A partnership between the William Blue Dining restaurant from Torrens University Australia and the Billy Blue College of Design will see a multi-sensory light, gastronomy and technology installation created to feature at Vivid Sydney 2021.
The two institutions have joined with Destination NSW – organisers and promoters of Vivid Sydney each year – to pay tribute to their namesake inspiration in the form of a special light activation which will be projected onto the student-run fine dining restaurant in The Rocks.
Inside the restaurant, guests at the special sittings will enjoy a five-course French degustation inspired by Billy Blue’s Caribbean heritage which will be designed and served by students.
William Blue Dining student, Lynsey Harding, said the opportunity to work on the Vivid Sydney project has been especially exciting.
“Being closely mentored by the lecturers has given me the confidence to put my skills into action on recipe development and menu design,” she said. “I feel like doing this as part of a high-profile project such as VIVID will really set me apart once I go out to industry.”
Torrens University General Manager of Business and Hospitality, Jerome Casteigt, said the students were excited at the potential of the Vivid program for their emerging careers in hospitality.
“This unique collaboration reflects Torrens University’s commitment to providing students with real world experience. It means our students’ work has the potential to be seen by hundreds of thousands of people.”
According to Australian National University, the American-born William Blue was one of the earliest convicts transported as a freed slave from Great Britain to Australia soon after the arrival of the First Fleet in 1788.
A chocolate-maker from London, Blue was convicted for stealing raw sugar and sentenced to seven years transportation, arriving in Sydney in 1801. After completing his sentence, marrying a fellow convict and having six children, Blue became one of the first to operate transportation services taking passengers and vehicles across Sydney Harbour.
“This collaboration unites three of our key Torrens University Institutions – Billy Blue College of Design, Billy Blue Creative Studios and William Blue Dining,” said Torrens University Australia Vice-Chancellor, Alwyn Louw. “It places our work on one of the biggest stages in Australia – in the centre of Sydney during VIVID.”
Vivid Sydney runs from August 06-28 and will showcase the “mavericks and misfits” of the world as one of its underlying themes.