Reimagine Food to serve diners 3D-printed meals

Reimagine Food is to host joint 3D dinners in New York and Barcelona this December

3D-printed meals sound like something from a futuristic sci-fi movie. You may not have to wait too far into the future to taste them though. Food innovation firm Reimagine Food is planning a 3D dinner event where diners will be served printed food.

Reimagine Food seeks to be a disruptor in the food and food technology industries. The firm says its objective is, "to lay the foundations for promoting a new Silicon Valley of food and disruptive technology in Barcelona." At an event in Madrid last week, the company announced that it would host joint 3D dinners in New York and Barcelona this December. The event is part of Reimagine's aim to promote a better understanding of food and food technology in the future.

The menu for the event will be created by Michelin Star chef Paco Morales. Morales has been recruited to give "sense and meaning" to the food that will be served. Reimagine Food says that using a 3D printer will make it possible for Morales to produce forms and tastes that have not previously been possible.

"Obviously the taste of the food will be an indispensable factor for us," says Anna González Martí of Reimagine Food to Gizmag. "It must provide contrasts, whilst always ensuring quality."

Diners will sit at 3D-printed furnishings, with 3D-printed crockery and will use 3D-printed cutlery to eat 3D-printed food. Architect José Ramón Tramoyeres will design the space.

The menu has not yet been announced, but the food will be printed using the Foodini 3D food printer created by Reimagine Food partner Natural Machines. The Foodini was created with a view to automating some of the food preparation process and making it easier to create freshly made meals.

The device uses capsules of ingredients to print layers of certain food-types, such as pasta, burgers and chocolate. It is also connected to the internet, meaning it can be updated with new recipes and sets of instructions. It is expected to be available for consumers to buy in the second half of 2014 for around €1,000 (US$1,300).

Speaking about their work with Natural Machines, González Martí says, "We have established a partnership to evaluate all existing possibilities with its current version and a more powerful printer that we are now developing together, which will be able to bake and also, for instance, detect food with Google Glass, SpaceGlasses or Oculus Rift and subsequently decide to print the recipe you are viewing."

At the announcement event in Madrid, Reimagine Food also showed off a REEM robot that can be used to analyze the mood and tastes of diners and determine what they should be served. The REEM uses online data, mood information and data based on an individual's pupils to make food suggestions. The predictive intelligence takes into account factors such as an individual's nutrition requirements and taste preferences.

If you want to be one of the 12 people at each of the 3D dinner sittings, you'll have to stump up €150,000 ($205,000). Around €85,000 of the investment will go to the construction of the space and €25,000 towards the printing of high-end furnishings, cutlery, plates and the food. Reimagine Food is further investigating potential uses for Google Glass, drones and artificial intelligence, including in the areas of real-time recipe guidance, food visual recognition and interpreting the food tastes and needs of consumers.