Food for Thought with Alex Bielak- The this just in Edition – Knitted Meat, and Films on Food

The this just in Edition – Knitted Meat, and Films on Food

Every so often an email pops up via the email address at the end of the column informing me of a food-related event. This week I got a doozy featuring “knitted meat”, and it is so out there I had to share it and the photos that came with it.

But before I do, and since we now have easier access to the Great Metropolis down the Go, readers might appreciate knowing TIFF’s “Food on Film” is underway until June 24th. Hosted by CBC’s Matt Galloway, the series features films related to food, followed by discussion on a variety of related topics.

For full details and ticket info click here. Three films remain to be screened and if I had to pick just one to see it would probably be the one on May 13th featuring innovative America Chef, Wylie Dufresne. He will discuss his inventive approach to cooking and introduce the 1991 French “post-
apocalyptic comedy, Delicatessen”.

That said, of course I’d also like to hear owner of San Francisco bakery, Tartine (he’s also authored three acclaimed cookbooks on baking) on June 3rd. He’ll be introducing “The Grain Divide” a 2015 documentary on gluten, bread and human health. On a lighter note, the pioneering, and affable-sounding, Jonathan Waxman will finish off the series with a showing of the Can-Con classic, Meatballs (June 24th.)

The email I mentioned above was titled “Bistro in Vitro invitation.” It was an invitation, apparently scatter-gunned to food writers world-wide, to the May 6th Grand Opening of world’s first lab-grown meat restaurant.

Hmm… Readers may recall there was a foofaraw a while back about a tasting of the world’s first lab-grown beef burger. It was grown from cow stem cells, cost a mint to produce and, by all accounts, tasted underwhelming. 

The email went on to ask:

“Have you ever heard of See-Through Sashimi? It mimics the same physical structures that make glass frogs look like glass or jellyfish look like jelly, creating nearly invisible meat with a pure, delicate flavor. Or how about the Meat Cocktail? A meat-based riff on the classic White Russian cocktail, the Liquid Turducken combines turkey, duck and chicken into a hearty drink that’s practically a meal in itself. And perhaps you’d like to try some In Vitro Oysters?”

Er, despite the intriguing photos accompanying this column, not really, not least because the venue is in Holland. I’d also be iffy since it is not entirely clear whether this is about an actual restaurant or an “art” or documentary project to stimulate discussion on the issues pertaining to sustainable food. (If you are intrigued, see their Facebook page for information as it trickles out or sign up for the (speculative) cookbook!)

Whatever the truth, the issues are real: I wrote in the current issue of BCity Magazine about serious efforts by scientists championing what has been termed “Note by Note” cuisine that might eventually contribute to more sustainable and energy-efficient food production.

Pure molecular compounds, rather than conventional ingredients (like meat and plants), are being used to create edible mixtures (dishes). The lead scientist was quoted by the BBC as saying this is akin to, “A painter using primary colours or a musician composing note by note.”

For now, given the bounty of more conventional (real) food from our region, I’ll pass.

To see more pictures, click here.

To see all past columns please see (and “like”) the Food for Thought Archives, click here.

Alex (Alex can be reached at fft@thehamiltonian.info or on twitter @AlexBielak)