After half an hour of chatting and tasting, the head chef welcomes the guests and invites them to savour the evening and allow the hosts to guide them through the four 'movements'. One by one the guests are led by the waiters into the solitary space. When seated, they receive a herbal water palate cleanser and are left to enjoy the dim lighting and incense smoke. Once everyone has taken their places, the lights go out; the solitary space is dimly illuminated with twelve candles. The guests receive a small warm round pebble in their hands and are encouraged to close their eyes. After a few minutes, three large cobblestones are brought into the room in rugged metal containers. Boiling water infused with essential oils is poured over the hot stones, filling the air with fragrant vapour and the gentle sound of bubbling and hissing. The guests are left alone to sink deeper into the meditative atmosphere. After a few minutes, the first dish is served. Three rice cubes spiced with plant matter from the forest and the sea, Soft textures and tastes are punctuated with a salty zest of lemony raw samphire, all washed down with the fresh shadow grown gyokuro tea stalks. Next a warm broth is placed into the guests' hands. The hint of smoked mussels and beer lingers in clear warm water served in freshly baked bowls. All the while the sounds of water turning into steam emanate from tiny speakers spread on the ground and from a hurdy-gurdy plucked live somewhere far away…

• 2 japanese-style incense sticks “Atlas Cedar”

Light the incense ~10 minutes before guests arrive in the Solitary space

• 1 dl boiled, cooled and filtered tap water
• 5 drops of sage flower water
• 2-3 drops of mint water
• 2-3 drops of lemon juice

Boil tap water. Cool it down and filter to remove impurities. Add the other ingredients. Serve a mouthful in a small lab pipette.

• 3 cobblestones (or other large stones)
• 5-10 drops of cedar essential oil
• 5-10 drops of rosemary essential oil
• ~1/2l of boiling water

Heat the stones in the oven for about 1/2 hour at 200ºC. Boil the water and add the essential oil (divide in 3 flasks: 1 cedar, 1 rosemary, 1 cedar and rosemary, 5-7 drops per flask) just before serving. Place the stones in the space, pour boiling scented water over them 2-3 times.

Heat small round stones (from different parts of the world) for ~5 minutes in the oven with the cobblestones. Try them out for temperature before serving. Give one to each guest to warm their hands.

• 1 cup of sushi rice

cube 1

• pinch of dried Dulse seaweed flakes

cube 2

• pinch of Icelandic moss
• a few drops of truffle oil
• pinch of arctic salt (with arctic thyme and moss)

cube 3

• pinch of Australian bush tomato powder
• pinch of Slovenian fleur-de-sel
• a few twigs of (pickled) samphire

(the fourth rice cube that we didn't serve, but it tastes quite interesting)

• edible thyme essential oil
• wasabi (freshly ground or in paste)

to serve

• dash of lemon juice
• raw samphire (1 twig per person)

Steam rice for about 15 minutes on 100ºC. Leave to cool until luke warm. Divide the rice in 4 parts. Mix one part with dulse flakes, another part with icelandic moss, arctic salt and truffle oil, the third part with bush tomato and fleur de sel (place pickled samphire on top). Mix the fourth part with a few drops of thyme oil (watch out it's very intense!) and add wasabi to taste. Make small cubes of each mixture. Serve in a row with raw samphire brushed with lemon juice.

• gyokuro or matcha tea (steamed Japanese teas)
• water at 70C

Gyokuro: Infuse the tea for 2-3 minutes. Matcha: Mix about 1 teaspoon for 3dl of water. Froth it up with a tea whisk.

• 2 kg mussels
• 1 leek chopped
• 2 stalks of celery chopped
• 2 red onions sliced
• 2 large carrots chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic peeled
• 1 large bottle (750ml) of La Chouffe beer
• 5 tomatoes peeled and chopped
• handful of fresh samphire (optional)
• salt and pepper
• oak and maple wood chips

Place all ingredients except tomatoes into a metal dish and pour La Chouffe over them. Place in a home smoker and smoke for 25 minutes. Transfer to a large pot, add tomatoes, and cook for about 1 hour without stirring too much. Let the soup cool down then strain. Put in the freezer overnight or until frozen solid. Line a sieve with cheesecloth, then place the frozen soup into the sieve. Let it slowly strain through the cheesecloth as it defrosts. Warm before serving and add salt and pepper to taste.

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