'Data Cuisine' Serves a Full-Course Meal of Boston's Problems

When the first “data cuisine” workshop kicked off in Helsinki in 2012—with dishes such as “Criminal Herring in Fur Coat,” a savory representation of Finland’s crime rates—not many likely expected the movement to last. Yet here it is four years later with its U.S. debut in Boston, in which chefs composed scrumptious snacks riffing on local issues like food sourcing, wealth inequality, and water pollution.

About that last one: Yes, there really was a fecal-coliform cocktail, called... retch... “A Million New Friends.” Fortunately, no toxic bacteria were included. But the culinary strangeness didn’t end there. Below, find some of the other fare served at the June event at the Goethe-Institut Boston. Descriptions were provided by the Data Cuisine organizers, which include Moritz Stefaner and Susanne Jaschko. (Gaitskell Cleghorn Jr., ex-chef at the community nonprofit Haley House, acted as culinary director.)