“One of the most exciting parts of this process is the openness that can occur between us.” – Fany Gerson, Founder/Chef, Fan Fan Doughnuts
Welcome to our first episode of My Dream Doughnut, a fun new video series that explores donuts as a unique canvas for art and ideas, a way to play in food while meeting and supporting exciting local artists, giving a small peek into their creative worlds AND creative minds. I have been working with my good friend Fany Gerson, the Donut Aficionado & Owner of Fan-Fan Doughnuts to help bring this series to life. She is the inspiration and heart of the entire series.
Fany Gerson of Fan-Fan Doughnuts
For the past 10 years, her skills, passion, and beloved reputation as a donut maker helped to elevate the craft of donuts not only in New York City, but inspired a new, colorful era for donuts around the world. Fany’s donuts leave an impression because they’ve always been a way for her to express all she cares about: family, Mexican culture, Jewish traditions, community, natural ingredients, art, and design. You bite into a Fan-Fan Doughnut and you experience her world. Instantly. It’s very similar to seeing beautiful art. It touches you. We wanted to take these values and infuse them into My Dream Doughnut.
“This [project] has been really challenging me. It’s been really pushing myself.” -Fany Gerson
In addition, I’ve also pulled in my fellow filmmaker friend, Titi Yu of Vice and PBS to help me document the process unfolding. I love her eye and passion for storytelling. Coming out of the isolating pandemic months, I wanted to work on more projects with friends, and it’s been such good fun to film as a team!
HOW IT WORKS
In each episode of My Dream Doughnut, we introduce a local artist that we believe will bring joy and an interesting new point-of-view to donuts. We arrange for Fany to meet the artist to understand their background, craft, and creative process: exchanging ideas, favorite flavors, cultural ingredients, and artistic possibilities. It’s a playful, back-and-forth, meeting of minds who’ve mastered different art forms, coming together in collaboration to re-imagine what donuts can be!
I cannot tell you how much fun I’ve been having filming the process
Being a community-focused doughnut shop, we decided to add an immersive element to the series so that anyone who loves donuts can experience the project. This series is not just for the cameras. It’s for you too! The artist is invited to take over the facade of Fan-Fan Doughnuts so customers can experience their art visually, IRL, then come inside to taste the unique My Dream Doughnut collaboration. All in all, the purpose is to put a smile on your face and add a little magic back into the world. Something we love here at food. curated. 😘
OUR FIRST ARTIST: “KUKI” Gomez from Argentina
We are super excited to feature Argentinian tape artist, “KUKI” Gomez as our first artist collab for our series. I pitched Kuki to Fany after seeing his outdoor street art installations pop up around Brooklyn and Manhattan. His brilliant use of color and linear design choices make his art really stand out. It’s like an interactive rainbow of neon happiness! Kuki’s visuals are striking, and it matches his bright and vibrant personality perfectly.
Tape Art
According to Kuki, tape art has been growing in popularity across the globe as a street art medium, though he is one of few who showcases constantly in NYC. Depending on the surface, Kuki uses a mix of colorful Gaffer Power tape and various duct tape to cling his inventive geometric designs onto walls and buildings. I actually didn’t realize that tape came in so many exotic hues and colors. He has been featured all around New York in art shows, magazines, fashion shoots, restaurant facades, on buildings, and public art streets. We hope you enjoy a peek into what he does so well and we hope to see more collaborations with him in the future!
MY DREAM DOUGHNUT Pop Up at Fan-Fan Doughnuts
We invite you to watch our new video above to see the joyful, challenging, creative process of inventing doughnuts. This Friday-Sunday, December 17-19, Fan-Fan Doughnuts drops their My Dream Doughnut secret Kuki-inspired donut box for anyone who wants to experience them. You can pre-order the box on Fany’s website. Please stop by the shop this December! It’s a perfect way to get you into the festive holiday season with food, friends, and immersive edible art.
Thanks so much for watching and supporting food. curated.! If you are an artist or know of any artists who might want to participate in this mini-series, please let us know and drop us a comment or email. We hope to see you out there!
xxLiza @SkeeterNYC
#eatmorestories #foodcurated