), with a full integration week halfway through, you’ll get plenty of personal guidance from Marije Vogelzang to refine your ideas.

Together you’ll explore food as a language, a tool for storytelling, and a medium for design. You will experiment, play, and prototype — stretching your ideas beyond taste and into the realm of emotion, ritual, and philosophy.

By the end, you will have a fully developed concept ready to be brought to life, a small portfolio of your process, and a completely new way of looking at food — and yourself as a creator. The Summer School is not about recipes — it is about creating experiences that move people, including yourself.

In the Summer school, Marije takes you by the hand and guides you through her Vogelzang Method — a step-by-step yet deeply intuitive way to design a conceptual dinner.

You’ll begin with the spark of an idea and learn how to feed it: through research, sensory experiments, and playful prototyping.

You’ll explore the psychology of the eater — why people lick their fingers, hesitate, blush, or look away — and learn how to weave emotion, storytelling, and presentation into an edible experience. Along the way, you’ll also discover how a conceptual dinner can become more than art — how it can sustain you financially, intellectually, and emotionally.

But the real treasure is not the single dinner you’ll create; it’s the skill of creation itself. Once you’ve gone through this process, you’ll understand how to cast your own net — to fish for meaning, form, and flavor — again and again, turning your ideas into ever more surprising and heartfelt experiences.

yours

You’ll design a unique, story-driven food experience—one that goes far beyond taste and into memory, meaning, and imagination.

Gain new tools and methods

You’ll learn frameworks and techniques that help you turn abstract concepts into tangible, multisensory experiences.

Engage with theory that actually inspires

Instead of dry academic theory, you’ll receive accessible, thought-provoking ideas that fuel your creativity and give depth to your work.

Get personal feedback from an experienced mentor

You’ll receive honest, constructive, and inspiring feedback directly from a food design pioneer.

Join a global creative network

You’ll meet like-minded people from around the world, exchange ideas, challenge each other, and maybe even form lasting collaborations.

Boost your portfolio with something truly original

By the end of the program, you’ll have a fully developed concept piece—something you can showcase, exhibit, or even perform.

Be one of the small group of participants to join this exclusive 10-day summer school

Perhaps you:

long for inspiration that bring tangible results. Not just talking but doing!
are excited about creating edible stories that touch people’s souls
are interested in creativity with food but need more guidance
want to bring your conceptual dinners to the next level and beyond
know that creating food experiences is what you love to do but you don’t know how

This is your chance!

Join the summer School if you want

a unique experience with a group of international food explorers
to get expert knowledge about conceptual food experiences
to create your own authentic dinner that’s uniquely yours (for 2-4 people)
to get personal guidance by the master of conceptual dining
to learn step- by-step how to create a dinner which you can repeat endlessly
to fully get in touch with philosophy, sociology, psychology and the senses

The sessions with Marije changed my life. Thank you!

Patricia Curler designer

Meet Marije, your guide

Summer School is designed and taught by the world’s first Eating Designer, Marije Vogelzang, the Grand Dame of Eating Design.

Marije Vogelzang is a pioneering Dutch food designer with over 25 years of experience turning meals into stories, rituals, and works of art. She doesn’t just cook — she redesigns the way we eat, think, and feel about food.

Marije founded the Food Non Food department at Design Academy Eindhoven, ran two experimental “eating design” restaurants (Proef in Amsterdam and Rotterdam), and has created edible installations and performances worldwide — from Tokyo to New York. Her projects invite people to see food as a tool for connection, imagination, and transformation.

Expect her to break every rule you thought existed about food. In her courses, you might find yourself eating with your eyes closed, turning tap water into a tasting ritual, or turning your own memories into recipes. Marije’s approach is playful, deeply philosophical, and a little bit rebellious — because she believes eating can change the way we see the world.

For €997, you can be one of 10 and spend 10 fun days this summer to open new views on what you can do with food.

We’re starting June 16th. 2026!

Summer School
€997

A great choice if you want to gain a lot of insights in a really short time.

Join Today for €997 or 3 payments of €343

What if things turn out even better than expected?

In 10 days you become a food experience creator.

Is it only for food creatives?

In past courses, we’ve had:

• A florist who now works with edible flowers as protest signs

• A permaculture gardener who uses food rituals to teach soil literacy

• A brand manager who speaks to clients in the language of food (and gets better results)

• An interior shop owner who now hosts secret tastings — and sells more products

• Scientists who make their research edible and therefore more understandable

• A psychologist who uses food to help clients connect with their bodies

what is the time investment?

It will cost you less time than it will cost you to do nothing and figure everything out yourself. Having said that, it’s 10 days, two hours a day (you get a recording if you can’t join the live session) and any extra time you want to work on your project (between 30 min to 4 hours) depending on how much time you’ve got.

Do I need to show myself on zoom?

It is not mandatory to show yourself on zoom, so if you feel more safe without your camera on, that’s completely fine. However, you will notice it’s more fun to engage and communicate while showing yourself.

Will I make a huge dinner in 10 days?

You will create a dinner for 2 to 4 people which, after the Winter School is over, you can easily scale and execute in any size you want.

Will we create one of your dinners?

You will create your own, very unique and personal dinner that doesn’t exist anywhere else in the world.

Will there be another moment for this course?

Right now, the Summer school is happening once a year. Sign up for the newsletter if you’d like to be kept updated. We also have hands -on retreats and courses at www.fooddesignplayground.nl

WHERE COULD YOU BE IN JUST 10 DAYS?

Book your seat for the Summer school and start inviting your friends for your unique conceptual dinner this summer!

DON’T MISS OUT

Summer school
€997

A great choice if you want to gain a lot of insights in a really short time

Join Today for €997 or 3 payments of €343

Create your own
Conceptual dinner