September 5, 2010
Green Man: Flavour Feast
This summer I learnt many new skills: how to be a judge, build an island, cook pannacotta. But perhaps the strangest task I got to grips with was the creation of alarmingly-coloured spaghetti and ‘caviar’ out of agar and pureed vegetables.
Making gelatinous green beads and red spaghetti is a messy process involving rubber tubing, pipettes, syringes, and spraying hot red sauce all over your kitchen (or that might just be me) but I think the results were well worth it, as I hope you can see from the pretty pictures below.
So why engage in such culinary oddities, I hear you ask. Well, for the fourth time this summer we dished up a Flavour Feast to the punters at the Green Man festival and my curious creations were on the menu.
Joining us for the feast were the fabulous Becki and Rachel, dressed in matching white smocks and hairnets, while I did my best butler impression.
I won’t go into the details of the science behind the Flavour Feast as I covered it in a previous post, but I think the audience had a good time eating, drinking, talking and painting their tongues blue…
You can see more photos of our Flavour Feast here.
September 2, 2010
A Tasty Brain
Carefully carving through the surface of the shiny, quivering pink cortex with his scalpel, neuroscientist Guy Billings traced out a small area of the marvellous human cerebrum. “This,” he said, “is Broca’s area – crucial for the ability to produce language. People who have suffered damage to this region have lost the ability to speak.” The crowd peered in for a closer look.
“Let’s just cut that out then,” said Guy, and plopping the pink shiny piece onto a plate, he handed it out with a shiny pink spoon. It was instantly devoured (and declared delicious).
August 26, 2010
Green Man: In Photos
Check out our flickr site for all the pics from this weekend at Green Man, including Jelly Brain Dissections with Guy Billings
the Flavour Feast
August 19, 2010
Green Man Festival, August 20-22
The sublime Brecon Beacons beckon. Catch us August 20 to 22 in Einstein’s Garden.
Sounds of the Universe: Lewis Dartnell & Andrew Pontzen
Walks: Friday 1330 & 1630, Saturday 1100, 1400 & 1715, Sunday 1300 & 1545
Talks: Friday 1630 w/ Andrew & Sat 1330 w/ Lewis, Yurt Stage
Hear the the bassy reverberations of the surface of our Sun, the eerie shrieks of Jupiter, and feverish radio pulses from the cores of dead stars. Plus a talk on astrobiology with Lewis on Saturday.
The Synaesthesia Game: Guerilla Science & Coney
Saturday 1215 and Sunday 1345, Yurt Stage
The Professor has made a brain – but it has synaesthesia: it hears sounds when it sees colours. Come see what it thinks you sound like to look at. Unlike anything you’ve seen – or heard – before.
Flavour Feast: Becki Clarke & Rachel Edwards Stuart
Friday 1530, Saturday 1630, Sunday 1745, Workshop Tent
Celebrate the manifold facets of flavour with our sensory smorgasbord. Sample from our menu of taste tests with expert food scientists and explore the tantalizing mysteries of your senses.
Jelly Brain Dissections: Guy Billings
Friday 1530, Saturday 1630, Sunday 1745, Workshop Tent
Come for a cuppa and a slice of delicious jelly, set in the shape of your marvellous cerebrum. We will dissect, discuss and digest the most complex thing in the known universe: your mind.
Liars Picnic: Lynsey Gozna & Rachel Taylor
Friday 1900 & Sunday 1445, Yurt Stage
How good are you at spotting a lie? Forensic psychologists will teach you to spot the telltale signs. Then put your newfound shifty skills to the test in a lying match. Prizes for the finest fibbers. Cheating is compulsory – no exceptions.
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