AV on the Menu: Projection Mapping a Michelin-Starred Meal

Learn how Bravo Media used projection mapping to create an innovative dining experience at Michelin-Starred New York restaurant, Le Bernardin.
AV on the Menu: Projection Mapping a Michelin-Starred Meal
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Upon entering Le Bernardin, a three Michelin-starred restaurant in New York, several adjectives come to mind. The caramel-colored teak ceilings evoke warmth, while the massive painting of ocean waves seems to project a salty spray, echoing the freshness of the seafood on your plate. Above the bar, a portrait of the grandfather of the original owners, Maguy and Gilbert Le Coze, depicts the old fisherman in a pose that is both proud and humble.

One adjective you probably wouldn’t use to describe Le Bernardin is “cutting edge.” Unless, you were lucky enough to be one of 20 CEOs at a PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) event at Le Bernardin in partnership with Bravo Media. Here’s a peek at what David Title and his team were able to accomplish, turning haute cuisine high tech.

Chef Eric Ripert at Le Bernardin
Chef Eric Ripert shows off the portrait of the fisherman at Le Bernardin.
Photo courtesy of Ripert's Facebook page.

Creating a Heightened Dining Experience

David Title is the Founder and Partner of Bravo Media, a creative production studio that specializes in crafting live experiences. Concentrating on events, corporate environments, retail, hospitality, and digital displays, Title and his team are focused on enhancing audience engagement for brands and organizations. 

When PwC approached Bravo for their help with a very small, private dinner, they wanted to provide a heightened experience. The clients attending the dinner were their very best, and though a three Michelin-starred meal probably would have sufficed for most, PwC wanted to display two things to their guests: an undercurrent of innovation and a forward-looking experience.

The Challenge

Title had done projection mapped projects in Manhattan’s Lightbox event space before, where the environment is perfect for a fully immersive event. But without four blank walls, the private dining room at Le Bernardin was not ideal for this type of experience. They had to look for other ways to technically elevate the meal, and get creative by using Le Bernardin’s strong suit.

To get inspired, The Bravo Media team got an exclusive peek into the Le Bernardin kitchen, and the work of world-renowned Chef Eric Ripert’s crew. As the chefs prepared for dinner service, Title got the idea to illustrate the orchestration of the plates. The design of the food was so impressive, he knew bringing these dishes to life in front of PwC’s guests would be the key to a successful and awe-inspiring event. “We really focused on what we could do tabletop or with surrounds…’” Title said. “We could turn the tabletop into sort of an integration of the whole experience.”

Projecting on the tables sounds like a straightforward task, but adding AV equipment to a high-class, intimate dining room poses another challenge. If diners can see the projectors, it ruins the magic of the illusion. Luckily, the teak wood ceilings provided a convenient solution — Bravo was able to carefully hide the projectors in the slats overhead without disrupting the decor of the restaurant. Years ago when projectors were much bulkier, this would have been impossible. Technology has evolved to make Title’s work much cleaner and more conducive to a fully-immersive environment.

“In the LED laser days, you couldn't tell somebody with a straight face that they should put a projector in a place full time,” Title explains. “Now we're able to use these nice, tiny compact projectors. There's no more lamps…so they're not hot. We don't have to worry about the noise of the fan.” The idea of a projector in a small dining area is no longer a scary idea for restaurant owners hoping to spare their ambience.

The Dining Table Becomes a Canvas

Bravo turned the crisp white tablecloths into a canvas, and in addition to the artistic aspect of the dishes, they could also get some messaging out to the clients as well. Title was very cognizant of keeping the experience authentic and not “horribly in your face.” To do this, the team adopted a stop-motion approach to animating the plates. 

“Basically it's stop motion photography, essentially of every element that went onto the plate for each course,” said Title. “And then [we] turned those into animations and we shot those from the diner POV.”

The already high reputation of Le Bernardin needed to be upheld, and Title and team felt responsible for doing the amazing dishes justice. “So much credit goes to the insane precision of the kitchen and their staff,” Title explains. “Because what we were able to do was before each dish came out on their plate, we projected the entire plating process.”

After the dish was constructed digitally, the real plate replaced the projection shortly after. The result was a mind-blowingly similar reconstruction of the original dish — right down to the last leaf of parsley. The guests, being CEOs of fortune 50 companies, had seen their share of impressive meals. But this perfectly wrapped combination of taste and tech was certainly a new frontier for most.

Making Culinary Magic

The success of a projection mapped meal is determined by how well the eye was tricked. It’s the same reason we go to magic shows or stare at optical illusions in books — There’s something entertaining about being so sure of what you see, only to be told, surprisingly, you were duped. 

David Title and his team leaned into this idea. “Our brains love optical illusions; That sort of frictional cognitive dissonance of knowing something's impossible, but seeing it right in front of your eyes. We liked that feeling.” 

The popularity of projection mapping in the restaurant industry has continued to boom, but above all, the story the restaurants are choosing to tell remains paramount. A fancy projector and swirling lights can only be so amusing; diners typically want more to make a truly immersive dining experience. As Title explains, “If there's no connection between what you're seeing and the people and the event or the moment or the story or the, then it's just, it's just cool wallpaper…I don't mind cool wallpaper, but you can do more.”

If you’d like to see another example of immersive dining, check out our article on Zenon Dubai.



AV on the Menu is a series of articles that dive into the intersection of the culinary world and the AV industry. Whether it’s immersive dishes, projection-mapped tables, or digital menus, this series will not only have you drooling but learning about exciting new tech, too.

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  • AV on the Menu AV on the Menu

    AV on the Menu is a series of articles that dive into the intersection of the culinary world and the AV industry. Whether it’s immersive dishes, projection-mapped tables, or digital menus, this series will not only have you drooling but learning about exciting new tech, too.