Predicting dining trends usually means looking at the cuisines, techniques and ingredients set to capture chefs’ imaginations in the year ahead.
Post Dining have their sights set somewhat further in the future: 'Eating Tomorrow' is concerned with what our diets might look like by 2050, when stark geopolitical shifts, water shortages and catastrophic damage wrought by climate change and overpopulation could be the defining factors in what foods are available.
In the basement of the WEA building the innovative troupe have created a warren-like maze of spaces to explore these imagined futures of famine and feast. As we step into an invite-only New Year’s Eve party with a memorable rendition of the national anthem and a rationing facility that invites us to examine how much water goes into creating different ingredients, it’s clear that these serious topics are being approached with tongue slightly in cheek.
Each station has its own narrative and an accompanying snack. Some are presented with a flourish while some offered without introduction, but each integrates ingredients you probably won’t find in your pantry and offers a small insight into a different way of approaching what we consume. And as is often the case, sometimes this vision of the future is really a vision of the past.
'Eating Tomorrow' poses many questions and Post Dining don’t attempt to answer them definitively. Instead, this show encourages each audience member to examine their own decisions and place them in a larger context, a formula that means we all leave with plenty to chew on.
★★★☆☆1/2
