The Food: Bigger than the Plate exhibition, which opened at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London, features over 70 projects by artists and designers working with chefs, farmers, scientists and local communities. Each of the objects deserves a separate consideration. But today we will talk about, perhaps, the most unusual.
This is a project called Selfmade. The project includes a demonstration of cheeses made with bacteria harvested from the bodies of British celebrities. For example, Alex James from the rock band Blur, Michelin-starred chef Heston Blumenthal, finalist of the TV show “Great British Bake Off” and model Ruby Tando, singer Suggs and rapper Professor Green shared their bacteria.
They volunteered their bodily bacteria for a unique project. It became known that the bacteria were taken from the ears and navels of celebrities.
On display, Cheshire Cheese by Alex James, Conte Cheese by Heston Blumenthal, Mozzarella by Professor Green, Stilton by Ruby Tando and Cheddar by Suggs are on display under glass. The cheeses are not intended for consumption.
More about the project
Selfmade is the brainchild of biologists and biodesigners Helen Steiner and Thomas Meany, who teamed up with Chef John Quilter to create an exclusive cheese.
The specialists used human bacteria as a starter culture for the production of cheese. And in fact, the bacteria that make it possible to get many beloved cheeses with mold are quite similar to human bacteria.
Recall that earlier we talked about the 9 most expensive cheeses in the world, as well as how to find an alternative to cheeses of different varieties.