September 2011
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Molecular gastronomy is dead, claims Heston Blumenthal. But despite this from the chef who brought us snail porridge, London’s lust for test- tube food is growing, says Olivia Palamountain
Ice cream
If you're pining for those summer days, head to Chin Chin Laboratorists (chinchinlabs.com), Europe's first nitro ice-cream parlour. Out-of-this-world creations are made from a custard base of tasty flavours (think lemon curd, basil and green tea, with Valrhona chocolate), whipped up with liquid nitrogen in front of you and then covered with quirky toppings such as violet marshmallows and gold-dusted, chocolate-coated popping candy. The lab is full of high-tech gadgetry and staffed by dairy scientists sporting lab coats and goggles.
Cocktails
The team behind Bar of the Year 2010, 69 Colebrooke Row (69colebrookerow.com) are pioneers too. Blink and you'll miss the low-key exterior — so concentrate because their cocktails are out of this world. Hidden upstairs in true speakeasy style is the lab. Here Tony Conigliaro and his team tinker over centrifuge machines, sous-vide cookers, and dehydrators to produce their own infusions and distillations, resulting in a menu of reworked classics such as the liquorice whisky sour.
Bubble tea
Fresh out of Taiwan and taking Soho by storm is London's first bubble tea lab: Bubbleology (bubbleology.co.uk ). Famous throughout Asia, these harlequin drinks are made from a base of either milk or fruit tea with added tapioca pearls. The mixture is shaken, hermetically sealed, then slurped through a chubby straw. There's an art to making the tapioca 'boba' and the 'bubbleologists' are experts — lab coats are a prerequisite, and the windows display an experiment in action, complete with test tubes and conical flasks. It's all set to cause a stir...
