If you consider yourself at all locally in-the-know or culturally on-point and haven’t cast your artistic eye over Kaye Winwood’s edible endeavours yet – bad news, you have some serious catching up to do. Kaye’s events explore the often downright lustful sensuality of food through dining experiences that literally make dining-out a work of art, combining sensual and sense-oral delights in every form. This year she’s already worked on projects with BCU and Chef Chris Hughes, been the talk of the town for her (instant sell-out) arts and science festival project ‘Expanded Intimacy’ and has been working on her research project titled ‘Exploring Fanny’ since November 2016. Her next event is a dining experience titled Breakfast of Champions is being held at Two Cats Kitchen on the 22nd and 23rd of July and offers a 5 course tasting menu that pays a panting homage to the quintessentially British greasy spoon cafe (scroll down for booking details).

When were you first inspired to explore the connection between sexuality, sensuality and food?
Pretty much from the first time I worked with food at a company called Companis, that I formed with Sian Tomkin to challenge the norms within the culinary world. We were both women in our 30’s and our first project was actually a 5 course chocolate based menu made for two people. The experience was housed in a gallery with 100 people watching the intimate experience between these two diners. The company wasn’t intentionally sexualised, but it came up and we both seemed to accept it. Eventually we dissolved the company and I started to concentrate on the serious dialogue between sexuality and food, whereas Companis was more tongue-in-cheek. I do still play with humour, but the work is a lot more subversive. Diabolical Roses and After Dark, two of my previous experiences, are about finding a woman’s voice in the art world. Sensuality is a big part of that. The roles of women are strong within my work and that comes out in the dialogue of the event.
I found it curious that the professional culinary world is dominated by men, but the domestic culinary world is very focused on women. There is an opportunity and necessity for my work to focus on and emphasise the correlation between women and food, as it is undeniable, and work with those parallels.

What is one of your event highlights?
Diabolical roses, was a real highlight in terms of my practice. To be able to focus on how performance can enhance the experience, and looking at a more holistic approach to dining, including silverware and vessels that hold food, making them as interactive as possible.

Funniest Moments?
Diabolical roses. In the dessert course which was called Diabolical Roses and it was essentially an orgasm with salted yogurt in syringes, as an interactive element to the course, it was to be used as an ejaculant. To watch the audience take the mantle, and to be in a space where the audiences felt comfortable enough to take charge was really special, and entertaining. When we did it in Poland we changed the menu and in one course called ‘Lick Me Out’ Rice paper wrappers were shaped like vaginas and filled with salmon and cream cheese. Watching a 70 year old woman licking her rice paper clean was amazing. I love how the work makes intimate acts made more public. I did another project called ‘Jazda’ which is polish for ‘trip’. It was a double entendre because the event was a 15 minute limousine ride in which we created a culinary interpretation of narcotics. There was a specially commissioned soundtrack to accompany the experience which slowly got louder and more intense as the journey went on. We had ‘Acid Tab’ which was edible paper impregnated with a vodka and szechuan pepper tincture, ‘Tobacco’ which was tobacco infused liquor in syringes injected into their mouths, ‘Amphetamine’ which was sherbet infused with ginger for a real kick, wrapped in squares from various polish pornographic magazines, and ‘Cocaine’ which was Cocoa powder with cinnamon that the guest snorted.

Tell us more about Breakfast of Champions
The project celebrates the British tradition of the greasy spoon cafe you’d find yourself at ‘the day after the night before’. Presented at Two Cats Kitchen, the menu follows the theme, you’ll see that one of the first course is ‘Tea and Toast’ But they’ll be no sliced white bread and it certainly won’t be hot. We started off with a typical greasy spoon menu, the type of things you’d eat for brunch, and elevated it, turning the conventional on it’s head. The restaurant will resonate with the theme too, so it will be a nice surprise when you enter. The performers will embody waiters and waitresses with a suggestion towards an east-end cafe. It’s also great working with Chris (Hughes) again.

Breakfast of Champions: Sat 22 Jul 7pm & Sun 23 Jul 2pm, at Two Cats Kitchen, 27 Warstone Ln, Birmingham B18 6JQ £45 www.billetto.co.uk

More information about Kaye Winwood is available here