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The flavors of Sydney’s diverse cultures translated into stunning chocolate.
Every culture has its own customs, cuisine, and flavors. The “Not a Single Origin” project celebrates this concept in a special – and delicious – way. Created in a collaboration between artisan chocolate shop Bakedown Cakery and the team of data visualization specialists from Small Multiples, Not a Single Origin translates the map of Sydney into beautifully designed and thoughtfully made chocolates. The city is home for more than 5 million people. Using the 2016 Census data, the team discovered that the Sydney area featured an impressive cultural diversity spread across 12 neighborhoods. Each with its own flavors that mirror different ethnic and cultural backgrounds that enrich this modern Australian city. Thus, taste became the perfect way to represent the unique fabric of every suburb through a shared love of chocolate.
A year in the making, the project led to the creation of a truly striking box of chocolates. Bakedown Cakery used the dominant cultural backgrounds of each suburb in order to develop the 12 different flavors. Company owner Jen Lo researched the spices and ingredients for every neighborhood, spending months creating the chocolates. “For a suburb such as Westmead with a strong Indian population, flavors including cardamom, coconut and cashew join forces to represent the ancestry of its residents. Whereas, Concord with its large Italian influence sees a chocolate flavored with strawberry paired with a tart balsamic vinegar caramel, to demonstrate its heritage,” explains Jen Lo.
“This project is a true taste of the flavors of Sydney. The origins of Sydney’s population encompass more than 200 different ancestries. We have used taste to help people experience the extraordinary diversity in Australia’s most populous city, with the goal of making data delicious and turning this idea into bite-sized pieces for ‘Not a Single Origin’,” adds Jack Zhao of Small Multiples. The flavors celebrate the cultural tapestry of Sydney. For example, the Randwick chocolate gives a nod to Ireland with Baileys, coffee, and honeycomb flavors. To represent the Greenacre suburb, the Lebanese-themed chocolate combines dates, rosewater, and pistachio.
Each and every piece from the collection of 12 is special. Placed together, they create a work of art that paints a picture of multicultural Sydney through taste and conceptual design. Apart from the rich flavors that honor Sydney’s diversity, the project also uses visual innovation. The packaging boasts an abstract take on the ingredients – a vibrant painting of bright colors created using a custom software – while the chocolates feature 3D printing of the suburbs’ streets. The limited-edition chocolate collection sold out quickly, but the two brands plan to release another set soon. Check out the project’s official website for more info on future product launches. Photographs© Hilary Cam, Small Multiples, and Bakedown Cakery.
