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[MUSIC PLAYING]
Good afternoon, and thanks for inviting me.
So I've been given this challenge to present to you
how I believe cuisine will be in the future.
But before I deal with this, I want to
introduce you to Pau Arenos.
He's a Catalan journalist.
And he was the person who defined contemporary cuisine
by giving it this name, technical, emotional cuisine--
techno-emotional cuisine.
He, with his Cooking For Brave People, developed a map with
everything--
all the most major milestones that had taken place in
cuisine, up until that point, and those people who had had a
key role in evolving cuisine, up until that point.
So what is techno-emotional cuisine?
Basically, it's contemporary cuisine which has, to a
certain extent, evolved.
There's a great deal of technique and knowledge in
this field.
But it has a vocation at the same time.
It has to stimulate and excite people so that they have a
unique experience.
All the most important chefs in the world today--
those who are awake, giving rise to a great deal of
interest in this area are already experimenting in
techno-emotional cuisine.
But let's go back to this term,
techno-emotional cuisine.
All the chefs in the 1980s, which, in their own way,
generated change and were revolutionary, were very
innovative and created something with a
great deal of value.
They not only were sowing the seeds for techno-emotional
cuisine, but in their own way, were actually practicing this
kind of techno-emotional cuisine in the same way that
their predecessors were, as well.
Because in the history of cooking, there have been
several points in time where a new concept has emerged.
So let's go back to the question, what will fine
dining of the future be like.
What will haute cuisine of the future be like?
In order to answer this question, I'd like to present
three key ideas.
The first idea is, when we try and project into the future,
and think about a future idea, we do that from our current
perspective.
Using destructive technologies--
we see that in the future.
And we also take into account our culture, our own
prejudices.
But we mustn't forget that our brains are a machine which are
designed to anticipate the future.
It receives information through our senses.
It establishes hypotheses, and then, tries to
select the best one.
Because in many cases, it's a survival strategy.
That is the main function of our brains, in any case.
To live means to adapt.
And anticipation is the best possible adaptation strategy.
This has always the case, because brains are capable of
designing virtual spaces, things
that haven't yet happened.
I can cook in my mind.
I can create flavours in my mind.
But at the same time, I can also
generate emotional virtually.
And there are people who, perhaps, find themselves in
very difficult situations because of their imagination,
because of a sense of panic, for example.
But if the mind is focused, then, we can begin to create.
When we try and anticipate, there are always a number of
factors that come into play.
And they will condition our vision of the future.
For example, 100 years ago, more or less, it was thought
that cuisine, in the year 2000, would be based in pills,
would be eaten--
meals in pill form.
And that was because people were already thinking that
something which we now know as vitamins existed.
This wasn't discovered until the
beginning of the 20th century.
When a disruptive technology like electricity is
discovered, it not only was thought that the future would
involve using electricity for lighting and heating.
It was also thought, at the time, that electricity would
be used for growing plants and vegetables, and for absorbing
nitrogen in the air.
These were disruptive technologies which, at the
time, were considered very important.
Here are some prints that can be found in the National
Library in Paris.
They are prints from the end of the 19th century, beginning
of the 20th century.
And this is how people perceived the future.
It seems here that everyone would fly.
Firefighters would fly.
Rescues would take place from the air.
There would be helicopters.
There would be an electric train, obviously, which would
go from Paris to Beijing.
Skates with motors, cars.
I particularly like this one here because these are
international, or intercontinental, trips that
are depicted here.
So how could anyone have thought of that back at the
time, in the 19th century.
It's the zeppelin.
It's what was in someone's mind at that time.
And also, a mechanised world, with robots.
Robot hairdressers, robot tailors.
Kitchens would be like laboratories, with different
handles, and devices, and mechanisms, using steam and
hydraulics.
And food would be in pill format.
But how would we dress?
Ask yourself that question.
Well, in the same way as people dressed in the 1900s,
because our imagination limits us in that way.
This is an idea that has been passed on through time.
At a point, there were cartoons in the newspapers
depicting people eating meals in pill format.
Here we can see that the character is saying, "This is
the second time this week it's taken me four minutes to eat a
meal," as if saying that's a really long time.
[INAUDIBLE], which was one of the main food critics in Paris
at the time, was outraged.
Because in the cafes and restaurants in Paris-- in at
least some of them-- there were signs saying that, here,
you can eat quickly, and well.
And he said that that makes no sense whatsoever.
You can't eat quickly and well.
You either eat well, or you eat quickly.
Time does not respect any activity that is carried out
without that being taken into consideration.
So once this is popularised, this idea, you
can find it in Hollywood.
Here we can see a character who's struck by lightning.
He arrives in Manhattan in the 1980s, where children come out
of vending machines, where flying ships
have replaced cars.
And also, this idea of eating meals in pill form is seen,
once again.
But there have always been people who object to this
concept, or who have been more intelligent.
