meeting Michael Bøm Frost

As we, UNLEASH participants, started mulling over what we were supposed to do in the next few days of innovation, the organisers gave us a glimpse of how Denmark is addressing the SDGs. 

One of our stops in the Food theme was the University of Copenhagen. I was excited because this is where the Nordic Food Lab is found. I'm a fan of the work that the team there is doing and I've been following the research of the lab under the leadership of Michael Bøm Frost. I was absolutely thrilled, to say the least, that I'd actually be sitting in one of his lectures. 

In his lecture, he talked about exploring the meaning of deliciousness. This lecture was well-timed because I just came from a gastronomic adventure in India and I was still processing what I learned from it. Dr Frost's lecture took us through the wonderful world of food flavours and how sensory scientists try to measure, to make sense, and to simulate what people enjoy when they consume food. After all, food is not just a source of nourishment; it is also a source of pleasure and enjoyment.

He walked us through some of the explorations that the team was doing. He talked about tempeh, that Indonesian dish made of soybeans that have been inoculated with fungi. He talked about finding culinary preparations for grub and insects. He talked about introducing new food concepts to children in the hopes of overcoming food neophobia. All very exciting work (it helps because the BMGF-DFC project I'm involved in is about changing consumer behaviour towards nutritious options).

At the end of the lecture, I couldn't help but introduce myself to Dr Frost. When he learned that I'm from IRRI, he said that he knows of a call for a sensory scientist. I told him that I was chosen for the post and I hope that we'll work together in the future. Trust me, if I were alive during Robert Koch's time and he lectured about his postulates about causative agents of diseases, I would have been in the same fan-girl mode. I was in the same mood when I learned that Al Gore was coming over to Manila; unfortunately, I wasn't able to meet him in person. Some people get excited by seeing movie stars and social media trendsetters. I get excited by seeing luminaries in science and in politics.

Sounds good, tastes even better, is how I'd say that Nordic Food Lab lecture went. My excitement for UNLEASH was just started increasing.