New York-born delicatessen chain Dean & DeLuca is moving away from its signature aesthetic to launch a new style of fast-food outlet based around a kitchen design by architect Ole Scheeren.
Titled Stage, the concept imagines the kitchen and servery as a sort of theatre-in-the-round, where cookery is a performance and the staff is the cast.
It is anchored by one central object, Scheeren's rectangular kitchen counter, where food is made and displayed on platforms at varying heights. Customers are meant to circulate around the centrally positioned counter to watch the "spectacle" and order when they desire.

"Stage is a concept to create a singular pristine object that celebrates food," said Scheeren. "I wanted to showcase that really on a stage." "I wanted to elevate staff to not simply be mechanical makers but in a way actors that perform in a play ? and in a way where they then join with their audience or the customer in that spectacle of making, offering and consuming."
Dean & DeLuca and Scheeren unveiled the Stage concept today at Design Miami 2016, where they have installed a prototype of the design.

The deli chain ? which began in New York's SoHo and now has outlets across the globe ? plans to roll out the concept in a number of new stores from 2017.
Stage sees the deli move away from the highly recognisable delicatessen aesthetic it has developed since opening its first shop in 1977.
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