Flavour Studio

teenager-focused practicums where food meets science and big ideas aimed to ignite food curiousity

Michael Pollan once said
“Don’t eat anything the your grandma wouldn’t recognise as food.”
This is not easy.
Lacking discipline and knowledge to drive informed food choices, we find ourselves guided by evolutionary programming and impulse, which have become a liability ever since we left the savannah. Taking control of our wants and understanding our needs based on science is the starting point for rectifying that. Taking this knowledge to the next generation is even more profound as they are the ones who will be making choices in the future.
Empowering them to write their own chapter in our collective book of food history is the ambition here.

REASONS
Why?

Because future food choices matter

FORMAT
What?

Practicum
Club
Extracurricular activity

PROCESS
How?

Interactive sessions where theory, practice and fun come together
Duration: 2hrs

AUDIENCE
Who?

Teenagers
High School students
Youngsters

Topics:

  • A young boy with dark, curly hair, sitting on a rock outdoors, tending to a small fire on the ground with dry leaves and grass, in a forested area.

    FOUR DIETS OF HUMANITY

    Diving into the history of humanity’s relationship with food to shine light on the edible foundations of civilisation.

  • An abstract sculpture made of vegetables, including a mushroom, cucumber slice, green apple, and pink wax candies, arranged with a feather and a stick.

    POWER OF FOOD

    Appreciating the power of food and its many meanings. Looking beyond nourishment, and discussing identity, culture, art, medicine and even entertainment as the manifestation of food.

  • Assorted green vegetables, cucumber slices, lemon wedges, and herb sprigs arranged on a light green background.

    FOOD AS FUEL

    Looking into the primary role of food - the fuel for body, brain and mind, - and experiencing mechanisms behind it.

  • Black statue of a person with finger over lips, with floating ingredients including tomato slices, lettuce, onion slices, pickles, cheese, grilled burger patty, sauce, and pastry, all against a dark background.

    PSYCHOLOGY OF FOOD

    Nature vs Nature debate.
    Learning to recognise psychological mechanisms behind food behaviours, stories and choices.

  • Empty white ceramic plate, small white bowl, gray ceramic dish, gray napkin with silver fork and spoon on top, all on a white textured surface.

    WHAT WE EAT

    Reviewing, questioning and appraising various foods;  debating principles of the ‘balanced diet’ and debunking an idea of a perfect meal.

  • Silhouette of a person eating with a spoon in a bowl, sitting at a table with a window in the background.

    JOY OF EATING

    Getting familiar with the way humans construct flavour; mastering the flavour formula; experiencing firsthand the mind-body interplay on forming the perception of flavour.

  • Three wooden spoons filled with different seasonings on a dark textured surface. The left spoon has dried lavender, the middle spoon has coriander seeds, and the right spoon has black peppercorns.

    JOY OF COOKING

    Diving into the chef’s skills and techniques, and discussing the chemical reactions that contribute to building and bringing out the flavour.

  • A young plant with green and brown leaves growing from a rolled 50 euro bill against a black background.

    ECONOMICS OF FOOD

    Understanding the way money influences what we eat, how we eat, how food is produced and the way it is sold.

  • A large legislative chamber filled with numerous members seated at desks arranged in a semi-circle, with additional members seated on upper levels. The chamber features red curtains and wood paneling.

    POLITICS OF FOOD

    Critically assessing the impact of political agendas on food.  Discussing the importance of research based knowledge and truth.  

PROPOSE A TOPIC

TALK TO MI

Bee Wilson:

“The danger of growing up surrounded by these endless

sweet and salty industrial concoctions

is not that we are innately incapable of resisting them,

but that the more frequently we eat them, especially in childhood,

the more they train us to expect all food to taste this way.”