Bistro in Vitro: A virtual restaurant serving artificial meat dishes of the future

 

 

As per the Dutch scientist and philosopher Koert van Mensvoort, dishes like throat tickler, a wriggling delicacy that occupies "the grey area between a sea anemone and a sex toy," and test tube oyster washed down with a bone marrow cocktail may sound like the stuff of macabre fantasy, but they are set to become reality in the not-too-distant future, the Independent reported.

 

He said that in 2028, restaurant food will be ethical, sustainable and cruelty-free, much of it will be grown in laboratories, enabling chefs to devise playful fare such as brightly coloured magic meatballs or a meat-berry tart.

 

Mr van Mensvoort, who has a background in both engineering and design, initiated the project after hearing about the world's first lab-grown burger, created by scientists two years ago at Maastricht University.

 

The first lab-grown beef burger, which was created from a calf's foetal fluids and was cooked at a demonstration in London in 2013, offered a glimpse of guilt-free, sustainable meat consumption, but with a price tag of 215,000 pounds it was not a dish for the masses.

 

The team responsible for Bistro in Vitro predicts that the price of cultured meat will fall to 50 Euros per kilo within the next six years.

 

Mr van Mensvoort admitted that not all the wacky dishes on the Bistro's menu are likely to be available in 2028, but he hopes to take the project further by creating a mobile bar to demonstrate in vitro food.

 

He added that it's impossible to say exactly how technology will have progressed by the time a restaurant like this can open, but the important thing is to open people's minds about the future of meat.