And yet, in New York, that’s exactly what three-starred chef Daniel Humm did a few days ago for a very special dinner.
The issue is no longer which came first, the chicken or the egg; the Swiss chef, who won the title of best restaurant in the world in 2017 from the “50 Best” ranking for Eleven Madison Park, has reframed the discussion to focus on using eggs that aren’t produced by an animal species to concoct such dishes.
It’s not the realm of science fiction – Daniel Humm created these dishes using a totally new kind of egg, which is the fruit of nine years’ research.
The process to create these “eggs” involves extracting the proteins from a conventional egg, preserving the DNA sequences and then using them to cultivate eggs with a strain of yeast.
The mixture is then fermented in a sugar-based solution and the proteins extracted to form liquid egg.
The formula which required no less than US$233 million in investment, was concocted by Californian start-up The Every Company. The dinner concocted by Daniel Humm served as the launch for the creation.
Eleven Madison Park was the obvious choice for such a demonstration. The restaurant famously moved to a plant-based, even vegan-focused approach back in 2021.
When it reopened after a succession of pandemic-related closures, Daniel Humm announced his intention to serve dishes based on fruit, vegetables, land and sea plants, mushrooms and grains. It became the first Michelin three-star establishment to serve neither meat nor eggs.
This chicken-less egg has a lot going for it. Its production at scale stands to benefit from large-scale partnerships such as that with AB inBev, the world’s largest brewing group, whose portfolio includes brands such as Corona and Budweiser, as well as investments from the likes of actress Anne Hathaway.
Its inventors also brandish nutritional arguments. The recipe is said to contain no cholesterol or saturated fats, with eight grams of protein per serving (by comparison a chicken egg contains an average of six grams of protein).
Following the Californian start-up’s launch dinner, which other restaurateurs will start serving this chicken-free egg next year.
Will three-star San Francisco chef Dominique Crenn add this ingredient to her offering? She certainly has an interest in sustainability-focused food innovations as last summer, she became, along with celebrated chef José Andrès, one of the first chefs to serve laboratory-produced chicken.
Last June, the United States authorised the sale of this type of new product, which previously had only been sold in Singapore. Dominique Crenn has used “chicken” from Upside Foods, while José Andrès chose Good Meat “chicken” for his Washington restaurant.