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 Ross' final project, The 80 MPH burger, creates the 'worlds fastest burger' through a pastiche of classic Americana and 1950's diners.ARTSTHREAD:Can you describe your concept and creative process? Ross Backenkeller: The 80 MPH Burger concept came from the discovery of the percentage of meals eaten in cars everyday. Growing up in the Midwest of the USA I knew this first hand to be true. We drove everywhere because of the vast landscape, and when we needed to eat on the go there was always a drive thru at the next interstate exit. This sparked an interest in distracted drivers, and conceptualization of ways to bring down the number of traffic accidents caused by food on the go. I realized we had to make fast food FASTER, allowing us to match the pace of our busy lives. To do this with such a perfect on the go meal as the burger began as satire. I began to make a chart of all ingredients in a burger and created a medium rate in which they would all grow, it was 393 days. Putting that up against the 7-15 minutes it takes to eat a burger got my attention. So like the wheels of a car spun as a centrifuge I shoved the ingredients in and turned the switch. This was the beginning of my journey into molecular gastronomy and the creation of "The worlds fastest burger." The centrifuge separated the liquids from the solids and allowed me to create a caviar burger shot that one could eat on the go. The idea of this burger shot poked fun at fast food industry norms, and that's why I tracked the American fast food industry post WWII and made the burger booth look like a 1950's style diner.  Ross spun traditional components of a burger in a centrifuge to create a 'burger shot' which could be easily enjoyed on the go.ARTSTHREAD: Are you 100% back on campus or are you still working all/partly from home? Please describe your environment? Ross Backenkeller: For the creation of The 80 MPH Burger I was fully on campus with access to our labs and studios. This was vital in the creation of the booth itself because it was a mix of woodworking and metal shop. ARTSTHREAD: Has being back on campus given you a new perspective on the university/your class colleagues/ tutors? Ross Backenkeller: I love being back in our studios. Being able to bounce ideas off my peers helped stimulate my creative process as this project evolved. ARTSTHREAD: Has the need for online learning changed your outcomes? Ross Backenkeller: When adapting to online learning and working from home, I realized that frequent breaks after 20-30 minutes of intense work allowed me to comeback and continue with greater performance and speed. ARTSTHREAD: What's one thing that has helped you get through the last 2 years? Ross Backenkeller: Cooking for family and friends, skateboarding, and playing music. My found love of cooking allowed me to become an artist in the kitchen. The instant feedback from cooking, unlike writing and releasing music, was refreshing and pushed me to continue making. Skateboarding and playing music were a full body release from the intensity of sitting behind a desk all day. It allowed me to exercise whilst still being creative. ARTSTHREAD: What are your hopes for the future? Ross Backenkeller: Food can be playful and fun. With more sensory input into our relationship with food I believe we can create a healthier society. I hope to bring my ideas of food and set design into different installations that are immersive and captivating. They need to spark conversation around how long our food takes to reach our plate, and what we can do as a community to make positive change. ARTSTHREAD: Thank you Ross - we wish you all the very best! See Ross’ARTSTHREAD Portfolio Images in slider: Ross and his work Our Global Design Graduate Show 2022 in collaboration with Gucci is open internationally to all art and design undergraduate or postgraduate students graduating in the Academic Year 2021-22 and the deadline to apply is August 31 2022. 
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In advance of the deadline for Global Design Graduate Show 2022 in collaboration with Gucci, we interview Ross Backenkeller, a 2022 graduating student from Goldsmiths University of London, BA Design.
Our Global Design Graduate Show 2022 in collaboration with Gucci is open internationally to all art and design undergraduate or postgraduate students graduating in the Academic Year 2021-22 and the deadline to apply is August 31 2022.
See Ross’ ARTSTHREAD Portfolio
ARTSTHREAD:Where are you from?
Ross Backenkeller: Madison, Wisconsin, USA
ARTSTHREAD: What is the name, theme, concept and final outcome of your graduate project/thesis?
