The Future of our Food Food & Drink

Times are changing.

It's no longer just nostalgia we want in the kitchen.

Our imaginations have been captured

by experimental techniques and high-tech gadgets.

We're going to show you what the future holds for our food and drink.

Master of modern cooking, Sat Bains,

is here to revolutionise an old favourite.

-Mad, isn't it?

-Oh, I love that.

Stefan Gates thinks he's discovered what we'll be eating in 2050.

Artificial meat. Yep. That's meat without the need for cows.

Kate is finding out how science is transforming the art of food and drink matching.

-Do you know what it smells of to me?

-No.

Shoe polish.

And I'm creating an innovative and exciting flavour combination.

Today, Food & Drink looks into the future.

Some of the best restaurants in the world have made their names

showcasing the very latest in cutting-edge culinary techniques.

At the forefront is two Michelin starred chef Sat Baines.

He has a development kitchen entirely dedicated to creating

new and revolutionary dishes.

Sat's a technical whiz and he's got a machine for everything,

but if this is the future of cooking, I think I might be in trouble!

Sat, what have you done to my kitchen?

Brought it into the 21st century, Chef.

The dish I'm doing is a bread and butter pudding

with celeriac, carrot and celeriac ice cream.

Oh, that's unusual, to say the least.

Two years of research and development have transformed

a classic recipe into something truly original.

Bread and butter pudding that uses space-age candied vegetables

instead of fruit.

Being a more traditional chef myself,

all this talk of gadgets makes me a bit nervous.

So, what we are going to do is recreate

the sort of sultana-raisin element of a bread and butter pudding.

One way we do it is we actually get some vegetables that have

-a natural high sugar level.

-Like celeriac, carrot or parsnip.

Parsnips are great as well, but in this case it's celeriac and carrot.

-What we do is actually cook them...

-What do you want me to do?

I'm not going to stand here all day listening to you.

-I'm your commis now.

-OK, this is a great turn of events here.

If you want to start with making me a classic anglaise,

-splitting the eggs for me.

-I can manage that.

-Thank you, Chef.

-I don't need any equipment for that.

-No, just hands.

-Just these.

The creme anglaise, or custard,

will be used in the bread and butter pudding

AND the ice cream.

-I also need a peeler.

-You use a peeler?

I need to peel the veg, I've got no machine for that one.

So, the idea is that you get these lovely carrots and what we do,

we use a technique, almost like osmosis, where you add salt to

certain ingredients that draws the moisture out.

By adding sugar, it acts very similar.

What you do, you pop it into a bag with some sugar

and then we cook it in a water bath.

So far, so good.

But then, why the vacuum packing

-and why the water bath?

-We did some research in terms of

how to get the best out of it

and by having it cooked over around 90 degrees,

and also with the sugar, you end up

with this incredible textured vegetable.

Because it's drawn out the moisture,

it almost looks like a weird rubber carrot, for a better word.

Very, very unusual.

So I'm just going to vacuum seal this one first.

And you have used one of these before. And I know you have.

I'm not against all these... modern gizmos and stuff.

Not at all, I think

you need to have the classic skills first before you use all these.

The vacuum-packed veg and sugar go into the water bath at 90 degrees.

If you fancy doing some low-tech candied veg at home,

you can get similar results by boiling them in a pan of sugar syrup.

For the creme anglaise, place the seeds from two vanilla pods

into the egg yolks along with some sugar

and equal quantities of milk and cream.

I'm going to need half of it raw.

And then the other half I'm going to pop into this blender

that also has a heat element.

So you are cooking this anglaise it's a custard, a classic custard...

-That's right.

-..in a machine.

It's almost replicating exactly

what we do with a wooden spoon in a figure of eight.

It's doing that in the blender.

-What's wrong with the traditional way of cooking it?

-Nothing at all.

So half of the custard is being cooked and blended for the ice cream.

The other half will go into the puddings later.

For a fancy take on the bread in the pudding, I'm slicing some brioche.

