• This book tries to demystify some of the questions on cultivated meat that a chef may have, and approach the technology from a culinary perspective with an eye to the future.

    This book tries to demystify some of the questions on cultivated meat that a chef may have, and approach the technology from a culinary perspective with an eye to the future.

  • Working with the chefs and researchers, we explored alternative structures of cultivated meat and how they would be cultivated and cooked.

    Working with the chefs and researchers, we explored alternative structures of cultivated meat and how they would be cultivated and cooked.

  • Chef Daniel Soh of Coriander Leaf Singapore was particularly interested in how a 'crispy' piece of meat could be created. I envisioned a form, and then worked with Dr Ming Hao Nie to understand how starch could be integrated into the myofiber cell lining (muscle fibers) to create the crispy texture. I then collaborated with 3D artist Chiaro Sanetaka to create visualizations of the piece of cultivate meat. While the technology to create such a dish needs to mature, this speculative piece of meat illustrates some of the culinary possibilities that may await us.

    Chef Daniel Soh of Coriander Leaf Singapore was particularly interested in how a 'crispy' piece of meat could be created. I envisioned a form, and then worked with Dr Ming Hao Nie to understand how starch could be integrated into the myofiber cell lining (muscle fibers) to create the crispy texture. I then collaborated with 3D artist Chiaro Sanetaka to create visualizations of the piece of cultivate meat.

    While the technology to create such a dish needs to mature, this speculative piece of meat illustrates some of the culinary possibilities that may await us.

From Cell to Fork

Design

From Cell to Fork is a speculative cookbook that tries to frame cultivated meat as food first, technology second. With the conversation being driven by scientists, technologists and venture capitalists, Chefs have been routinely excluded from the discourse on cultivated meat despite being the primary interface between science and customer. In order to try to bridge this gap, this project employs the DLX Design Lab’s Treasure Hunting methodology by working with researchers and different stakeholders to bring cutting edge science to life through design.

This cookbook was developed as a near future exploration that engaged both chefs and researchers to co-design dishes that are only possible through cultivating meat. I worked with various chefs to understand what some of the culinary limitations of conventional meat are, and then to envision a dish that goes beyond the currently possible. Following this, researchers were then consulted to advise how the piece of meat could be cultivated. The results of these explorations were codified as recipes in order to translate the science to the language of the kitchen. The objective was not only to make it easier for chefs to take part in the conversation, but to encourage them to drive the development of cultivated meat and prioritize culinary possibilities.

This project was created in conjunction with the Takeuchi Biohybrid Lab, the DLX Design Lab, Chef Daniel Soh, Chef Iskander Latiff, Chef Christian McConnell, Illustrator Stephanie Seow and 3D Artist Chiaro Sanetaka.