Ross Backenkeller: The 80 MPH Burger
The 80 MPH burger is aimed at American Fast food, and explores the history of meals in cars. In America 20% of meals are eaten in a car everyday. This raises questions about the health and safety of how our meals are consumed. Eating food in cars is not only a distraction from the road, but the flavor itself. There are numerous studies that say flavors are less prevalent, and portion sizes are larger when you distract yourself.
So through the concept of the 80 MPH burger there are two main questions that arise. Can we slow our food down, or can we match its speed through science, math, and design. When the burger ingredients are centrifuged at 4000 RPM the liquids are separated from the solids, and through molecular gastronomy they are made into jelly form that is easily consumable and fast, making it easier to eat on the go as well as playful, fun, and interactive. The facade of the booth is modelled after a 1950's diner, while the inside appears as a science lab. Through this project the burger is used as a map of time from the 1920's and speculates on the future of food.
Ross' final project, The 80 MPH burger, creates the 'worlds fastest burger' through a pastiche of classic Americana and 1950's diners.ARTSTHREAD:Can you describe your concept and creative process?
Ross Backenkeller: The 80 MPH Burger concept came from the discovery of the percentage of meals eaten in cars
everyday. Growing up in the Midwest of the USA I knew this first hand to be true. We drove everywhere because of the vast landscape, and when we needed to eat on the go there was always a drive thru at the next interstate exit. This sparked an interest in distracted drivers, and conceptualization of ways to bring down the number of traffic accidents caused by food on the go.
I realized we had to make fast food FASTER, allowing us to match the pace of our busy lives. To do this with such a perfect on the go meal as the burger began as satire. I began to make a chart of all ingredients in a burger and created a medium rate in which they would all grow, it was 393 days. Putting that up against the 7-15 minutes it takes to eat a burger got my attention. So like the wheels of a car spun as a centrifuge I shoved the ingredients in and turned the switch. This was the beginning of my journey into molecular gastronomy and the creation of "The worlds fastest burger." The centrifuge separated the liquids from the solids and allowed me to create a caviar burger shot that one could eat on the go.
The idea of this burger shot poked fun at fast food industry norms, and that's why I tracked the American fast food industry post WWII and made the burger booth look like a 1950's style diner.
Ross spun traditional components of a burger in a centrifuge to create a 'burger shot' which could be easily enjoyed on the go.ARTSTHREAD: Are you 100% back on campus or are you still working all/partly from home? Please describe
your environment?
Ross Backenkeller: For the creation of The 80 MPH Burger I was fully on campus with access to our labs and studios. This was vital in the creation of the booth itself because it was a mix of woodworking and metal shop.
ARTSTHREAD: Has being back on campus given you a new perspective on the university/your class colleagues/
tutors?
Ross Backenkeller: I love being back in our studios. Being able to bounce ideas off my peers helped stimulate my creative process as this project evolved.
ARTSTHREAD: Has the need for online learning changed your outcomes?
Ross Backenkeller: When adapting to online learning and working from home, I realized that frequent breaks after 20-30 minutes of intense work allowed me to comeback and continue with greater performance and speed.
ARTSTHREAD: What's one thing that has helped you get through the last 2 years?
Ross Backenkeller: Cooking for family and friends, skateboarding, and playing music. My found love of cooking allowed me to become an artist in the kitchen. The instant feedback from cooking, unlike writing and releasing music, was refreshing and pushed me to continue making. Skateboarding and playing music were a full body release from the intensity of sitting behind a desk all day. It allowed me to exercise whilst still being creative.
ARTSTHREAD: What are your hopes for the future?
Ross Backenkeller: Food can be playful and fun. With more sensory input into our relationship with food I believe we can create a healthier society. I hope to bring my ideas of food and set design into different installations that are immersive and captivating. They need to spark conversation around how long our food takes to reach our plate, and what we can do as a community to make positive change.
ARTSTHREAD: Thank you Ross - we wish you all the very best!
See Ross’ARTSTHREAD Portfolio
Images in slider: Ross and his work
Our Global Design Graduate Show 2022 in collaboration with Gucci is open internationally to all art and design undergraduate or postgraduate students graduating in the Academic Year 2021-22 and the deadline to apply is August 31 2022.