Artwork or restaurant?\u00a0 RAW:Almond<\/strong> is both, a pop-up restaurant that makes an event out of dining out.<\/p>\n

Picture 2,000 people in boots and coats feasting on ash cured scallops, creamy cannelloni beans with roots and herbed hen, or Alberta lamb and pumpkin curry, among other delicacies, while sitting on fur lined benches under a fabric roof in the middle of the Assiniboine River. Frozen over of course.<\/p>\n

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Interiors of the 2013 Popup Restaurant<\/strong>(Photography by\u00a0Jacqueline Young)<\/p>\n

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Over 15 guest chefs, each presenting his or her signature dish, will host three seatings a day\u00a0for 20 days.\u00a0Check out the photos of the first RAW:Almond. Billed as a celebration of food, local talent and winter, this year\u2019s edition of the event is already sold out.<\/p>\n

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Dishes prepared by guest chefs\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

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RAW:Almond is collaboration between architect Joe Kalturnyk<\/strong> and chef Mandel Hitzer<\/strong>. Kalturnyk is the founding director of Winnipeg\u2019s RAW Gallery which he created in 2010 as a place for architectural exploration. \u201cSort of the research wing of architecture,\u201d he says. The Gallery mounts a lot of installations. Hitzer owns and runs Deer+Almond, a premier Winnipeg restaurant. A mutual friend brought them together in 2011 and in 2013 the duo finally turned their pop-up scheme into reality. But it was risky. Their first structure was essentially comprised of tarps and scaffolding which Kalturnyk rented with his credit card.<\/p>\n

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Architect Joe Kalturnyk<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cIf we don\u2019t sell enough tickets we\u2019re screwed,\u201d Kalturnyk said to Hitzer at the time. They needn\u2019t have worried.\u00a0 They sold out in eight days. This is the third version of the popular event.<\/p>\n

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Chef\u00a0Mandel Hitzer<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Images from\u00a0the first\u00a0popup event<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kalturnyk designed the first two structures himself. This year the duo held an international competition. \u201cIt\u2019s more exposure. It invites more ideas,\u201d says Kalturnyk. \u201cI figured we\u2019d open it up, see what other ideas are out there and take it from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The winning design comes from os31<\/strong>, a UK firm which won the commission over nine other finalists. Their structure is comprised of four arms roughly assembled in the shape of a cross. One arm functions as an entranceway – guests will walk through a triangle fashioned out of a square\u00a0 piece of fabric \u2013 one arm will be the kitchen and two other arms will become dining rooms. Because the interior skin attaches to interior bracing, the structure will actually be two forms, one inside the other creating an undulating profile, at least when lit up from inside.<\/p>\n

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Concept drawing of the finished entranceway<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Concept drawing of the finished structure<\/strong><\/p>\n

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2015 structure under construction<\/strong><\/p>\n

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2015 Construction Details<\/strong><\/p>\n

Already known for promoting the avant garde, Kalturnyk\u2019s next project is a tour of rural Manitoba by semi trailer. He acknowledges his programming may turn heads. \u201cContemporary art might still be a bit alienating to them but the thing is, it fosters discussion.\u00a0 Let\u2019s talk about these ideas, what are we doing?\u201d<\/p>\n

And of course, there\u2019s likely to be another RAW:Almond next year. What about his architecture practice?\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m really more interested in engaging the public and engaging the city,\u201d he says, admitting he\u2019s more interested in pushing the envelope than in building bricks and mortar. \u00a0Warm up those scallops! \u00a0The party begins later this week, January 22, and ends February 11.<\/p>\n

+\u00a0RAW Almond<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

+\u00a0RAW Gallery<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

+\u00a0os31<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Artwork or restaurant?\u00a0 RAW:Almond is both, a pop-up restaurant that makes an event out of dining out. Picture 2,000 people in boots and coats feasting on ash cured scallops, creamy cannelloni beans with roots and herbed hen, or Alberta lamb and pumpkin curry, among other delicacies, while sitting on fur lined benches under a fabric […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":42802,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[29,88,137],"tags":[7433,7432,7431,6954,7434,7428,7039,7427,7430,7429],"yoast_head":"\n