Not everyone in the industry thought that food would be in
pill format.
Filippo Tommaso Marinetti was an Italian poet, and was part
of the futurist movement.
He was born in Italy.
And he travelled to the UK, and to France.
And he wanted to change society.
He wanted to change the world.
And he presented a future in which human
beings would develop.
They would develop their capabilities.
In 1930, he presented this manifesto for future cuisine,
where he presented very interesting ideas that food
would change through society.
And this is the interesting bit.
From 1933 onwards, the first meal taking into account this
futurist movement was created.
And there were very sophisticated dishes which
embodied the entire philosophy.
This is a philosophy which is quite interesting.
Because this is something that came about more than 80 years
ago, but it's still very much present in haute cuisine.
It involves originality in meals.
The context is as important as the meal itself.
And sensory stimulation is also a key aspect.
The context is important.
That's why you can't talk about politics, or football,
while you're eating.
The senses need to be stimulated through touch.
And this is incredible.
Because all of this--
all of these elements-- are very contemporary, very
modern, which are very much present in
pioneering cuisine today.
But this was something that was anticipated
already, in the '80s.
This idea of predicting the future is something that we've
seen constantly.
And I have to insist that the most disruptive technologies
and ideas are always envisaged for the future.
In the future, it was envisaged that plants would be
mixed with meats, or there would be fat plants.
Nuclear energy, for example, was something that would also
affect agriculture, and grow huge vegetables.
It wasn't considered something negative at the time.
The concept of factory farming, and food associated
with factories, wasn't perceived negatively.
And this is something that was developed
throughout the 20th century.
We would use robots.
We would colonise the desert.
And we would use all of this technology to develop a world
which had an incredibly futuristic perspective.
In 2013, farmers, as we know them today, would be in
museums, according to those who presented these ideas in
the last century.
Michael Pollan is an important journalist who's written a
number of articles in publications.
And he described how, in the '60s, when he was younger, the
space race also generated a climate which would already
make people predisposed to this new kind of cuisine.
It was very much focused on synthetic foods, synthetic
juices which would dominate, and would overcome, nature.
The future would be synthetic, and would surpass nature,
which is associated with risks, and hard.
All these projects are very far from how the future has
actually panned out.
And there are quite a number of interesting examples.
This book, by Barbara Ford, talks about the food of the
present, and how, perhaps, there is a possibility that we
would be eating insects.
A few weeks ago, the UN food organisation stated that, in
the future, this was a real possibility.
But these are visionaries.
For example, this journalist says that there's no food that
would be-- food is going to be more local.
Because it makes no sense that products come from much
further afield.
And the second idea is that, in many cases, techniques and
technologies are used to keep us doing the same things over
and over again, sometimes faster, and sometimes better.
What's this?
It's a postcard from 1912.
This was written by the first pastry chef of this hotel that
we can see up on the screen, which was inaugurated in 1912.
And he wrote a postcard to his friend who was working in a
pastry shop, in a wonderful city where the royal family
spent their summers.
That's actually where I'm from.
And you're all invited.
So from 1912, in this 101 years that have passed, how
many things have changed in this hotel, for example?
Think about the following.
The society has changed the kind of stay we have at a
hotel, how we use certain objects.
But in practical terms, technology is the same.
Before, we would open doors with keys.
Now we use cards.
So there has been progress.
But basically, the operation that takes place is the same.
In 1912, wardrobes were huge, because women had very long
dresses which needed to be hung up.
Nowadays, wardrobes are smaller, because they've
adapted to the way that we dress.
So in the case of our pastry chef, what
was his kitchen like?
And have there been major changes to the
kitchens we have now.
Well, obviously, yes.
Kitchens are now cleaner.
You want to work in them.
Materials that we use are different.
But as [? Avediz ?]
says--
who's one of the major culinary
scientists in the world--
objectivity, from the Middle Ages, with the exception of
the microwave, there haven't really been any major
technological incorporations, or tools, in the kitchen.
Before, we would use ovens, wood fire ovens.
Now they're electric.
Now we use induction heat rather than the direct flame,
or an open flame.
Before, perhaps, spoons were made of wood.
And now they're made of plastic or silicone.
But we use them for the same functions.
And the third idea is as follows.
Cooking is a reflection of society.
This is perhaps the most important idea of all.
Just one quick question, actually, just to highlight
the previous idea--
what technology, in the 15th century, was so disruptive
that it changed the world of cooking?
[AUDIENCE RESPONSES]
There was already fire at that point.
No.
Think hard.
Think a little bit about this.
The fork?
[AUDIENCE RESPONSES]
Come on, use your imagination.
The fridge?
What disruptive, pioneering technology changed the world
of cooking.
Was it a strainer?
I'll tell you.
I'll put you out of your misery.
[AUDIENCE RESPONSES]
I'll tell you.
It was printing--
the printing press.
The printing press made it possible to spread all the
colour in the culinary knowledge we have.
