#future feast

The legendary Joey Ayala performs "Magkabilaan" at Future Feast at The Mind Museum, with Zach Lucero of Imago. 

Jireh Calo, Radio Republic's featured artist, performs "Dugong Maharlika" at Future Feast at The Mind Museum.

Slow Hello, Radio Republic's featured artist, performs "Minty Fresh" at Future Feast at The Mind Museum. 

Brisom, Radio Republic featured artist, performing "Day After Day" at Future Feast at The Mind Museum!

Here's a cool video by Miggy Matute of Radio Republic from Future Feast last July 26! Thanks, guys!

For Future Feast, I challenged seven accomplished chefs in the country to come up with potential dishes of the future. What are we to eat in 2050 when our supply of meat, dairy, and wheat cannot afford to sustain us anymore? Before the challenge, the chefs were given a list of ingredients that may not be sustainable in the future. They therefore had to create dishes out of unorthodox ingredients. It wasn't just a matter of what we couldn't eat in the future, it could also be how these ingredients are prepared. For example, while oceans have acidified and may have endangered seaweed, some have learned to grow these aquaponically with LED lights and made it a sustainable food source.

The goal of this project was to tangibilize the future. Perhaps you have heard of other cultures eating worms or insects, but to have it in front of you as a steak or as a snack, ready for your consumption, gives it material expression. 

There is no one answer to sustainability. These dishes are not prescriptive; they are examples of potential dishes that we might eat. This is an invitation for you to expand your mindset on what is food, as well as a call for you to come up with your own dish. 

Ready? Go!

Nut Milk Ice Cream (makes 1 quart) 

1.5 Cup Fresh Banana puree 1.5 Cup Cashew Milk* (see Nut Milk Recipe) ¾ Cup sugar 2 pinch Salt 3 Egg yolks

Instructions

1. Mix banana puree, cashew milk, sugar, salt and egg yolks in food processor and blend until smooth. 2. Place into double boiler and heat mixture over medium heat, whisking slowly until mixture thickens. Cool and set aside. 3. Add to ice cream machine and churn. When it comes out of machine, ice cream will be very soft. Place in freezer and ripen overnight.

Cashew Nut Milk Recipe (makes 3 cups)

1 Cup Cashews 3 Cups Water

Instructions

1. Place 1 cup cashews in water, steep overnight. 2. The next day, place cashews and water in food processor and blend for 3 minutes. 3. Put cashew blend through cheesecloth and squeeze out the liquid to strain out solid particles. Use as needed.

My process

When I first heard about the concept of Future Feast, I was excited to participate. I knew I would be making an Ice Cream without using dairy, and I would get a chance to bust out the non-recipes I had compiled over the years. “No Dairy? No Problem!”

However, when I got the list of foods that might be affected by climate change (and were therefore off limits), my heart sank. I knew that I wouldn’t do milk, that was fine, but it seemed like the list was specifically crafted to remove every possible option I had. Coconut milk? Nope. Soymilk? Also out. Those were my two go-to ingredients for non-dairy ice cream and they were off the table right from the start.  Great. I asked for a challenge and I got one. 

I was really trying to think of nontraditional substitutions for milk. I briefly thought I had something with Horchata, which is a Mexican milk-like drink made with rice, but then I remembered that rice was also on the list. Almond milk was also off limits and I was nearing the end of my rope, until I realized: What about OTHER nuts?

It was then that I quickly researched how to make my own nut milk, which is much easier than one would think. All you need is a cheesecloth and a good blender to make it. Trying different nuts, I eventually settled on cashew because it gave a nice creamy richness with a flavor that would play well with other ingredients.

I combined the nut milk with pureed banana, which provides body to the base in lieu of cream, and some egg yolks to provide some fat for that smooth rich texture. I chose to not add any other flavorings like vanilla extract because cashews and bananas are already a delicious combination and I wanted to highlight the ingredients rather than use them as a canvas for other flavors. A pinch of salt to bring out the sweetness and we were good to go.

Nut Milk Ice Cream is a sustainable dish for the future because the all various flavors it can be made into can be used as a substitute for milk, which is central to so many of our foods; dessert or otherwise. Personally speaking I hope that future never comes to pass, but it’s comforting to know that even if milk were to become unavailable, there will still be Ice Cream. 

Yield    3 pieces

  Ingredients 

Heavy cream      Soya milk                                 62 ml Moringa powder                      1 1/2 tsps Aloe vera                                  15 grams Powdered gelatin                     6 grams  Cold water                               10 ml Green food color                      2 drops Aaçai berry sauce                    3 tbsp Sugar, white                             30 g Banana leaf                              1 piece

Sauce

Yield:  5 (15 tbsp)

Acai berry puree                      100 grams Sugar                                        45 grams Lemon juice                              1 tsp Water                                        60 ml Cornstarch                                2 tsp

Garnish (per piece)

Sliced banana, caramelized      7 pcs                       Candied ginger                           3 grams Chopped peanut                        1g

Procedure