The Basque Culinary Center's (BCC) Project Gastronomía launches a public Gastro challenge along with the release of a report into what London's Food Landscape could look like in 2050, following their gastronomic symposium in London, 'Gastronomy & Multisensory Design 2050'.
In April 2018, a panel of multidisciplinary world-class experts gathered in London, with members of the public and representatives from technology and F&B companies from the UK and Europe, for an inclusive and interactive symposium on the future of food - 'Gastronomy & Multisensory Design 2050'.
The two-day event addressed critical questions about the future of the London Food System: How do we see the
London Food Landscape in 2050? And, can we do something to change it? How can multisensory design create a shift for the future, for 2050?
The future of gastronomy is a collaborative and collec tive journey and so the symposium, facilitated by internationally experienced foresight experts, BCC, Etch and Kitchen Theory, was run through interactive activities with all conference participants grouped with one of the invited experts;
THE DESIGNER- AFRODITI KRASSA, Afroditi Krassa Design (London, UK)
THE R&D OPEN INNOVATOR- CHARLOTTE CATIGNANI, Treatt (London, UK)
THE MULTISENSORY CHEF - JOZEF YOUSSEF, Kitchen Theory (London, UK)
THE FOOD SCIENTIST- JUAN CARLOS ARBOLEYA, Basque Culinary Center (San Sebastian, Basque Country)
THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT ADVOCATE- PAUL NEWNHAM, SDG2 Advocacy Hub (Australia)
THE AGRI-FOOD CHAIN SPECIALIST- PROFESSOR PAUL BRERETON, Queen's University (Belfast, United Kingdom)
THE FOOD SAFETY SPECIALIST- SARAH APPLEBY (London, UK)
THE CHEF & RESTAURATEUR SPECIALISING IN BIODIVERSITY - VIRGILIO MARTINEZ & MALINA MARTINEZ, Central Restaurante (Lima, Perú)
THE FUTURIST- JOHN SWEENEY, ETCH (USA/UK)
To conclude the symposium, the groups of experts and participantswere tasked with a Gastro-Challenge and invited to develop business ideas and create narratives that would fit their visions of London's food systems in the future. Each
group had to generate an artifact (product, service, space, or any new business model) and present to the conference. Following lively 3-minute presentations of these artifacts, participants discussed their vision of a 2050 food system and how they had built a model of how that artifact came to be (intended customers, resources required, stakeholders, revenue model, etc ).
The three 'big ideas' to come out of the symposium, can be summarised as follows;
- Chefs of Gastronomy, not the kitchen
The role of the chef in 2050 goes beyond menus and kitchens; they will be guides and educators for the food system.
- Return of the Communal Kitchen
The communal neighborhood kitchen will become a center of community for many Londoners, while their kitchens at home disappear.
- Personalized Health makes Processed Food Healthy
A revolution in personalized health ushers in the reinvention of processed food as nutritious, delicious, and affordable.
[For the full report, please click here.]
As a continuation of 'Gastronomy & Multisensory Design 2050', Project Gastronomia is opening up this Gastro Challenge to members of the public and F&B industry with a competition that will be judged by chefs Virgilio
Martinez and Jozef Youssef and the Project Gastronomia team.
Those wanting to enter the Gastro-Challenge must send their idea of 'What a healthy, sustainable and delicious menu in
London 2050 will look like' to: [email protected] by September 1st 2018 with the subject line PROJECT GASTRONOMIA.
The winner will be announced on September 8th 2018.
The prize includes dinner for 2 at The Gastrophysics Chef's Table, an immersive and experimental 13 course dining experience hosted in the Kitchen Theory Studio, North London.
