Relax. Enjoy the meal.

Wild Space Dance’s Delicious made me hungry Thursday night.

Chef Michelle Evans, of Braise restaurant, started it with the aromas of stewing veal and grinding pesto in the pre-show cooking demonstration, on stage at the Milwaukee Rep’s Stiemke Theater. Chef Jennifer Goetzinger kept the sizzle and smells coming by cooking at an upstage station throughout the show, as the dancers moved about her.

Debra Loewen, artistic director and choreographer, contributed to the hunger, too. Her 10 female dancers offered us little morsels of movement at the outset. One amous bouche after another tripped by with matter-of-fact ease, just enough to tease but not satisfy. The steps, carriage and ensemble were casual in the way of rustic cooking. Loewen left the seeds in the tomatoes, so to speak. She kept the dancers well within their comfort zones and let them gambol and stroll easily. No need to impress anyone.

Frankly, I got a little impatient with it in the moment. But now, in retrospect, I recall a few words heard at the outset, maybe in Loewen’s brief introduction or somewhere early in the melange of words and music in the sound score.

To paraphrase freely: It’s not just about the eating and the food, it’s about the table, the memories, the smells, the conversation, the room, the light, the ritual. Which is to say: It’s not just about the dancing, it’s about the aromas, the words, the quaint charm of the old-timey music, the associations that come with 10 women wearing aprons over black party dresses. I think Loewen had her dancers more or less mark, as they say in the biz, rather than dance full-on for part of the evening in order to turn attention to the aromas and the words. And the words — Julia Child telling us how to prepare a suckling pig, an account of a 43-course meal in a great Spanish restaurant, and so on — ranged from wonderfully funny to poetic to philosophically insightful.

Six women biting into crisp apples in unison is not, strictly speaking, dance. But the sound of it struck home and of course evoked that strong sensational memory of biting into an apple. And then there’s sheer, striking oddness of such a moment. I’m not sure I would trade it for, say, a spectacularly executed air turn. Delicious is not just about dance. It’s about an apple. And about marshmallows placed just so on Yeng Vang-Strath’s extended arms, and about the delicacy of her lips and tongue as she nips them down. Not really dance, but really fascinating.

Loewen’s company meanders through this banquet until Goetzinger serves each of the dancers a strawberry with a hot wasabi surprise inside. This sets them vibrating on the floor like diced onions on a hot oiled skilled. And, as it turns out, propels them into an extended allegro finale in which they do dance flat-out. Hot hot hot — ooh shit shit — hot they mutter, as they skitter about randomly, at first. They gather into tight squadrons of quartets and quintets that interact in clever geometries. Their muttering takes on urgent unison rhythm.

Then we’re off to the races, culminating in a nifty polka with complicated traffic patterns, a farcical pace, plates of spaghetti and bowls of salad. Amid the flying food, hilarious exhilaration brought this crazy meal to a satisfying conclusion. (Kids, don’t try this at home.)

After all that, Loewen just had to serve some real food. Via on Downer and Kasana Concierge Gourmet put out a marvelous spread in the lobby, and audience and dancers alike gorged. Allium restaurant, Centro Cafe and Honeypie Cafe will participate in subsequent performances. So come hungry.

Wild Space Dance Company will repeat Delicious at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Feb. 10-11, at the Stiemke Theater in the Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s complex, 144 E. Wells St. For the premium ticket price of $25, audience members can also enjoy a pre-show talk and demonstration at 7:15 pm., with chef Michelle Evans.

General admission, $20 ($18 for students and seniors), does not include the pre-show talk. Call the Milwaukee Repertory Theater box office,  414 224-9490.

Wild Space is partnering with Hunger Task Force for their community food drive. Patrons who contribute a non-perishable food item will be entered into a free drawing for a dinner at a local restaurant.

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