It seems to me, Sat, that I'm doing all the cutting, slicing and mixing

-and you're pressing buttons.

-I think you're actually bang on.

For Sat, cooking is about pushing boundaries -

whether that's coming up with brand-new ideas or reinventing classics like this.

We're in restaurants.

We've got to give our guests, for me,

something really exciting and I want to give them

something we've thought about, we've developed.

We've got a development kitchen in the restaurant

where we work on new ideas.

That's testimony to you, the innovator, the great chef, that

you have learnt the classics and now you are looking to the future.

The ice cream mix has now cooked.

After sieving, a puree made of finely diced celeriac cooked in milk is added in.

So just whisk that in and I'll taste it now.

-So there's no substitute for taste, is there, really?

-No, not yet.

You're working on it. No, for me taste is the most important.

The celeriac ice cream mix goes into the freezer.

So I'm going to get the vegetables out now, Michel.

The carrots and celeriac are now candied

after their two hours in the water bath.

Just going to open them up now.

And I think you will see what they actually look like.

Wow!

It's almost completely dehydrated, but feel it,

-it's like a candied fruit.

-Yes.

So have a taste.

-Oh!

-The texture is incredible.

-You taste carrot, natural sweetness, but it's still savoury.

-It is.

It is, it's still savoury. Yet sweet. And the texture is amazing.

-It's similar with the celeriac. Obviously celeriac's got a lovely...

-The smell is amazing.

-Oh!

-It's mad, isn't it?

-Oh, I love that.

Time to assemble the puds,

starting with another quirky ingredient - carrot marmalade!

-Oh!

-Imagine that on toasted brioche.

-Yes!

Mmm!

'This goes into the bottom of each dish before adding the candied veg.'

So imagine these were sultanas or raisins.

-Yeah.

-The brioche goes on top.

'In goes the remaining half of the creme anglaise we made earlier.

'The brioche will soak it all up

'as the puddings sit in the fridge for two hours.'

Our home cooking may be taking a giant leap forward

with the help of science and gadgetry,

but what does the future hold for the wine industry?

'We've had old-world and new-world wines,

'but look out because the future-world wines are coming!

'Here are my three to watch.'

It may seem unlikely

but the potential

for producing high-quality,

sparkling wine in India is so great,

that a well-known French champagne house

has established vineyards there.

'In 2011, Moet Hennessy planted champagne grapes in Western India.

'They've just launched their first non-vintage sparkling wines

'to the Indian market so they could well be ones to watch in the future.

'Although not widely available, you can find Indian wine

'here in the UK with prices starting around £8.

'Number two on my list is England.

'We already produce some cracking

'sparkling and white wines,

'but red wines

'haven't been our forte.

'Many red wine grapes would benefit from longer and warmer summers.

'So, could things be different in years to come?'

Climate change may well affect the wine world as we know it.

Hotter regions will find it increasingly difficult

to grow grapes. But equally, cooler climates, like our own,

could benefit. Who knows?

Maybe one day we'll see good reds coming out of Manchester.

'To get a feel for our wine industry,

'many wineries do tours which include tastings.

'It's a great way to taste several different wines

'without breaking the bank.

'My third pick for

'the future-world wine category

'is China.'

Nearly half of all wine imported into China comes from France.

'But now, the Chinese are growing the likes of Cabernet Sauvignon,

'Chardonnay and Merlot grapes

'and making their own French style wines.

'So watch this space, Far-Eastern wines are coming!'

Well, I've got something a bit different

for you guys to try

but I need you to both keep an open mind.

-All right?

-Before we taste something, I need to get

these bread-and-butters in the oven.

Get that water for us, please, Chef.

'Sit the puddings in a deep baking dish,

'lined with kitchen paper to stop them slipping,

'and fill it halfway with boiling water.

'Then into the oven for 45 minutes at 110 degrees.

'And while they cook,

'Kate wants to test out one of her future-world wines on us.'

Ooh, that label does not look French.

KATE LAUGHS

So, chaps, this is one of the first

Bordeaux-style Chinese wines available in the UK.