It has nothing to do with the kitchen, obviously, which is
interesting.
Everyone was thinking, perhaps, about knives,
potatoes, fire, steam, what can it be.
But no, it was the printing press.
It's a concept.
Concepts are disrupting.
They're pioneering.
So cooking is a reflection of society.
Polyaenus, who was a Greek philosopher, wrote, in his
work, that when Alexander the Great entered a Persian
palace, and saw such a sumptuous and elegant setting,
he thought to himself, I'm not surprised that the Persians
lost the war.
The Persians were very aware of gastronomy.
And the Greeks, for a very long time, would show off
about the fact that they were very austere, and very frugal.
They thought of themselves as a very strong people--
not in the latter part of Greek times, where they were
more focused on the arts.
But how was Rome?
There wasn't only one Rome.
There were different kinds of Romes.
There was agriculture.
And each of these peoples, or these sectors, had their own
cuisine, because it would be the society.
And their beliefs would be reflected
through their cooking.
So what was cooking like, in the Middle Ages?
The Middle Ages started in the 5th century, up
until the 15th century.
And it reflected society at the time.
Because progress only really took place in monasteries.
Because what kind of lives do monks have?
They make cheeses.
They are very devout.
And in the Middle Ages, there's
significant steps backward.
So let's move forward, now, to the Renaissance.
And in the Renaissance, the Medicis were very prominent.
Florence was an incredible city, which was
exploding with art.
Art, in general, flourished.
And gastronomy also followed suit.
The way we eat also flourished.
In the 17th century--
what was the 17th century like, for food?
It was very sumptuous.
It was very bold.
And that's how people ate.
And since they were very refined, mousse was actually
invented at that time.
Because it was a way of avoiding that very ugly action
of having to chew.
So what was the 18th century like?
The 18th century was a century that was marked by progress.
And this is also true in culinary terms.
The cuisine at the time was being revolutionised.
And knowledge, at the time, was being expanded.
Nouvelle cuisine began in 1972.
And what occurred here, there was a disruptive,
a pioneering movement.
For the first time in history, chefs were no longer skilled
craftsmen, but rather men who translated their handiwork
into something intellectual.
There was a real revolution.
Do you think that revolution would have been possible if
there hadn't been a May 1968?
Michel Guerard was almost killed because he decided to
add foie gras to a salad.
Because it was understood, at that time, that vinegar would
attack the flavour of foie gras.
So they came from a world which was very conservative.
And they changed the entire landscape.
I have to insist that I'm making this comparison with
May 1968 because it was the revolutionary time in the
world of cooking.
So just one quick question--
if you were to ask me, what will haute cuisine be like in
the future, and if I've said to you that cooking is a
reflection of society, then, if you tell me what the future
society will be like, then I will tell you
what it will be eating.
But since I don't want to end on that note, I'm going to try
something different.
What will society be like in the future?
9 billion inhabitants on the planet, 70% of the population
will be living in big cities.
In 2050, that there will be 400 cities, with more than 10
million inhabitants.
People will be living longer.
And this is the future that is going to happen.
Cities will be very complex.
And I think that we will go back to the Renaissance.
Cities will become states in themselves.
They will be similar, but different.
If we look at this map, a hypothesis for the future
could be as follows.
We have, on the one hand, the world of ideas, of identity--
an individual world.
We have the world of markets, which is also exerting a
certain pressure.
We have the world of technology, which will also be
very important as new technologies emerge.
And, concepts like this one.
This is a social conquest.
There will be social responsibility,
sustainability, clarity, when it comes to companies
presenting their intentions and their ideas.
And this is something that we'll
definitely see in the future.
There will also be a great deal of pressure
from emerging cultures.
They no longer want to be marginalised.
They want to have a leading role, and they want to be
proud of what they stand for.
And there will be a very important concept, which is,
here and now--
here and now.
These are people with a nomadic, urban lifestyle who
want to eat.
They want to be socially responsible.
They don't want to give up anything.
They want.
the world to adapt to them.
And technology will be very important.
Today, we know that we've had--
that we've made a distinction between developing countries
who have produced for developing countries.
And in the future, the emerging countries will be
developing for the new emerging countries.
So food will be an important axis in this relationship.
It always has been, in the past.
And it will be, in the future.
When I started catering school, I remember that people
would say that a doctor's work is to look after people's
health, and the chef's work is to ruin people's health.
But this has obviously changed.
Because health is a very important factor
in what we do now.
This is an important pillar, because people don't want to
sacrifice the sensory experience.
But they don't want to sacrifice
what they are either.
So in the future, these individual feelings, this
connection as part of a group, will also be very important.
So that's basically the future as I envisage it.
This is my hypothesis.
But there's just one idea--
one key idea-- that I'd like to present to you.
At the end of the day, we mustn't forget that the future
will be however we want it to be.
And together, we will build that future,
starting from the present.
Thank you.