Outside the Work: A Tasting of Hydrocarbons and Geological Time (2013)
With Lucullan Foods and Michael Connor
Tasting/Participatory performance for 50 guests
808 Gallery Boston University
Presented by the School of Visual Arts, in collaboration with Boston University’s Programs in Food and Wine.
(from the invite):

The French phrase hors d’ouevre literally means “outside of the work,” that is, outside the design of the meal.
Petrochemicals infuse our foods, and while these byproducts of petroleum lie outside our designs on eating,
they are intimately meshed with the foods we produce, transport and consume.
You are invited to a multi-course tasting that invokes the hydrocarbon's role in our palate through small plates, drinks, and tangled stories.
Conceived and presented by artist Marina Zurkow and chefs Lauryn Tyrell and Anna Hopkins, this event will join geological time with human time,
food with fossil fuels, and earthly processes with techniques of the kitchen.
 


Outside the Work,A Tasting of Hydrocarbons and Geological Time: e-vite and menu.
Click to enlarge.
STRUCTURE:

HYDROCARBON FORMATION (geological time):

Organic matter dies and sinks
Salt-covered
Buried, Compressed
Anaerobic
Heated
Floating, Trapped
Drilled
Gushing
Transformed into products
KITCHEN TECHNIQUE (human time)

Blooming and settling
Salt-curing
Salt-baking
Fermenting
Heating and clarifying
Adding oils to water-based liquids
Encrusting
Melting
Artificially coloring and flavoring
MENU:

Blue-green algae (marine microorganisms)
Salt-cured salmon (farmed salmon fed petrochemical dyes)
Salt-baked salmon
Cheese, soy, beer (local producers who try to work w/o petro inputs)
Consommé (from broiler chickens fed petrochemical dye)
Truffle Oil (made from petrochemicals)
Deep fried chocolate (sailed to NY to avoid petroleum use)

Honey (from bees who fed on FDC #40)
DOWNLOAD THE SCRIPT HERE.
 
DOCUMENTATION: