Inside Balbosté’s sold-out pop-up restaurant at Matter and Shape

A series of meringues, arranged from large to small, where the flavour intensifies as the size decreases. The biggest is soft and gentle; the smallest hits sharp and acidic. It is a dish that also happens to be a diagram – an edible illustration of the concept that underpins an entire restaurant. Scale by Balbosté is the pop-up created for Matter and Shape, the design fair held annually in the Jardin des Tuileries during Paris Fashion Week. The fair, launched in March 2024, invites exhibitors to present exceptional products and projects in an elevated setting, and for the 2026 edition, Paris-based creative culinary studio Balbosté curated the entire culinary programme for the first time – designing everything from the branding and spatial identity to the dishes themselves. "We needed to create two different experiences,” explains Charlotte Sitbon, Founder & Creative Director of Balbosté. “A more flexible lunch where people could sit in smaller groups, and a more collective dinner around one long table.” During the day, the space operates almost like a tangram, with fragmented tables that guests choose depending on their group size. In the evening, everything shifts into a single, shared surface – something more ceremonial and communal. That movement between individual and collective is the idea of scale made spatial. It extends to the plate too, where dishes are available in different sizes, allowing guests to shape their own experience.