We believe that every plate of food is in some sense designed, whether toward the simple end of provid- ing nourishment, or in the case of more elaborate food, to meet some aesthetic goal, perhaps focus- ing on finesse in flavour, texture, or visual appeal.

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For much of the history of cooking, the parameters of this design have been set through fairly straight- forward manipulation of ingredients; to borrow a humble phrase from one of our favourite chefs: ‘playing with fire and water’ . Harnessing fire, either in its pure form or mediated by the technology of a stove, remains the cornerstone of cooking, and a lifelong learning process.

Recent decades have seen the game change. A wealth of new ingredients now abounds which are seemingly decontextualised from our usual sense of food coming from the land, the rivers and the seas. Food additives have long been used by the food industry in mass-production, and are latterly widely available to restaurants and caterers, and to the domestic market. Many of these ingredients are derived from raw materials with culinary uses, but reach the cook in the form of powders, resembling salt or flour. Additives provide the cook with an expanded array of techniques, allowing functional and aesthetic improvements, and increasing the potential to innovate. Along with the uptake of these new ingredients comes an increased interest in the scientific processes behind cooking, an area of research that serves both industry and gastronomy.These practices are at the core of much of our work, but we feel that certain questions are rarely posed in this context:

What is the common ground between large-scale industry and gastronomy’s use of additives and scientific process?

What are the different design motivations of different areas of the food industry, from individual restaurants to multinationals?

What might each party learn from the other?

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This lunch presents the one of the first menus in a new strand of research posing these and further questions concerning our food industry. Our intention is to build on our links with chemists whose research addresses the problem of the mass pro- duction of food, hoping to further develop a fruitful dialogue.

Ingredients

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Food additives give modern cooks control over the design of their food in ways that have only recently been explored outside of mass-production, and a fraction of restaurant kitchens. We have classified additives into categories by function. This list is not comprehensive, but represents our current interest in these ingredients: Colourings; antioxidants and preservatives; emulsi- fiers, stabilisers and thickeners; anti-caking agents, anti-foaming agents, humectants; sweeteners; flavourings; flavour enhancers.

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Our use largely comprises antioxidants, emulsifiers, stabilisers, thickeners, and sweeteners. We use processed colours, flavours and flavour enhancers infrequently, preferring to work with the existing flavour and appearance of primary ingredients. The remaining categories are largely concerned with the performance of a product over lengthy storage, which is rarely applicable to our cookery.

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About Blanch & Shock

Blanch & Shock is a design studio and catering company based in South London, England. We design and cook bespoke menus using carefully sourced seasonal British ingredients, inspired by the technology and processes of modern cookery.

www.blanchandshock.com

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