Consumers interested in trying cultured meat can finally do so at The Chicken test kitchen in Tel Aviv, Israel, the world’s first foodservice location serving a lab-grown meat product created with chicken cells.
“The Chicken is the first ‘production to table’ restaurant experience. Food professionals can see the A-to-Z process with their own eyes – and eat a chicken burger hands-on. For consumers, they discover that incredible chicken meat can arrive at their table in a whole new way,” said Ido Savir, CEO, SuperMeat.
“The number of applications to eat at The Chicken has been overwhelming. Applicants include food industry professionals, meat and poultry farmers, food processors, alternative protein enthusiasts and curious food enthusiasts -- and of course, meat lovers. We are attracting the culinary curious and forward-thinking individuals in the food industry.”
Guests at The Chicken can see the SuperMeat manufacturing plant where the cultured meat is made from their seats. Menu items like the Chicken Burger, a crispy cultured chicken fillet served on a brioche bun, mimic the look and taste of traditionally raised chicken.
Cultured meat – also known as lab-grown meat – is made using the stem cells from animals that are grown in in a laboratory resulting in a product that looks, feels and tastes like conventionally-raised meat.
A step forward for cultured meat
Savir calls the restaurant a significant milestone in the path to commercialization for the cultured meat industry, showing a path to cost parity with conventional meat and scalable manufacturing.
“We will commercially launch products in the foodservice sector in the next two years, reaching cost parity with premium restaurants. Expect wider reach with commercially scaled plants to achieve cost parity with traditionally manufactured chicken meat in retail in the next five to seven years,” he added.
Advocates of cultured meat say that the process is more efficient, flexible and consistent than traditional agriculture.
“Leaders in the poultry industry are sophisticated and truly understand the benefits of cellular production. The industry has long been aware of critical issues facing our food supply and processing methods,” Savir said. “Our cultured meat manufacturing plants are able to implement instant changes in supply and demand in hours rather than weeks or months.”
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