Relations - Chocolate Game 2026
A reflection on the value of connection with others. An invitation to recognize how every relationship is fully fulfilled only through listening, understanding, and mutual care. A rupture that interrupts the dialogue with oneself, in a world increasingly inclined to closure, deaf to understanding others.
The dish consists of fourteen tastings and explores the theme of relationships through the language of taste.
The sensory shock
We begin with Sberla, an element that aims to draw attention through both its shape and its flavors. When it enters the mouth, it feels like a spoon, a familiar object; only later do you discover that it is constructed like a hand, an unexpected presence that changes perception and amplifies the surprise.
Effervescence, citrus notes, and a lively acidity intertwine with a balsamic freshness. The heat of the air and the chill of the gin alternate and overlap, generating a succession of contrasts and reactions. An element capable of shaking the palate, rekindling the senses, and bringing attention back to the present moment.
Introspection
Immediately after comes Intro.verso, a wooden spoon pointing downward, designed to protect its contents and conceal it from view. Tasting occurs by exploring the hollows one by one with the tongue, searching for different hidden flavors. An invitation to reflect on a deeply personal dimension of experience. Even though we share the same table and the same moment, our attention is focused on ourselves, in an almost centripetal gesture.
A simple and playful exercise that invites us to observe the nature of relationships and the possibility of finding balance through mutual listening.
The relationship
The second part of the game opens up to the dimension of relationships. A thread connects the diners and makes what happens tangible. Through the cutlery, every movement is perceived by those sitting next to each other, even without speaking; every gesture generates a reaction, every action is reflected in the other. During the tasting, one experiences tension, harmony, resistance, complicity. One realizes that the only way to proceed naturally is to abandon individual instinct and tune into the rhythm of the person sitting before one. Putting oneself in another's shoes thus becomes not just a reflection, but a concrete necessity.
The materials also contribute to defining the character of the game. The wood of the cutlery and tools conveys a sense of warmth and closeness, while the textures accompany the theme of connection through elements that slowly melt, hold back, offer slight resistance, or invite exploration.
The research
Through this chocolate game, Massimiliano, together with Massimiliano Zampini, professor of Cognitive Sciences at CIMeC - University of Trento, continued his research on multisensoriality, giving rise to an axiom: taste does not originate only in the mouth, but involves the entire body.
In this case, through touch we explore the world, recognize what is familiar to us, build memories and relationships. Every surface, every texture, every temperature generates a response that precedes words and involves the body even before the mind.
What we perceive arises from the continuous encounter between our inner world and what surrounds us. A constant search for balance, belonging, and reassurance, like the distant memory of an original protection that each of us first experienced in the womb and that the body continues to guard.