Homaro Cantu: 'I'm just some guy in a kitchen that likes playing with food...'
The keynote presentation on Friday morning was delivered by culinary trailblazer and modern-day Willy Wonka Homaro Cantu, the owner of Chicago’s Moto and iNG (imagining New Gastronomy) restaurants.
Known for his carbonated fruits, sweet desserts made from mango and chocolate that look like a (savory) plate of nachos, water melon that looks like bluefin tuna and Cuban pork sandwiches that look like cigars, Cantu delighted delegates with tales of culinary mischief and invention.
While he covered everything from printed food to growing your own tomatoes, Cantu spent the bulk of his presentation extolling the virtues of the African 'miracle’ berry, which contains a glycoprotein called Miraculin that binds to sweet taste receptors on the tongue and makes us perceive bitter and sour foods as intensely sweet.
The non-heat-stable protein, which has garnered a huge amount of publicity in recent years, does not have regulatory approval in the US, although it has been given to patients undergoing chemotherapy, a side-effect of which is sour, metallic tastes in the mouth. The berries convert these tastes to sweet ones, encouraging patients to eat properly and gain the nutrition they need, he said.
PepsiCo Chief science officer: Miraculin is a great party trick, but not the solution to the obesity crisis...
Conspiracy theorists argue that sugar companies were behind the FDA's decision to reject a GRAS application for miraculin in the 1970s, and instead force supporters to submit it for approval as a food additive. However, not everyone is convinced it could be the solution to the obesity crisis - if it should only gain the regulatory green light.
Speaking to FoodNavigator-USA just before he delivered his presentation later that morning, PepsiCo chief science officer Dr Mehmood Khan said that while Miraculin was a "great party trick", its applications at a commercial level were not as broad as you may think, as it does not turn anything sweet, only products that taste sour.
