May 12, 2005

"Iron Chef" Was Weird Enough, Thanks

This story truly defies categorization. I think I'm easily on the more adventurous side when it comes to food, but sorry, folks, PAPER IS NOT FOOD. I don't care how fru-fru trendy the restaurant is where you serve it up, so to speak, but that can't be changed. Of course, when you're completely insane like Chef Homaro Cantu, I suppose that doesn't really matter, now does it?

"When the Sous-Chef Is an Inkjet":

...the sushi made by Mr. Cantu, the 28-year-old executive chef at Moto in Chicago, often contains no fish. It is prepared on a Canon i560 inkjet printer rather than a cutting board. He prints images of maki on pieces of edible paper made of soybeans and cornstarch, using organic, food-based inks of his own concoction. He then flavors the back of the paper, which is ordinarily used to put images onto birthday cakes, with powdered soy and seaweed seasonings…

I think it's actually this, however, that's convinced me Chef Cantu is really way, way beyond even professional help:

…Mr. Cantu is experimenting with liquid nitrogen, helium and superconductors to make foods levitate. [emphasis added] And while many chefs speak of buying new ovens or refrigerators, he wants to invest in a three-dimensional printer to make physical prototypes of his inventions, which he now painstakingly builds by hand. The 3-D printer could function as a cooking device, creating silicone molds for pill-sized dishes flavored, say, like watermelon, bacon and eggs or even beef Bourguignon, he said, and he could also make edible molds out of cornstarch…

Um, what more can you say?

(Link thanks to Mary Madigan at Exit Zero.)

Posted by Dave J at May 12, 2005 03:04 PM | TrackBack (0) |
Comments

"Defies categorization"?

Good grief, it defies description, understanding, and several laws of nature.

Posted by: Ken Summers at May 12, 2005 04:12 PM

Thanks for the link!

I'd have to try floating food to really judge it, but for now, I'll put it in the 'Ice cream of the future!' category - something that looks interesting but is usually tasteless - or worse.

Posted by: mary at May 12, 2005 06:16 PM

Flying food...I'll have to be careful where I order a root beer float.

Posted by: Alan K. Henderson at May 12, 2005 10:09 PM

Sound like a nice place for a gourmet food fight. Hey, let's print up some togas and pints too and practice the fine art of spitballs and paper airplanes!!

Posted by: d-rod at May 13, 2005 09:41 AM

We used to have these sheets, pre-printed, at the Friendly's - customers ordered whichever they liked, and we pulled them from the freezer and CAREFULLY applied them to the cake and peeled the backing. So the 'edible paper' thing isn't as farfetched as you'd think - the tech is at least twelve years old. Floating food, however...

Posted by: Nightfly at May 13, 2005 03:13 PM

this would probably be a big hit among the pre-school crowd. Here's a grownup who wants them to eat paper - and throw food around.

He could probably whip up a mean eraser-and-paste souffle.

Posted by: mary at May 13, 2005 03:39 PM