GASTRONOMY MEETS ASTRONOMY

A Danish chef and an American space travel company come together to offer an experience like no other—dining at the edge of space

- POOJA BIRAIA JAISWAL

Consider this for a meal: rarefied albino caviar, golden in colour and result of uncommon mutations-eggs of the sterlet, a small species of sturgeon (fish) from Eurasia, native to large rivers that flow into the Black Sea, supple and velvety, plated with white asparagus and pastry bread. Another course has a mousse of lamb brains and foie gras served in a bleached lamb skull, garnished with ants and roasted mealworms with a drink containing bioluminescence extracted from jellyfish, glowing beautifully in dim lights. There is also a human brain on the table-the cavity of a realistic, life-size model of a man's head-a theatrical spectacle for an immersive experience. These mind-blowing mouthfuls of food are central to Alchemist, a two Michelin-starred restaurant in Copenhagen. Helming this creative innovation is chef and co-owner Rasmus Munk, known for making Alchemist a holistic cuisine restaurant that normally charges upwards of ₹50,000 a head and offers 45-plus courses in sixhour-long tasting menus.

At 33, Munk has already aced his recipe for running a restaurant that is famous as much for its imaginative dishes as for its "politically charged" messages served on the side. At Alchemist, both visual appeal and earthy tastes are equally significant and neither can overshadow the other. Take, for example, the red cherry glazed lamb brain, poached and sliced surgically in front of the diner, or the pigeon breast served dangling from its feathered head. Even its location seems to be carefully picked a relatively remote part of Copenhagen known for its industrial buildings and an old shipyard. Perfect plot to forge fantasy and food! Even the "two-tonne-heavy bronze" doors have a dramatic air about them, with "decorations reminiscent of Narnia or Middle-Earth", wrote the World's 50 Best Restaurants that adjudged Alchemist as the eighth

SPACE FARE