The menu is the result of the food futures scenario building experiment. We created the menu proposal based on food scenarios, then designed the dishes in collaboration between FoAM and Ginny Hunter from Blue Sky Catering. The menu was prepared and served by Ginny & Co.

Photographed by Chris Scott on Flickr

A grassy malt whiskey martini

Local bread, freshly made butter and oil, roughly ground salt and pepper

Wild garlic veloute with truffle oil

Water and Prosecco

Beetroot and blue cheese tart

Peaty Whiskey

Potato skins with Shony seaweed with tomato chutney & a sprinkling of pungent, salty an umami tastes

Cocoa psycho beer from BrewDog

Seasonal vegetable shepherd's pie

Heather Ale

Bubblegum panna cotta

Absinthe truffles

FoAM, Amanda, Marc (?) introduction of the evening. FoAM talks about the motivation for the evening, food futures, how we designed the menu based on four possible future scenarios, looking at how the relationship between food, wellness and the environment could evolve. We present the four scenarios as small amuse bouches and describe the futures of: continuation, discipline', collapse and transformation.

Four futures amuse bouche

• beer/whiskey aperitif
• deep-fried mussel & chip
• local pickle
• seasonal vegetable skewer (with intensely flavoured green sauce/dipping oil)
• pill-shaped potato & leak sorbet
• fresh apple juice and shizo martini

topics for discussion (based on the Continue scenario): choice of food from around the world, with the taste being re-localised (scotified, dutchified, etc…). disconnect between what is eaten and the supply chain; artificial flavours, food additives and chemically “enhanced” foods; the importance of appearance and branding. responses to the 'homoginisation' of food

options

• (deep fried) Sushi with Scottish ingredients (e.g. substitute rice with barley, fish with haggis, seaweed with red cabbage…)
• Scottish tapas that taste 'natural' but look 'artificial'
• water in a non-standard container (maybe using reverse spherification?)

• dominant tastes: sweet and salty; bite-sized 2-3 pieces, brightly coloured, delicate presentation;

topics for discussion (based on the Disciplined scenario): food from short supply chains, with the focus on its nutritional value. Food appreciated for it's taste. Suspiciton toward aesthetic considerations. Cradle-to-cradle and permaculture on small scales; wild foods and foraging. environmental and health regulations. swapping seeds on social networks and diligent recycling of food and packaging.

• nettle soup (or other seasonal wild leafy greens) with fresh curd
• potato consomme with basil or leak (essential) oil
• soup could be served raw linseed/hemp/mixed seed cracker/leather

well balanced full taste with pungent flavour accents; small soup bowls served individually, crackers shared from the centre of the table;

topics for discussion (based on the Collapse scenario): what we consider edible changes with scarcity. waste as food. what is considered inedible (or not tasty) and what makes something a delicacy. fermentation, bacteria and antibiotic resistance; hunting and gathering skills; a world with starvation and decadent debauchery; soy production, the meat and dairy industry, mock meat and tofu. “nose to tail” eating, canibalism and the organ market.

• deep-fried potato skin (sprinkled with truffle/mushroom oil) on a big plate
• a deep fried insect
• pickled shellfish/sea urchin/fish/vegetable
• seaweed salad
• bite-sized mock-meat or tofu and mushroom stew (pink or blue oyster mushroom, or other strangely shaped/coloured fungus, such as the monkey head mushroom, (Hericium erinaceus), prepared to look like organ meat.
• Smokey whiskey cocktail (or 'wee dram')

dominant tastes: sour, salty, umami, pungent

topics for discussion (based on the Discipline scenario): meat production, luxury foods and organic 'cuisine vegetal'. regulation of ingredients and preparation. certification bureaucracy, track and trace. augmented 'smart' production and distribution. personalised diets and medicine. the 'quantified self'. Social control and norms around food.

• vegetarian shepherd's pie (substitute meat with mushrooms, smoked seitan, nuts, wild asparagus…), with local beer reduction - or any other very meaty dish made with tasty meat substitutes (the taste should be as close to the meat as possible, possibly even more intense and definitely not bland…)
• local beer brewed using variant on traditional recipes (perhaps something from BrewDog such as Libertine Black Ale, Cocoa Psycho or Tokyo?)

predominance of umami taste, juicy; served in a small portion, 'relaxed' or rustic presentation;

topics for discussion (based on the Transform scenario): innovation in food. wide spread urban food forests. advanced food science labs. space food (aka 'astrogastro'). Maker cultures and DIY movements (including brewers, distillers, chefs and gardeners). Micro supply chains and ultra-boutique products to delight and surprise even the most critical palates…

A few small bite-sized portions of desserts such as:

• tipsy laird meets smoked garlic tiramisu
• spring flowers edible perfume
• liquid fudge
• sniffable raw cacao & maca powder
• (goat) cheese crisps with popping sugar
• light sponge with the appearance of a moon-rock
• Fresh fruit or vegetable cocktails, such as beetroot cocktail, variation on tea and coffee, or …

tastes: surprising, following flavour pairing principles; dishes served in laboratory glass