OK? So it's a Changyu Moser.

This is a traditional Bordeaux blend. It's 90% Cabernet Sauvignon,

10% Merlot.

It's quite pricey. So it's kind of £35 to £40.

-That bottle?

-Yeah.

-Wow.

-Yeah. So it is quite an expensive wine

-but it's new.

-I think, for that price,

it's nice to taste, compare it to Bordeaux for a similar price...

-I agree.

-..I think you would get something far more superior.

-For me,

it doesn't do it. It's got potential. I can see potential.

but for me, the shocking thing, you said, "Chinese wine."

-Chinese wine for me is rice wine.

-Rice wine, yeah

But this is obviously grape juice. And, yeah,

they're having a go at making a Bordeaux blend,

-which...

-Exactly. Like I said, it's their first vintage,

so I think it could be one to watch for the future, definitely.

'We'll have to wait and see!

'The puddings are cooked and the final touch is to dust them

'with sugar and brulee the tops for a crunchy finish.

'The frozen celeriac mix goes into the last of Sat's machines,

'which uses a spinning blade

'and compressed air to turn it into a super smooth ice cream.'

So, as you can see, it's got this incredible soft texture.

Beautiful.

So there we have it -

bread-and-butter pudding with candied vegetables

and celeriac ice cream. Let's eat.

Right.

This looks fabulous. What do you reckon, Kate?

Whoa-ho-ho.

-It looks great.

-You first.

-Thank you.

-So, verdict now.

That ice cream looks GORGEOUS!

Wow. That is SO good.

Do you know what, Sat? I couldn't imagine it really,

but that creaminess with the savoury,

with the crunchy, with that sweet richness as well, it's just AMAZING.

I'm speechless.

-Chef, that is...

-That doesn't happen very often!

It doesn't happen very often.

I'm speechless, Sat. THAT is wonderful.

So hopefully you see why we use so many tools.

CHORTLES

And the texture of the veg, I like it. It's still got

a bit of crunch and... It's great.

-And it's not overly sweet.

-Which is important.

-That was my challenge

with the drinks

because it is exactly that. It's a sweet, so you need

something sweet. The rule of thumb is that you need to match something

as sweet, if not sweeter than the dessert.

But equally it's got those savoury notes,

and I thought, "I don't want anything too big

"cos it's going to completely overwhelm it

"and you'll lose those subtleties."

So it was quite a challenge.

So I've gone for a sweet wine.

And the key here is choosing something that's got a nice acidity

to give it some freshness.

'Sweet wines are made with specialised techniques

'often requiring more grapes per bottle,

'which can make them pricier.'

So, this is wine one.

This is an old-world wine

It's a Coteaux du Layon,

Domaine des Forges, it's French.

Domaine des Forges, Coteaux du Layon, 2010.

It's in the region of £8 to £10 for a half bottle.

it's got lovely baked apple, ripe pears

and a lovely freshness, hasn't it?

-The flavour is incredible.

-I think this is a wonderful wine.

It's a sweet wine made from Chenin Blanc

and it's got that balance that you always get from the Loire Valley.

And you get it in this as well.

This is the second wine, a new-world wine.

And this is Mount Horrocks, Cordon Cut Riesling.

So it's from the Clare Valley in South Australia.

It's more limey, citrus, tangerine, mandarin -

it's along those lines.

Again it's got that really refreshing quality

that will cut through the richness of that.

-It's dry at the end, which is really nice.

-Exactly.

It's little bit more expensive. Well, quite a bit more expensive.

It's a lot more expensive. This is around the £20 mark.

It's a bit pricier. And then, the last one we've got

-is an English sparkling wine from Nyetimber.

-OK.

Nyetimber is a demi-sec, so it's got a touch more sweetness

than a normal brut champagne.

It retails around 35, 34 to 35,

so you're getting into champagne prices.

It's those bubbles, really, that are going to work

nicely, I think, with this.

It's really fresh and it's got a nice, light, effervescent finish.

For me, it just lifts the palate.

