Collaborative Kitchen

The Collaborative Kitchen is a project initiated by Atelier LUMA that is taking place in the Griffeuille neighborhood of Arles. Through the unifying power of cooking and food, it brings together a huge network of participants, including neighborhood residents, designers, chefs, associations, and local entrepreneurs.

Together, Atelier LUMA and its collaborators imagined the Collaborative Kitchen as a food-centered platform that meets economic, social, and ecological needs in Griffeuille. It creates jobs, fights against social exclusion, minimizes food waste, and supports local food distribution networks.

The physical space dedicated to the Collaborative Kitchen includes a kitchen, a permanent restaurant open to the public (Dans la Cuisine de Griffeuille) and room for group training programs for food industry jobs. The project also includes a catering service. Thanks to the social activities held there, the space has become a central gathering place for the neighborhood.

The Collaborative Kitchen is based on principles of knowledge sharing and the circular economy. Throughout all of its activities, the project’s goals are to use food and food-related knowledge to initiate and encourage interactions between neighborhood residents and the project’s professional partners. Together, participants engage with questions related to food waste, food cycles, local gardening, food accessibility, and shared kitchens.

The project led to the creation of a collective interest cooperative company (SCIC — Société Coopérative d'Intérêt Collectif), which manages the restaurant Dans la Cuisine and training programs. All parts of the Collaborative Kitchen contribute to reinforcing intercommunity social links and creating a shared culture.