Final stage of Kawther Luay's Gathering Table begins in Huntly
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ART project The Gathering Table is nearing its close with a series of three events.
Led by artist and chef Kawther Luay during a 12-month residency with Deveron Projects, the project will close by hosting meal events which combine storytelling, local food histories and foraging.
Together, the meals will explore the politics of food and hospitality.
The first of three events took place at Tap o' Noth Farm, Rhynie on Sunday, May 14.
Guests shared an outdoor meal centred around milk and its domestic production into yoghurt, butter and cheese.
Kawther and collaborator artist Fionn Duffy performed a re-imagining of the Celtic myth of the Dream Makers, while three "clouds of dream-cheese" – a strained yoghurt-based cheese – hung above the communal table.
Sitting around a large table, 25 guests were invited to roll their own cheeses in seasonings ranging from fermented wild garlic to dried radish.
The balls of cheese were preserved in oil and will be eaten at the next meal event, titled Grain, on Sunday, June 4.
Taking place at the Cabrach Trust’s Old Smiddy, Act 2: Grain will introduce barley as a character to explore how grain production has shaped the landscapes around us.
A Deveron Projects spokesperson said: "The artist is asking how preserving and fermenting can transform ingredients and cultures."
The programme will conclude with Act 3: Clay on Sunday, July 2.
All the "characters": cheese, yogurt, koji and sourdough cultures will be drawn together in a celebratory "earth oven feast".
Guests will work with clay collected from the Bogie river and help the artists cook food and fire ceramics simultaneously in an underground fire.