I'm surprised. It's not a sweet as I thought it was going to be.

It is a demi-sec, so it's got a hint of sweetness

but it's still got a lot of acidity.

Yeah, that freshness.

And that's what's so key here, isn't it?

That lovely liveliness, really.

Sat's techie kit is the fun side of future cooking

but there are some huge food challenges coming our way.

Stefan Gates has been looking at a science fiction solution,

to feeding the seven billion people on our planet,

that's just become science fact.

Humans have a lust for meat.

Fleshy, bloody, tender, protein-rich, juicy, lovely MEAT!

Whether it's roasted, fried or grilled, across the world,

we are eating more of it than ever.

And as huge developing countries get richer,

they want to eat this too.

MOOING

Which is fair enough. But at this rate,

by 2050, we're going to need

two and a half billion of these guys on the planet

to satisfy demand.

And they're going to end up munching us into an environmental catastrophe.

NURSERY CHIMES

But science has an answer to this mess -

artificial meat, or "in vitro" meat, as the scientists call it,

has actually been in development in the labs since 2001.

Yep, that's meat without the need for farmers,

without even the need for cows.

Test-tube food is progress.

It's not the only solution to the world's problems

but I'm convinced that test-tube meat has a huge role to play

in the future of our food.

'And it's taken a giant step forward

'with the world's first test-tube burger.'

Will you do the honours and lift the lid on your creation?

Sometime soon, artificial meat won't just be a question of cost or taste,

it'll be a moral, technological choice that you'll have to make.

The big question is,

would you eat it?

Most definitely not. I really don't like the idea of this.

For me, it's not natural and I would rather eat less meat.

What about you, Kate?

Well, my initial reaction was exactly the same.

But having thought about it,

I think I would.

No, but listen, because to some degree it's an inevitable step.

So, for example,

I said I'd never use a mobile phone.

INDISTINCT

I can clearly remember sitting in the pub and saying,

"I'm never going to use a mobile phone.

"Right near my head. It can't be good for me."

The social sort of aspect.

But we all do and I do all the time.

-So I do think it is...

-I think you're right.

I agree, it is a repulsive idea

but it could solve some of the biggest problems facing the world.

The global population is going to be nine billion people.

We don't have the answers for how to feed these people yet.

Yeah, but it's unnatural. I think because of that,

there's going to be things that'll come back and haunt us.

We've seen what happens

when we mess around with the food chain. Look at BSE.

-Mm.

-Yep.

I just think it's ethically and naturally wrong.

But what about all the massive advances in cooking

from when mankind developed fire and they're all sitting around

with their little foreheads and their massive

sort of great big jaws and they sat and said,

"Oh, no, it won't catch on. I'm not going to start cooking meat."

-Then suddenly the nutrition leaps.

-That was a natural progression.

That was a natural progression. It tastes good and it's a meal.

-I think you're messing around with this.

-But wine...

Wine is messing around - it's all chemistry.

It's 10% terroir and the rest of it is all chemistry.

It's a massive development that changed life.

-It's grape juice.

-It's grape juice.

-Cheese is milk.

-Fermented milk.

-So it's chemistry.

People have developed these things.

From my point of view, I see you guys as AMAZING chefs

but also chemists, you know?

When you're frying an egg, you are denaturing proteins.

You are fiddling with the molecular structure of food.

-And this, it's a big shift.

-This is growing cells

that we eat - it is different.

The other big aspect of this is no animal will die

in making an artificial burger.

Even saying it makes me slightly repulsed.

I would guess that environmentally it's more sound.

-Less land-use, less water used.

-I'm with Michel.

I think I would probably go with less meat.

Would you go vegetarian then?

Listen, you can eat well on vegetarian food.

-So, you'd be happy just to say, "OK"?

-We're chefs.

We create flavour with anything. We don't have to eat this much meat.

-No?

-Just because it's there, doesn't mean you have to have it.

It is the best source of protein that we have, dietary protein.

