Milan Design Week 2026
The not so lonely dinner
Food and design shape the way we live at home more than we realise. During Milan Design Week 2026, we brought five pairs of creatives from the culinary and design world together to explore exactly that.
What if dining alone felt like a choice worth making? Oliver and Tina grew up on opposite sides of the world but knew that being lonely is different from being alone. Together they reimagined a studio living space as a playful tree house, with some IKEA pieces hacked to feel entirely your own. And to go with it? Kimchi fried crispy rice, a plate set for one, made with real care.
Scroll down to shop the look or try their recipe. You could even get creative with the leftovers.
Oliver Lyttelton
Oliver is a London-based design practice working across interior design and creative direction. Oliver studied Product Design at Central Saint Martins and began his career at the original Conran Shop. His work is defined by bespoke furniture, innovative lighting and environments that harvest memories.
Tina Choi
Tina is a food and travel content creator, recipe developer and food scientist based in Seoul, Korea. Her cooking is rooted in memory and adaptation. Dishes shaped by homesickness, her grandmother's recipes and a deep belief that food is the most honest way to tell a story. Today, over 4.3 million "doobies" tune in to her YouTube channel @doobydobap.
"Your room should always be lit like a cave: pools of light and shadow coming in from different areas, never all from above."
"Even if you’re eating the same food the following night, if it's plated differently, it makes a huge difference," says Tina. "Putting out one extra dish makes it feel like an intentional act, not just eating for the sake of it."
"Oliver drew inspiration from the colours of the food and transferred that into the design of the space. The red hue from the kimchi was one of them."
Recipe:
Leftovers are awesome
Cooking for one means leftovers are inevitable. But they don’t have to be microwaved and kind of sad. This is time truly for yourself, so why not indulge a little?
Leftover salsiccia kimchi fried rice, cooled, cut and gently fried for a crispy bite. Topped with fresh herbs and crowned with salted salmon roe for a briny zing.
Ingredients
Kimchi fried rice
1 000 g freshly cooked short grain rice
500 g kimchi
150 g salsiccia fresca
10 g pork fat
40 g fish sauce
30 g gochujang
30 g ketchup
30 g liquid sweetener
30 g sugar
15 g vinegar
15 g soy sauce
10 g sesame oil
2 L neutral oil, for frying
Ramson mayo
150 g ramson
300 g neutral oil
2 egg yolks
15 g lemon juice
5 g mild mustard
3 g salt
Topping
100 g fresh spring herbs
(dill, fennel tops, chervil and scallion)
50 g salmon roe
Serves 4-6 people (24 bites)
Step-by-step
Step 1 - Rice mixture
Have leftover kimchi fried rice? Skip to step 3.
Melt the pork fat in a pan. Add the salsiccia, cook until lightly browned. Add the kimchi, finely chopped and cook until the moisture has reduced. In a separate bowl, mix the fish sauce, gochujang, ketchup, liquid sweetener, sugar, vinegar and soy sauce. Add the sauce mixture to the kimchi and salsiccia. Once it looks jammy, turn off the heat and stir in the sesame oil. Mix into the cooked rice.
Step 2 - Ramson mayo
Chop the ramson and add to a pot with oil. Heat to 70 °C. Transfer to a blender, blend until smooth and strain. Cool in the freezer for 2 hours. Gently pour the top green oil into a container and discard the water. Whisk the egg yolks and mustard, then pour in the ramson oil, whisk until thick and combined. Add the lemon juice and add salt to taste.
Step 3 - Frying and serving
Transfer the rice mixture to a 15 x 10 cm baking tray while warm. Press down on it firmly. Chill for 4 hours. Cut into 24 pieces. Fry in 185 °C oil for 2–3 minutes until golden and crispy. Drain. Garnish with ramson mayo, fresh herbs and salmon roe.