With visionary designers, acclaimed chefs, and a new flagship collection, IKEA serves up a fresh take on design at Milan Design Week

In the lively Porta Venezia district, “Food for Thought” is an exhibition where the worlds of design and food meet in new, playful ways. With eight decades of history as a design company, IKEA is more than its products. This year, the exhibition spotlights its interior design expertise with a unique installation of five room settings, exploring how evolving rituals of cooking, eating, and connecting shape the living spaces across cultures.

The installation invites visitors to discover fresh perspectives and surprising ideas that turn everyday meals into something extraordinary. The highlight is a unique interior design installation with five room settings, exploring how evolving rituals of cooking, eating, and connecting with each other shape living spaces across cultures. The installation invites visitors to discover fresh perspectives and surprising ideas that turn everyday meals into something extraordinary. Five creative duos, each pairing a designer and a chef hand-picked from around the world, co-create a room and a menu inspired by life-at-home scenarios connected to food. The creative duos are; designer and architect Charlotte Taylor with chef Ben Lippett; interior designer Maye Ruiz with chef Rosio Sanchez; art director Mehek Malhotra with chef Maurizio ; multidisciplinary artist Lydia Chan with chef Alessandra Lauria; and interior designer Oliver Lyttelton with recipe developer and content creator Tina Choi (Doobydobap).

Each day, a duo hosts live cooking demos, turning a working IKEA show kitchen into a stage, where it becomes an active, social focal point. Later, visitors can enjoy a bite-size menu inspired by the room settings, freshly prepared on the spot. As the evening sets in, the space transforms into an aperitivo bar.

As always, the IKEA venue at Milan Design Week is a perfect spot for both design inspiration and a place to hang out. Throughout the week, the event offers food, drinks, music, and places to relax. This includes a courtyard market inspired by the Swedish Saluhall with local vendors, the BILLY Café, framed by an IKEA classic bookcase filled with cookbooks by Phaidon, and the return of the popular Hotdog Extravaganza with exclusive toppings by the collaborating chefs. These are some of the ingredients that make up the “Food for Thought” experience. Carefully

Alongside the exhibition, IKEA shares special product highlights at Milan Design Week. The biggest reveal this year is the world premiere of three products from the upcoming tenth edition of the flagship collection PS. Other highlights include two new statement floor lamps by Milan-based designer Raffaella Mangiarotti which bring high-quality materials and elegant expression to an affordable price point, building on a collaboration previously for a Compasso d’Oro.

Renowned Milan-based architect Midori Hasuike and spatial designer Emerzon, both longtime IKEA collaborators, play an essential role in creating a consistent space design that unifies all the elements.

IKEA “Food for Thought” exhibition at Spazio Maiocchi (Via Achille Maiocchi 7) opens its doors to the public on 21 April. A free IKEA-wrapped bus will run daily from 09:00–19:00, with multiple stops through the heart of the city to the exhibition.

More information can be found here.

About Ingka Group

With IKEA retail operations in 32 markets, Ingka Group is the largest IKEA retailer and represents 87% of IKEA retail sales. It is a strategic partner to develop and innovate the IKEA business and help define common IKEA strategies. Ingka Group owns and operates IKEA sales channels under franchise agreements with Inter IKEA Systems B.V. It has three business areas: IKEA Retail, Ingka Investments and Ingka Centres. Read more on Ingka.com.