We sit here in a wealthy country where we can pretty much pick

and choose the sort of food that we want, and we can get all

the things that we need to keep ourselves healthy as vegetarians.

There are huge swathes of the planet where people can't do that,

where this may or may not be part of the solution.

Sommeliers are experts in food and drink matching.

It can take a lifetime to develop a sophisticated palate,

but as Kate's been finding out there are other ways to create

interesting pairings and they don't involve tasting anything!

'We all know that particular drinks

'go brilliantly with certain foods,

'and sommeliers spend many years honing their palates to find

'out what the best matches are.

'It takes experience to get it right.'

But increasingly, thanks to science,

we're fast developing ways of pinpointing

and measuring taste that's changing the way we understand flavour.

'Danny Hodrien is a food scientist.

'For the last 40 years, he's been analysing how the different

'molecules in food affect how it tastes.'

-Hi, Danny.

-Hi, Kate.

'He's going to help me understand is the science behind food

'and drink matching.'

So if we're thinking about red wine and red meat, for example

beef, I'd think about having a nice big, full-bodied red.

Why does that match fill me with excitement?

Well, both red wine and beef,

they have their own hundreds of flavour molecules in their own right,

but in some cases we've got some commonality.

There are two, or three, or four at least that we know of,

which are carried in both red wine and in beef.

For instance, this one here

is called "benzothiazole", which I'm sure,

when you smell, you would not think of red wine or even of beef.

-Do you know what it smells of to me?

-No.

Shoe polish.

DANNY CHUCKLES

-Well...

-I've never smelt shoe polish in my beef.

-No, no.

-But, believe me, it's there.

-Yes.

It's about the quantity.

These molecules are there at parts per billion.

What you're smelling here is a 1% solution, so it's probably

1,000 times stronger than what you would see

in the red wine or the beef.

'This sort of science is used in manufacturing

'everything from simple snacks to fancy liquors and it's big business.

'But what I'm fascinated by is how it could transform traditional

'flavour matching and help come up with new ideas.'

What do you think it means for the future of food and drink pairing?

I think we can look at foods

and drinks which we'd not traditionally put together

and look at the molecular analysis of those from a flavour

point of view, and look for the overlap which could lead us

to interesting new, exciting combinations, I think.

'I want to see what the modern method has to offer.

'So Danny has come up with three brand-new pairings

'that science says are a good match.

'And I'm his guinea pig.'

-Well, the first one is tequila.

-OK.

-I'd think something savoury.

-Well, how about...Turkish delight?

Oh, wow! OK.

Mm, that's quite surprising.

And it actually brings the floral character out of the tequila.

When I smelt the tequila, it smelt quite spicy. Well done.

I'll give you that one.

OK, so we've got a port next.

I'd like it with perhaps a blue cheese.

That would be my automatic reaction.

-What about...

-Oh...

-..prawns?

-No way!

-I'm not sure about that one, Danny.

-OK. Well, there you go.

-I have one more lined up for you.

-Grapefruit.

-I give you...

goats' cheese.

'Making matches like this is an exciting way to discover

'new flavour combinations, but just like the traditional method,

'the best proof is in the eating.'

Now that is a good match.

Excellent. I'm very happy.

The grapefruit and goats' cheese of the 1960s was duck a l'orange.

Matching unusual flavours to great effect

isn't as cutting-edge as it sounds.

Clever cooking is about reinventing dishes to keep food exciting.

My take on this timeless classic is duck a la rhubarb.

'Finding the dish of the future is all about being experimental.

'Of course rhubarb is traditionally used in desserts, but I've gone for

'a break with the past to make this wonderful dish.'

Rhubarb has a certain tartness to it. It's quite sharp and sour.

But if I balance it out with a bit of sugar,

I'm sure it's going to work.

So the rhubarb, I'm going to stew

in a pan with a little bit of sugar.

This is going to add even more flavour to our rhubarb.

And just a little bit of water.

And the Grenadine.

It's not going to flavour the rhubarb,

but it's going to make sure that we get this lovely,

vibrant colour which we always associate with rhubarb.

