Forged Parfait — cultured Japanese quail — is about to take Singapore on a wild ride into the future of food — one fine-dining establishment at a time.
It is perhaps inevitable for those who live in Singapore to develop a special relationship with food. Where we lack in size, we find richness in international friendships. Since necessity is the mother of invention, this already food-crazed (and insecure) port city has become one of the world’s most innovative culinary hubs today — a perfect pairing of discerning, sustainability-seeking gourmands and daring flavour entrepreneurs. So it should come as no surprise that Forged Parfait—an exquisite new meat made from cultured Japanese quail — chose our tiny country for its exciting worldwide debut this April.
Starting with a small sample of cells from a Japanese quail, George Peppou, co-founder and CEO of the Forged team, explains that the cells that contributed to its taste and texture were meticulously identified, isolated, then studied before being placed in bioreactors — a stainless steel tank akin to those found in a brewery — that contained the natural growth conditions the cells need to flourish. After that, their team of skilled chefs would then mix the cells with a suite of other ingredients that consist of butter, garlic, port wine, brandy and more, birthing Forged Parfait — complete with just a smidge of likeness to conventional pâté or savoury parfait.
“To introduce the world to Forged, we wanted to create something wildly delicious and previously unachieved — something that you can’t get in nature, showing the limitless potential of cultured meat,” Peppou said. “We wanted a delightful contradiction in flavour and texture that is both rich and delicate at once.”
This is why they specifically tapped on those who lead some of Singapore’s most celebrated establishments — like Chef Ryan Clift of Tippling Club — to illustrate the creative possibilities that this melt-in-mouth parfait has as an ingredient. And nothing can be more rewarding than to see someone of Chef Ryan’s calibre take a bite of the parfait, pause, and then exclaim, “That’s really [expletive] good.”
As Forged Parfait’s second residency after its successful outing at Mandala Club’s Mori, Chef Ryan was only tasked to create up to two dishes with the pâté. Yet he ended up with a full prix fixe menu instead.
“I’m so blown away by the profile of this product,” he said. “It’s sweet, has a beautiful delicate flavour, and the texture is always perfect. Imagination is the only limitation, and I had so much fun playing with Forged Parfait and creating new dishes that I decided to put it all on the menu. I just went crazy.”
The umami-full parfait’s latest edition also comes in the form of an exclusive dish titled “A Quail Walks Into A Bar”, devised by gastrobar FURA’s Christina Rasmussen. The parfait’s “pleasantly gamey yet buttery” taste finds itself at home in her constantly changing, season-driven menu, contributing something “familiar but new and so tasty.”
“My grandmother lives in the south of France in the mountains and receives a lot of the game hunted on her property,” she shares. “A nostalgic flavour combination from my childhood is pork or fowl cooked and paired with apples and onions, so I love a good sweet and savoury pairing. Adding hazelnut oil and almond flour to the components of the dish really highlights the slight nuttiness of the parfait.”
That is definitely one way to ease the meat eaters into liking a completely new breed of meat if the overly positive reactions by guests are anything togo by. “You could see it in their widened eyes and dropped jaws as they took their first bite,” said George. “Watching them turn to their companions and say, “Oh, that’s really nice,” never got old.”
This is only the beginning, with many more stops lined up on Forged Parfait’s restaurant tour and even more to-be-announced products up the Forged team’s sleeves. If this is where the future of food is heading, perhaps there is hope for luxury dining and sustainability to truly exist hand-in-hand.
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