Delightful Debauchery: Inside Rococo À GoGo
Meet the masterminds behind Minneapolis’ most elaborate dining experiences.
By Emma Geary
Champagne flows freely, and a pulse of symphonic music pulses through the space. It’s a room of opulent excess, with guests luxuriating about, feasting upon a meal fit for a queen.
This is a night for the girls and the gays. For the chosen family. For those who believe in pleasure as an art form. It’s a night where too much is not enough. Where our favorite word is YES.
For Jolie Clemens and Alison Hoekstra, too much is often never enough. It’s a theme among their work at Taste Poetic, their creative and experiential agency, where they’ve quickly built a reputation for dreaming up ideas so fantastical and outlandish that they hardly feel real…which is exactly the point.
Taste Poetic is a response to a shifting creative landscape, producing immersive experiences that blend food, art, and storytelling outside of traditional structures. “So many events are built to check a box. They’re polished, but they don’t really say anything. We wanted to create experiences with a clear point of view, where food, design, and storytelling come together in a way that genuinely moves people,” says Jolie Clemens, who moved to Minnesota in 2023 from Southern California in search of a new community and fresh ideas.
Before touching down in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, her work was rooted in the music, fashion, and beauty industries, working as Gwen Stefani’s Creative Director for 18 years, along with a client roster that reads like a walk down the Hollywood Walk of Fame (she was the creative director for the Backstreet Boys’ 25th Anniversary release of Millenium 2.0 just last year).
“Minneapolis chose me before I chose it,” says Jolie, who began visiting for monthly trips to Target’s headquarters for a collaboration. “It turned into a quiet love affair with the city. After COVID, I hit reset and followed that feeling. The creative community here didn’t just welcome me; they gave me the courage to build Taste Poetic. I’m not sure I would have been brave enough anywhere else.”
“The creative community here didn’t just welcome me; they gave me the courage to build Taste Poetic.”
– Jolie Clemens
Upon arrival, Jolie quickly integrated herself into the local creative community, collaborating with a diverse group of photographers, stylists, art directors, food stylists, chefs, and more. On the set of a shoot for Odele, she met Alison Hoekstra, a Minneapolis-based prop and wardrobe stylist (who spent 13 years in California herself, owning a vintage shop in San Francisco). They connected instantly.
Alison remembers their first collaboration as a dream project. “As a stylist, my job is to execute the client’s vision through the Creative Director. The vision for the Odele campaign was ‘in technicolor,’ and there were so many ideas and visuals. It was a stylist’s dream. And it’s been that way ever since. Jolie comes up with the wild idea, I take the baton and run with it. She trusts the process and embraces the madness it takes to get to the finish line, and she’s one of the hardest-working go-getters in town.”
What began as a few test shoots quickly evolved into building what they call living editorials: sensory-rich, editorial-quality experiences blending food, design, and story. Unlike novelty dining or theme-driven events, their work is rooted in honoring craft and detail-rich design. Every element of the evening is thoughtfully curated, from the culinary compositions to the atmosphere itself, creating an experience that feels cinematic, elevated, and so much more than simply a meal.
Last fall, they launched their first event, Breaditorial, which blended the art of baking bread and the creative process beneath the flour-dusted milling history of Minneapolis. Their second, Ma Der Ma Der (“Come eat, come eat” in Laotian), is a warm, hospitable invitation often used to welcome guests, friends, or family to gather together to enjoy food. Featuring the cuisine of Chef Ann Ahmed, the evening transported diners to Laos across all five senses. And they’re just getting started.
Taste Poetic’s latest work, Rococo À GoGo, is a Rococo-era-inspired concept celebrating indulgence, beauty, and modern rebellion. It’s an editorial world and evening rooted in decadence that feels pulled from the set of Bridgerton, but far less polite. They described it as a night best spent with your chosen family.
At the heart of the experience is a beautifully composed multi-course French dinner led by Chef Brooke Faudree, Taste Poetic’s Culinary Director, who led the food experience. Each course was conceived as an edible work of art, layered with intention and beauty, and designed to exist within a larger visual and sensory narrative rather than as a traditional dinner service.
“This isn't a party about escape. It's about reawakening joy,” says Jolie. “In a world that feels increasingly restrained, Rococo À GoGo offers permission to celebrate again, to indulge, to connect, and to experience beauty not as excess, but as nourishment.”
Alison agrees. “Everyone deserves a night out with friends and to have something to look forward to. Rococo À GoGo is a breath away from the everyday, a moment of escape. Get excited to dress up, eat some tantalizing food, experience a new space, and connect with people. Why not have a night that is a little much?”
"Rococo À GoGo is a breath away from the everyday, a moment of escape."
– Alison Hoekstra
To learn more about Taste Poetic and attend their next iconic event, visit TastePoetic.com, and follow along @tastepoetic.
PHOTO CREDITS:
Photography by Lauren Krysti
Creative Direction by Jolie Clemens
Prop and Wardrobe Styling by Alison Hoekstra
Culinary Direction by Brooke Faudree
Hair and Makeup by Susan Frey
Wardrobe by MartinPatrick 3
Jewelry by The Loupe
Venue: The Journey Events and Sarenda Godfrey
Emma Geary
Emma is Collective Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief and LAB’s Brand + Editorial Manager. She loves getting lost in a story and is sharing her own on her Substack, Lake Laps. Find her staring at the sun on her daily lap around Lake of the Isles.