And just let that stew down completely.

'When it's stewed, blitz it in a mixer

'and leave it to one side.

'The next step is to get the sauce on.

'Red wine vinegar

'and some brown sugar are melted together in a hot pan.'

You can see the vinegar reducing down with the sugar

and the bubbles are getting bigger, which means the caramel is forming.

It's a bitter, sweet, sour caramel.

You need to catch it...

before it goes too dark.

'And then add stock.'

We're using a brown chicken stock but you could use a veal stock

or a beef stock and that caramel will dissolve

and it will colour our sauce

and give it that wonderful depth of flavour.

'Once it's reduced, add some butter which will give it a lovely sheen.'

Now, I need to prepare the duck for cooking.

And I'm going to be using a little bit of Chinese five spice,

a little bit of salt rubbed into the duck

and this'll give it a lovely, fragrant taste.

'Scoring the skin will help to crisp it up beautifully in the pan

'and allows the rub to get right into the meat.

'Put the seasoned duck breast

'skin side down into a COLD pan.'

And then we turn it on.

No fat in the pan. And after about a minute or two,

you'll see some of the fat melting and that will start cooking

and crisping up this beautiful skin.

'Cook the dock for five or six minutes and then flip it over.

'Turn off the gas and allow it

'to finish cooking in the residual heat.'

That looks beautiful and golden and delicious,

and the spice has gone that lovely amber-rich, brown colour.

It smells divine. It really does.

Just leave it there in the pan.

It will carry on cooking and resting and it will be the perfect pink.

'For the garnish, put some more brown sugar in a pan.

'Add rhubarb batons

'and a knob of butter.'

So now to plate up. My interpretation of a classic,

my duck a l'orange of the future.

So a spoonful of this lovely pink...

rhubarb puree.

And then...

our duck. Just going to cut it in half, down the middle.

And that's beautiful and pink.

It has rested, it's succulent and juicy but it's not rare,

it's not bloody.

And that's because it's been rested properly.

'Top the duck with the rhubarb batons.

'And on the side, a little pak choi stir-fried with chilli.

'Finish with a few drizzles of the sauce.' Mm...

'My 21st-century take on a classic,

'juicy duck with tangy, sweet-and-sour rhubarb.'

Oh!

-Look at that!

-There we go, guys. Duck a la rhubarb.

-Mm.

-Looks good.

-Dive in.

-I will then.

Mm...

The five spice really works, doesn't it?

-I love that tanginess from the rhubarb.

-Mm.

My palate feels alive with tanginess. It's fantastic.

And I've got the perfect match for this, I think.

Normally I'd go for Pinot Noir with this.

But because it's got the rhubarb and that tanginess,

I've gone for a Gewurztraminer.

So we've got Domaine Bruno Sorg, Gewurztraminer 2010.

-It's very aromatic.

-Jasmine.

Yeah, exactly. There's rose petals,

lychee, all those sorts of exotic fruits.

-So it's really quite aromatic.

-That really works.

I think it'll just work really nicely with the tanginess

of the rhubarb but also the heat from the chillies as well.

And it's big enough. It's a big enough wine to stand up to the meat.

I think it's a wonderful match with that rhubarb. Absolutely bang on.

-And the chilli, the heat as well.

-Yeah.

-Perfect.

It wouldn't be my immediate choice...

-No, I can understand.

-..with duck.

-I can understand.

-But...

-Would you go with more of a red?

-I would, I would.

-What red would you go for?

-A Pinot Noir.

But saying that...

-The rhubarb would probably ruin the Pinot Noir.

-I think so.

-I do.

-Also, a Gewurtz goes well with Chinese spices.

-Exactly.

-I defer to your expertise and I would happily drink that.

-Yes.

I think it stands up to the food really well.

-I'm going in for a bit more there.

-That duck's lovely.

The future of our food and drink is exciting,

divisive and intriguing in equal measure.

Whether you're experimenting in the kitchen, or grappling with

some of the bigger questions about the future of our food,

being engaged with the debate is what really matters.