CAFF was a project by Crystal Bennes for the 2013 Sluice Art Fair which ran during Frieze Week, from 18 – 20 October. Inspired by Gordon Matta-Clark’s 1970s New York City artist-run restaurant, FOOD, four other artists were invited to help set up, run and share in the profits from a restaurant based at Sluice.

Situated in one of the Fair’s gallery pitches, artists Freddy Tuppen, Berta De La Rosa, Josh Bilton and Chloe Rachel McClellan opted to turn the kitchen inside out, making visible the act of preparing dishes which were served – also by the artists – three times per day. The preparation of the food became a kind of performance, as did the communal mealtimes, with strangers sharing one long table.

Each artist was responsible for the design of the space and menu for one lunch and dinner service, while the afternoon tea was designed by Bennes. Berta De La Rosa and Chloe McClellan created a Nepalese thali and plaster platters on which to serve them, while Freddy Tuppen and Josh Bilton served a hearty stew and home-made soda bread on a colour-changing thermo-chromatic tablecloth.